ford v6?!

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by XRtowcar

It also means they can make it FWD.

It means they can do either...RWD or FWD, that decision will be made early next year, there is no rush.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by XRtowcar

Quote: I'm surprised the old I6 has hung on this long. A V6 allows for better packaging with more interior space, and it also allows the engine to be mounted lower and further back to aid center of gravity and for body design purposes. It's a miracle how low they can make the front panelwork of the FG with that big long motor in there.

It also means they can make it FWD.

Once again, it's a car for the masses...not for a small minority of drivers alone. I've noticed increasingly over the last 10 years or so that motoring scribes say that if you plonked Joe Average Car Buyer into a new car, and they drove it like they normally do every day, they'd be hard put to pick it as a front driver. I drive my sons Aurion now and then, and can't pick which end is doing the driving unless I really concentrate hard. Getting the tail out is hardly high on the list of buyers list of features...

[SteveJH]

Originally Posted by jpd80

It means they can do either...RWD or FWD, that decision will be made early next year, there is no rush.

I thought it had to be made by the middle of this year. I wouldn't be surprised if its already been made.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

I thought it had to be made by the middle of this year. I wouldn't be surprised if its already been made.

No, Work on design proposal for next gen Falcon is proceeding but there's no decision pending....

That decision was delayed because key product (EcoLPI, FG II and Ecoboost) have all been delayed
and Ford wants time to evaluate their performance in the market place before committing either way.

[SteveJH]

Wouldn't a late decision delay introduction of a next gen falcon if that is decided on though?

How long does a platform or next generation top hat take to develop?

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

Wouldn't a late decision delay introduction of a next gen falcon if that is decided on though?

How long does a platform or next generation top hat take to develop?

There is still plenty of time to make the decision, next gen Falcon won't be here until mid 2016
so that's still around 5 years off......they need to start about 4 years out.

Orion was started in early 2004, approval held up for about 6 months in 2006 and delivered mid 2008.
In between times, FoA changed from I-6 to V6 for about 18 months before hurriedly reviving the I-6,
that's one reason why EcoLPI was missing in 2008, supplier delays then caused the next near 12 month long delay.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

All things pass...I recall similar cries of despair (not on the internet of course...didn't exist) when the venerable old Holden straight six was retired as the rising costs of meeting increasingly stringent anti-pollution, extra power, and fuel economy requirements, not to mention the massive re-engineering needed for unleaded.
People warmed to the new engines...in fact if you asked the vast majority of new car buyer what configuration the engine under thier bonnet was, they would be stumped at anything more than what fuel it uses and how many cylinders it has...

The difference being that the Falcon's I6 was adapted to meet all of these challenges and more, and is still here and is a world class engine. The Holden 6 was never in the same league and never saw the level of updates (apart from EFI and some capacity changes).

Also, development times for the new car will be drastically shorter this time around with virtual design and of course leveraging the full design, engineering and financial resources of the Ford empire to bring it to fruition because it will be a global car (or a derivative of it)

[stang65]

This thread should be merged with the local inline 6 could live on thread as it`s pretty much talking about the same thing.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

The difference being that the Falcon's I6 was adapted to meet all of these challenges and more, and is still here and is a world class engine. The Holden 6 was never in the same league and never saw the level of updates (apart from EFI and some capacity changes).

Probably because Holden were near bankrupt at the time. 84 or 85. GM bailed them out.

[vztrt]

If the Falcon goes V6 then it would make sense as it would free money up for other things to be improved. But if the Falcon were to go FWD then I don't see the point. Might as well can the car and import the Taurus.

[jpd80]

Ford are also rumored to be developing a new smaller V6 in the 2.7-3.0 range under the project name, "Nano".
Direct injection and Turbocharged units are being studied for Ecoboost applications.

Engine being developed as Ecoboost 2.7 V6 is expected to make approx. 350 hp and just under 400 lb ft....(impressive)
Next generation stuff, probably turn up initially as 2.7 DI in 2013 Lincoln MKZ due out next year. (Fusion/Mondeo based)

[Maggot]

[QUOTE=2011G6E]I recall similar cries of despair (not on the internet of course...didn't exist) when the venerable old Holden straight six was retired ...[QUOTE]

..and when they retired the holden six, it was a nissan inline 6 that replaced it.. and not a bad motor either!

[jpd80]

[QUOTE=Maggot][QUOTE=2011G6E]I recall similar cries of despair (not on the internet of course...didn't exist) when the venerable old Holden straight six was retired ...

..and when they retired the holden six, it was a nissan inline 6 that replaced it.. and not a bad motor either!

The engine contract that put Holden in serious debt and subsequently bailed out by head office.
There's a reason they went to the cheaper Buick V6, it's all they could afford after the Nissan debacle.
Some Holden engineers look back on that period thinking that a SOHC/DOHC 3.3 I-6 was possibly a better way....

[Bossxr8]

[QUOTE=jpd80][QUOTE=Maggot]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

I recall similar cries of despair (not on the internet of course...didn't exist) when the venerable old Holden straight six was retired ...
The engine contract that put Holden in serious debt and subsequently bailed out by head office.
There's a reason they went to the cheaper Buick V6, it's all they could afford after the Nissan debacle.
Some Holden engineers look back on that period thinking that a SOHC/DOHC 3.3 I-6 was possibly a better way....

When they signed the contract is would have been ok, but later on when the yen soared in value it all went bad.

But it wasn't the Nissan contract that nearly killed Holden, it was during the VK when sales hit rock bottom, and they were basically finished if GM didn't bail them out. That happened a couple of years before the Nissan engined VL hit the market. The Nissan contract probably came about because they had no money to make the black 6 more fuel efficient, one of the reasons the Falcon was slaughtering it in the market, it was bigger, more powerful and also more fuel efficient.