BirthME, Doulas

The LTD in effect was a Fairlane with even more luxury features such as retractable headlights, a vinyl roof and an even longer wheelbase. The Falcon had been an Australian automotive icon for most of its 56 years in production, playing a prominent part in Australian life, popular culture and motor racing. About 40 salaried workers, 75 hourly workers and 90 contractors across Ford bases in Broadmeadows, Lara and Geelong would be affected, the company confirmed, as the automaker further consolidated its operations. "To see the last Falcon come off the line, and certainly the manufacturing to cease in this country as far as Ford's concerned, is a real disappointment to me, it really is. Falcons have served as taxis, police cars, family runabouts, transport for tradespeople and have been the winning car many times in the Australian Touring Car Championship and at the annual Bathurst 1000 touring car race, where the Falcon's reputation for engineering excellence was cemented by the early 1970s through the Falcon GT and GTHO muscle car variants.

Source: AAP. Ford's engineering work on its Ranger ute and other models "will be led out of the United States", the company said in a statement.

By the turn of the millennium, the Fairlane had been overtaken by the Remaining Australian-based engineers would have a "strategic role" in developing a new medium-sized pick-up truck for Ford and the German brand, the automaker said.Ford Australia started by assembling Model Ts.

It differed little from the American design apart from conversion to Production of the North American Falcon, upon which the Falcon was now loosely based, ended in 1970, forcing Australia to go it alone on design. Ford Australia chief executive Graeme Whickman said it was an honour to be in Broadmeadows to watch the last Falcon XR6 come down the line.

Henry Ford had granted the manufacturing rights of Ford motor vehicles in the British Empire (later the Commonwealth), to Canadian investors. Holden and Toyota will follow, shutting down their Australian manufacturing operations in 2017. It was expected to retain about 1300 workers in Australia.In 2009, the parent Ford company, seeking to avoid the Chapter 11 bankruptcy that had already befallen General Motors and Chrysler, began abandoning overseas projects. After World War II, Ford recommenced assembly of imported Ford models. The first true all-Australian Ford Falcon arrived with the XA model in June 1972. A first factory in Adelaide was closed in 2004, the second assembly line was closed in 2008, resulting again in thousands of jobless workers. As Australia globalised in the 1970s and 80s, tariff reductions exposed local car assembly for the first time to international competition, and a number of plants closed as a result.
Products launched so far include the Ford Ikon and On 24 January 2019, engineers and designers were among more than 100 workers to lose their jobs at Ford in Victoria. "We're moving towards innovation and design and we'll have over 1,100 researchers and designers working on some pretty cool ideas.

Around July 2009 Ford Australia had received permission from Detroit to add a new small car to its Falcon production line. Performance variants of the Falcon have been used extensively for pursuit work for many years. The Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited, known by its trading name Ford Australia, is the former Australian subsidiary of United States-based automaker Ford Motor Company. Updated Updated 07/10/2016. From the third generation of Fairlane onwards, the LTD shared the same wheelbase and body as the Fairlane with it being pitched as a more luxurious version of the Fairlane rather than being a completely different car. The second generation of Fairlane, introduced in 1972 brought a new model into the Australian luxury car market, the LTD. It also produced the Ford has also designated as one of five (worldwide) full-service Regional Product Development Centre, specifically for the Asia Pacific and African regions. Ford Australia produced a range of full-size luxury cars alongside the Falcon for most of its production history. This followed a loss of A$290m in 2011 and a total loss of A$600m over the preceding five years, as a result, 1,200 staff would lose their jobs.From 1972 to 2016, Ford Falcons were fully Australian designed. It was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. "This is one hell of a sad day I can tell you because a lot of my life has gone with the Ford badge all over me," he said on Friday. On 23 May 2013, Ford Australia announced that it would exit the Australian market after 88 years due to uncompetitive manufacturing costs and lacklustre sales. Falcons had dominated the ranks of taxis in Australia and New Zealand, along with sister car, the Ford Fairlane. Ford fans at Australia's biggest motoring race may also be left feeling like the air has been let out of their tyres.The last Ford to be made in Australia coincides with qualifying day at the Bathurst 1000, a tribal battleground between Ford and Holden. Ford Australia chief executive Graeme Whickman said it was an honour to be in Broadmeadows to watch the last Falcon XR6 come down the line.He said the company's legacy would live on despite the end of manufacturing in Australia.

The Fairlane sat on top of the Australian luxury car sales charts for many decades before its gradual downfall starting in the late 1980s with the rising import of foreign luxury cars such as BMW and Mercedes Benz. At that time, Ford Canada was a separate company from Ford USA. For the blue-collar workers saying goodbye to their jobs, it was a sombre day, and owners of locally made Falcons will now be driving collector's items.Ford fan Sam Surace was outside the Broadmeadows factory on Friday with a collection of cars.


"When I was a kid at school I should have been doing homework, but I wasn't I was actually drawing the Ford logo, that's all I kept drawing that little Ford logo," he said. "As the industry transitions, we expect to become the country's largest auto employer by 2018," he said. As Ford introduced new models, these were assembled in Australia. Until 2016, the Falcon line-up was offered in sedan and utility body styles, however in the past panel vans, station wagons, and hardtops were offered.