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Originally Posted by Polyal
Mate, that line is getting old. And who knows, in a few years you might be eating those words.
There is a market place for this car, the 3v just doesn't cut it against the LS2 Calias.
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Is it getting old?
The majority of people asking for this manual ghia turbo are not driving new cars. Ford sell NEW cars.
The last factory manual ghia was the EA2. I know because I bought one. I held onto it for 250,000km because there was not anything I wanted to replace it. The eb/d/f ghias were auto and the XR range were to povvo as far as interior was concerned so I just waited.
I asked repeatedly for a manual ghia and was told there was such a small market for it that it was not available.
In the end I bought an EL because the wheels fell off the EA.
Traditionally the ghia was fitted a higher performance 6 cylinder engine than the rest of the range other than, of course, the XR6. My AU ghia was fitted with the SVCT variant.
Ford are not always stupid is their research and marketing. The XR6T and Territory are classic examples of determining a market need that no one else has covered.
With the release of the BA, the GT-P was the first manual "pseudo ghia" as it was the only FPV fitted with all the ghia goodies like climate control etc as well as the FPV engine and accessories. I jumped at the idea.
Manual sales make up a VERY small percentage of falcon sales. Most XR6T and XR8s are autos, even more now the ZF box is available. Almost all BF F6s are autos, manuals are VERY rare.
To create another variant cost goes up. If there is a manual or turbo ghia then there are a squillion extra parts that need to be held as well as all the extra testing and training.
Ford don't just bolt bits on. Every variant is tested exhastively for nigglies and problems and even then they can get bitten.
Look at the BA2 F6 clutch event. An excellent system proven on the GT40 as strong and reliable fell apart on the T6 due to harmonics and vibrations.
As far as the doesn't cut it against the LS2 calais, what has that got to do with anything. This really is not V8 supercars on the road. The Holden/Ford thing as quite artificial.
The hardest thing to do in life is see from others points of view. If some of our members were is charge then the Falcon GTHO would have a 500kw V10 and be made of titanium, weigh 800kg and come factory fitted with a cage and wheelie bar. This would be the only model, but would come in wagon and ute variants and lots of stripes and colours. It would not sell well but would beat all Holdens over the 400m and the mutants would be able to dribble down the pub how back before they went broke, Ford made the fastest car in Australia......
The AU2 TS50 was a manual Ghia with a XR8 engine. It was not overly sucessful. The AU3 TS50 was more sporty and was the most sucessful of the TS series but most were auto.
The point I am trying to make is that there is a bigger picture. Ford do a huge amount of research into model development and make what they think will sell in large enough numbers to make a profit.
And that is why there is no manual ghia/wagon/futura/fairmont/fairlane/ltd or why there is no panelvan or dualcab falcon ute or 4WD ute etc etc etc...