Show and tell

FORD Australia president Tom Gorman has defended his decision to reintroduce the Mondeo Down Under, arguing that the advantages the new-generation medium-sized car will bring for consumers and dealers will outweigh the damage it could inflict on Falcon sales and the Australian manufacturing sector in general.

Driving another wedge between the Blue Oval brand and its archrival Holden, which has just abandoned Europe as the source for its medium-sized car (Vectra) for the South Korean-built Epica, Mr Gorman said the Belgium-built Mondeo – which is due for release here in October – would give it a much-needed diesel and four-cylinder option in the medium/large-car segment while still preserving Ford’s core "DNA".

"It’s critical that if the market is moving, we have to go where our customers are – we have a responsibility to our customer base, and a responsibility to our dealer franchise," Mr Gorman told GoAuto at the Melbourne International Motor Show last week.

"We can’t tell our dealers – no, let’s buck the trend and just go out there and sell a product that the market isn’t coming to in the same numbers.

"When you see the new Falcon, it’s going to be a stunning car, it’s going to put us in great stead in that segment, but that segment is a lot smaller than it was even two years ago.

"So it would be irresponsible of us not to go where the customer wants us to go – and in certain cases, actually lead the customer (such as) with the TDCi engine in this vehicle."Mr Gorman confirmed that three engines (including diesel) would be available in the Mondeo range, along with sedan and hatch bodystyles and three trim levels.

He said the car – which is known to have a number of design cues that will be used on the all-new Falcon due around March 2008 – would be on sale before the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney in October, but declined to nominate an expected sales volume.

He also took this swipe at Holden: "We think we are miles apart from the red team – we have a completely different strategy. Our strategy is to be consistent with our brand, and our brand is all about great-style cars – beautiful vehicles ...and it’s about outstanding driving dynamics.

"We have that in every product, from a Focus up through Falcon, our cars are fantastic driving cars. That’s really what’s inherent in the DNA of the Ford brand in Australia, and we’re sticking to that. And that’s why Mondeo’s going to work for us.

"We think that we have to be true to what our brand is delivering. If it’s all about just buying cheap, that may work in the short term but in the long term what are you really doing to your brand strength over time? Holden has a very, very different strategy. Their strategy is to take a Daewoo and put a Holden brand on it."It remains to be seen whether Ford Australia can make a success out of a European-built medium-sized car – something Holden has struggled with, and which Ford, too, has failed before with previous iterations of the Mondeo.

"From an overall sales performance, and the fact that we don’t sell the car today, you’re correct in saying that it wasn’t a home run for us," Mr Gorman said. "But the owners that have Mondeo are incredibly loyal, very satisfied.

There was great quality in the car, great durability, good resale value, so from that standpoint it worked well.

"Some of the criticism was that maybe the styling wasn’t as advanced as we would have liked in this market, and maybe some of the performance issues – it was a little bit underpowered. So when were looking at relaunching the Mondeo name, we thought, well, should we change the name, should we keep it, but when we talked to customers, the name wasn’t a problem."Performance, and perceptions thereof, is crucial. The Australian Mondeo will be sold with a 96kW 2.0-litre "Duratorq TDCi" turbo-diesel engine paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, while a 103kW version, combined with a six-speed manual gearbox, should also be made available.

The remaining two engines on offer in Australia are almost certain to be a 107kW 2.3-litre "Duratec HE" four-cylinder petrol (paired with a six-speed auto) and a 162kW 2.5-litre Duratec five-cylinder petrol (with six-speed manual).

"We think we can put the two vehicles (Mondeo and Falcon) side-by-side," Mr Gorman said. "I think they’re distinct vehicles – when you get to look at the new Falcon you’ll see that there are design differences – and the powertrain line-up is going to be different enough that we can think we can separate the two and make really good sense in the showroom.

"It’s less looking at the size of the (mid-size) segment than it is really looking at from a price-point standpoint and from a powertrain line-up. And it’s a stunning vehicle ... that’s going to sell the car as well."Ford Australia’s vice-president of marketing and sales Mark Winslow was also unconcerned about potential cannibalisation of Falcon sales.

"We think a lot of the people that are going to come to Mondeo probably haven’t been to a Ford showroom for a while, so we don’t see a lot of substitution there," he told GoAuto. "And if you look at where that market is going, I think we’ve got the right product at the right time.

"If the reaction of our dealers is anything to show by, they actually agree with us – we’re going to see people into the Ford showrooms just like we saw new customers with Territory."Interestingly, Mondeo pricing in the UK will range from &pound 14,995 ($A37,229) to &pound 24,195 ($A60,098) when it hits the streets in June – about the same price range as the current Aussie-built Falcon.

The Brits will offer four specifications (Edge, Zetec, Ghia and Titanium X) and all models will be fitted standard with seven airbags (including a driver’s knee airbag), stability control, ABS brakes, "follow me home" lighting, an alarm and an MP3-compatible stereo.

Zetec will have 16-inch alloy wheels, front foglights and climate-control air-conditioning, while Ghia will get 17-inch alloys, automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, power-fold door mirrors and a higher-grade stereo. Titanium X will be fitted with full Alcantara/leather trim, a start button, adaptive headlights (with cornering function), blue tinted glass and a premium instrument cluster.

As for the 2007 Falcon, Mr Gorman said "nothing in our plans has slowed us down" and that "development has gone extremely well and we’re really pleased with the early builds". And why was it not on show in Melbourne?"Each kid needs to stand on its own, right? When one of your children does well, you don’t talk about all three kids, you talk about the one kid that did the best that day. This is a day about the products that we revealed today – there will be plenty of time to talk about Falcon."

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World debut: Ford unveils Mondeo in Melbourne

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