That's a mean looking beast!!

I know that, CF - and frankly I wish we used that and NM in the UK. It's merely an informal way of explaining that the vernacular unit of power measurement is KW...

There isn't a chance this car would do a sub 4 sec 62mph and at over £50K in New Zealand, try £60K here. A good car at 25% less. At this price point id expect better quality, less plastics.

I really really don't like European Fords - Dagenham should look to the USA and Oz to see how to design a decent car. This latest Falcon looks the business.

Totally agree with this. My family has lived in Oz for 25 years and I have always been very conscious of the draconian speed policing when I've driven over there.

On a separate note, I managed to bag an XR8 and XR6 Ford press cars in '93 and '94. Thanks Ford!

Pointless owning a performance car in Australia unless you take it on track. It's a proper police state where you get sworn at/book thrown at you by the rozzers if you dare to exceed the speed limit by 10 kph or less. Don't get me started!

These cars (IMO) are a pile of poo and compared to a decade ago a pretty rare sight now even in Sydney, most people have gone Jap or Euro and want to drive diesels. The two worst cars I've ever driven were a Holden Commodore c. 2000 which simply didn't stop, and a early nineties Ford Fairlane which didn't stop didn't go and was the size of the Titanic. Pointless. Compared to UK cars they are big, roomy, and have grunt, so I can understand the attraction. Forget value for money though thanks to the strength of the Aussie dollar these days.

There is probably more call for these in the UK now as a novelty, problem is to support them properly Ford would have to commit funds to supporting the parts supply and that will incur proper big costs and not worth it for the numbers involved. Not a big shame in my opinion as there are plenty of massive engined European cars available second hand for not a lot of cash that are much more capable than these dinosaurs.

Just my 5p.

I see plenty of hooning in Perth, and usually in these type of cars.
Out west it's still land of the V8 (usually a UTE, with personalised plate and bogan stickers in the window).

I've usually been Japanese (and then modded).

But there is something appealing about a big v8. Shame they never get the same horsepower stock as the yanks do.

Coming to a taxi rank near me soon!

I think that most Brits have a bit of a romantic notion about these cars (which if Ford Australia had half a business brain they would be capitalising on - they don't as evidenced by them basically being a state run enterprise now)

Ford Australia won't be around much longer so if you want one, be quick is my advice

...and then there are fuel prices to consider. Whilst we are paying A$1.16 per litre (about 76p) for unleaded here in Perth, prices are approaching twice that amount in the UK. All Commodores and Falcons are fitted with V6 or V8 engines, which are not really ecomomical on the UK's congested roads. Every man and his dog seems to 'need' a V8 here though (still not really sure why). I guess it is a status thing, especially for the young tradies...they'll practically bankrupt themselves to but a knackered 15-year-old Commodore simply so they can tell their mates they drive a V8. Very odd. It'll probably be crushed for hooning within a few weeks too!

We have a 2008 VE Commodore Omega (2nd one we've had, but the first was a home computer in the early 90's.....), and the build quality is OK, although I think the 4-speed auto box was first seen in Fred Flintstone's daily runabout. It is reliable though, and reasonably ecomonical. It is a nice looking car too. However, compare it to my other car (a 2008 Audi A4 Cabrio which I brought over from the UK), and the quality of materials, especially interior ones, are worlds apart. I've been in a few Falcons (taxis) too, and they're along the same lines as the Holden.

With the strong Aussie dollar, coupled with the high price of cars in general over here, and the sky-high rates for fuel in the UK, I don't think the market for these cars would justify the export hassle. There wouldn't be many spec changes needed (just changing speedometer readings, fitting a rear fog light and perhaps isofix), so it wouldn't be difficult....I just can't see it hapenning.