plonky The Bionic Man - half man-half titanium Member 1,766 Member For: 21y 10m 13d Location: Dodge Scat Pack Posted 28/04/04 06:57 AM Share Posted 28/04/04 06:57 AM I think it is funny how the Aussie cars are always compared with the BMW/Merc or the Toyota/Mazda. We are still years behind the rest of the world (except the USA/russia) as we cannot deliver a complete package. By this I mean from the time you look at the car, the brochures you receive, the followup from the sales person, the way you are treated, the ordering process, the after order process, the delivery, the aftersales followup, the service department, the ongoing relationship management, the notification of new models and special invitations to events, the way the car company presents its models.....here in australia we suffer from N F I when it comes to the complete package. All you need to do is spend 10 mins on this or the Expensive Daewoo forums and find out the problems that are occuring on a regular basis. Most people are not happy with anything except the car. We feel we were not treated as a valued client by the dealer and Ford, we think the service departments are full of apprentices (they are) and cannot be trusted to do anything except basic servicing and then the car company releases Series 2,3,4,5 of our cars that have minor changes and causes our cars to drop faster in value.I bought my wife a new Kluger CVX with most options last year and it was a pleasent experience. I was treated well, they followed the sale through, I was kept informed and the car is great. We have had no warranty problems and we are happy with the purchase. Already I am pi$$ed off with my T purchase and I do not even have the car yet. It is 3 weeks alte and will be another 3 weeks until I see it apparently. The dealer is a lying moron and they have no concept of service. I only bought the T because it was a T not because it was a ford or the dealer was recommended, it was only for the Car. I just hope my car is build right and I do not need to get angry with the service department.I think it is very arrogant to compare the new territory to the Kluger or X5 as they may be in the same catagory of cars, but no where near the same class. When Ford and Expensive Daewoo get the rest of their act together they can start to compare with the euro and asian car makers. You have some very good points in your post and I agree a lot with them.It is very hard being a manufacturer in Australia and it is a real balance keeping the staff happy and keeping productivity and QC up without increasing the overall costs of the vehicle.Pride in workmanship over all else seems to be lacking. I guess you cannot compare the pride of workmanship and quality control with a Japanese car compared to an Australian built car. A good example is the job cuts at the Electrolux plant in Orange. The union waged a vicious and personal campaign upon the General Manager there (who is a close friend and was previously with FoMoCo in a senior managerial role in development of the BA)The union waged strike action. A large majority of the employees were bullied into strike action even though Scott explained to the staff that he was doing his best to keep the plant open because Electrolux could quite easily shut it down and move it's operations off shore where the costs were cheaper and the quality was better.I spoke with a lot of the employees who told me that tthey wanted to go back to work (because of the money) but the union wanted to stay out to pressure the company to accede to their demands. I told the guys that I spoke to that the union sponges will still get paid because they are funded by fees from a large number of different job streams throughout the country and the employees themselves could lose their jobs. Ultimately the workers went back to work but it was too late. The company have decided to wind back their operations thus retrenching 1500 employees.So who wins in this. Nobody it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercturbo Member 696 Member For: 21y 11m 5d Location: Geelong Posted 28/04/04 07:02 AM Share Posted 28/04/04 07:02 AM I have a TX and GHIA test drive booked for Sat, One thing that is crap is that apparently premium sound is unavailable in TX . So you're stuck with basic sound, this is crap Ford don't start this bullsh!t already, otherwise so far Territory looks the goods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennAUII Former XT pilot Lifetime Members 4,791 Member For: 21y 6m 30d Gender: Male Location: The Womb Posted 28/04/04 07:27 AM Share Posted 28/04/04 07:27 AM Well the TX is XT spec, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondie Firm Member Donating Members 2,924 Member For: 22y 3m 21d