Ford Vehicle

By Mike Connor Although still more than two months away from its on-sale date Down Under, Ford Australia has revealed key details of its new-look Falcon. The early roll-out of information on the Pontiac G8 -sized sedan is fascinating fodder for Ford-watchers trying to determine what Dearborn might be planning for its forthcoming global rear drive platform.

Known as ‘Orion’ throughout its development, and now officially christened ‘FG’ Falcon, the car provides evidence that Ford at last is beginning to get its global product development act together. The exterior of the upmarket versions, for example, is styled so the Australian-designed sedan could slip into a snapshot of European ‘Kinetic Design’ Fords without looking out of place. And beneath its all-new skin, Falcon is engineered for best-in-class handling, ride and steering.

The directive to deliver A-grade dynamics came straight from FoMoCo HQ in Dearborn, say senior Ford Australia product development executives, along with a bunch of other ‘Ford DNA’ instructions affecting everything down to the placement of electric-window switches and rear-view mirror adjustment knobs.

While program approval for the FG Falcon was given about one year before the September 2006 appointment of Alan Mulally as Ford president and CEO, the finished job apparently has impressed the ex-Boeing executive. During a personal trip to Australia in September 2007, Mulally dropped by to visit the local Ford folks at their Melbourne headquarters. Shown the upscale G6E Turbo variant of the new Falcon, his reported response was simple: “I want one”.