Talk:Ford Falcon (Australia): Difference between revisions

Is it me or does the '79 Australian Falcon win the Ugliest Car Ever Built Award? A slightly facelifted version that came shortly afterwards improved it somewhat, but the original of this series... well, it's ugly, man! The headlights look as if they've been added on as an afterthought, the front lower panel appears to have been omitted, and the shape of the wheelarches is just - odd. The way the eye is drawn down the sharp folded edges at the back to where the windows don't line up where you expect them - it's definitely a classic of pure ugliness! By comparison the same vintage European Ford Granada to which it bears quite a resemblance is significantly tidier. It's as if the Aussies looked at the Granada, said "it's too small", and just sort of started adding in odd lengths here and there until it was big enough, and sod the aesthetics. I must go and find one to photograph for the article, see if anyone agrees with me! Graham 10:49, 20 May 2004 (UTC)

Nah, the '94 European Scorpio is a much stronger contender, if you want ugly! The '79 Falcon looked OK, although the backside of the wagon looked awful with the sloping lights and the old-fashioned bumper.

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Someone moved the Australian section to the top, which I've reversed, as the Australian Falcon story begins with the US models. Also, even though 4 million Australian Falcons have been sold, there were probably still more Falcons sold in the US in the 1960s.

Scorpios were pretty ugly. I think the late 70s "XC" Mark II Falcon is the ugliest Australian model: rectangular halogen headlights did not belong on that body :-) Grant65 (Talk) 02:31, Jun 28, 2004 (UTC)

That might be the one I was referring to above - as a recent immigrant i'm not too sure of my Aussie cars yet - Holdens even more confusing!! The European Scorpio is too obvious to be called ugly. I must admit when it came out I thought the same but after a while it kinda grew on me, especially from the back. That might have had something to do with the slitty lights reminding me of my own quirky favourite, the Vauxhall Firenza (a car I used to own), though the front end was totally disimilar and very retro American looking. The public must have agreed with you though because you never saw too many of them on the roads. Graham 05:01, 28 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Here's a front view of an "XC" Mk I, which was pre-1979[1] and an "XC" Mk II[2].

The confusion may come in because the "XD" was released in late 1979 [3] ;-) Grant65 (Talk) 13:20, Jun 28, 2004 (UTC)

The XC Mk I referenced above is the base Falcon. The XC Mk II referenced is the higher level Fairmont derivative. There was a 'Mk I' and 'Mk II', although there were only detail cosmetic differences.

If I remember correctly, the 'XD' Falcon won an "Australian Design Award", so it can't have appeared too ugly in it's day. They do look quite pedestrian nowdays though.

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Added XD Falcon and AU XR8 photos Jonathan 6 Nov 2004

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What is this asertion about the US Falcon tooling being shipped to Australia? I would have thought that the Aussie Falcon was distinctly different by this time, and that the tooling would have been locally developed. Jonathan 6 Nov 2004

I thought the same thing.Grant65 (Talk) 13:14, Nov 8, 2004 (UTC)

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Do we really need so many images on the page? In particular, each Australian model seems to have two images, a front and a rear view. Few other car articles go to these lengths, it doesn't add much to the article and it makes the page slow to download on dial-up. One solution that I feel is quite good is to link additional images from the first image page, then those that are interested in looking at the additional views can easily find them. Graham 03:08, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I like them, since they are models that would never be seen by anyone outside Australia otherwise. I use dialup and don't find the page excessively slow. Fortunately they are all thumbnails, so you can decide if you want to click onto the full-size image or not. I don't think this article has too many pictures--I think most of the car articles just don't have enough. RivGuySC 03:33, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I like them too. Lunkwill 22:14, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I added the photos, since there is a lot of discussion regarding styling of certain models. How else for anyone to judge the merit of a comment than to see a picture of the vehicle in question? Jonathan 17:01, 04 Dec 2004 (AEDT)

Help me identify this Australian Falcon?

Australian Falcon, unknown.

Please help me identify exactly what this is. I believe it to be some model of Falcon XB from the early 1970s, but I'm not sure exactly what. Thanks in advance, —Morven 19:11, Apr 30, 2005 (UTC)

The missing grille makes it bit harder, but it does look like an XB Falcon GT Coupé (cf: http://www.falcongt.com.au/XBGT2PIC.html ) Hard, if not impossible, to say whether it's a 1973 or a 1974. Nice car. Was that pic taken in your neighbourhood? Grant65 (Talk) 11:50, May 1, 2005 (UTC)