Location: Adelaide Hills Posted 28/04/04 11:43 AM Share Posted 28/04/04 11:43 AM Sorry Mondie, I think that you're out of luck looking for a V8 Territory...During the FoMoCo tour last year, Geoff Polites mentioned that due to space constraints, there is no chance that they will be able to fit a V8... But he did admit that here was some serious thought given to dropping the XR6T donk in there ! Geoff said that this sort of project would probably be handled by FPV - will we see a Territory with the F6 engine ? Thanks Twinxrs.A 280kw turbo version with some decent suspension, good gearbox and the FPV treatment would be neat. If l could buy something like that for similar money to a GT-P l would be seriously tempted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murph Member 27 Member For: 22y 1m 16d Location: Sydney, Australia Posted 28/04/04 01:01 PM Share Posted 28/04/04 01:01 PM I would have to agree with ZAP's post, while I'm considering purchasing my next car from Ford (either a new XR8 or FPV Territory when they come out) my previous experience with a new purchase from Ford was not good.I purchased a new AUII Falcon a few years ago as a company car, first off the sales service from the dealer was appalling especially with how many cars the company purchased. Then two weeks after owning the car the body computer failed leaving us stranded a good two hours from home. The car had to be towed back to Sydney at the company's expense. Then 7mths old the auto packed it in blowing out the rear seal. What a mess that was. This was after several visits to the dealer for warranty repairs from rattles to product recalls.Anyway was offered a new job and had to purchase a new car and decided to go for a medium 4WD. After looking at several vehicles I choose a Pathfinder, well what can I say what a fantastic car this has been. My experience with Nissan has been nothing but sensational and after three years of service the Pathfinder has no rattles, is still tight as a drum, starts everytime first time, and never been in for a single warranty repair. This car has been up and down the east coast towing jetski's and all the gear needed for two or three of us to go racing and makes several trips off road.So while I'm a Ford man I do hope my buying experience with Ford is much better than before.Anyway back on subject I’m interested to see how the overnight test drives go, as I have a email somewhere that states just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Here since the start... Lifetime Members 10,282 Member For: 21y 9m 28d Gender: Male Location: Victoria Posted 29/04/04 07:21 AM Share Posted 29/04/04 07:21 AM Fordtech just sent me a SMS to tell me he's got his Territory evaluation vehicle! I'm taking it for a spin later! I'll let you all know what I think! Well I've driven the Territory and I must say I'm impressed. Even though it was the TX the interior still looked quite upmarket. It didn't drive like a slug as you may think it might, but it's no XR6T either. I'm not sure about the orange coloured ICC and instruments though. The finish of the interior is spot on, and there's heaps of head room, I wish my ute could achieve the same drivers seat position without me hitting my head on the roof. The ride is smooth and very quiet from inside the cabin, much quieter than my ute, not sure about the BA sedan though.I think Ford have a winner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdennis Brendan Dennis Member 750 Member For: 22y 4m 8d Gender: Male Location: Melbourne, Vic Posted 30/04/04 08:02 AM Author Share Posted 30/04/04 08:02 AM Fordtech just sent me a SMS to tell me he's got his Territory evaluation vehicle! I'm taking it for a spin later! I'll let you all know what I think! Well I've driven the Territory and I must say I'm impressed. Even though it was the TX the interior still looked quite upmarket. It didn't drive like a slug as you may think it might, but it's no XR6T either. I'm not sure about the orange coloured ICC and instruments though. The finish of the interior is spot on, and there's heaps of head room, I wish my ute could achieve the same drivers seat position without me hitting my head on the roof. The ride is smooth and very quiet from inside the cabin, much quieter than my ute, not sure about the BA sedan though.I think Ford have a winner! Guys,I drive a Ghia the other day. (Leather / Premium etc)What can I say.. Very nice... I was most impressed. It obviously was lacking in power (compaired to the T) but.. Was still nice to drive. Visibility was definately a + over the Falcon. Apparently in the Territory if you order a Ghia, the Leather is no extra cost... The normal Climate control and Premium sonud is Standard..The dealers are a bit thick fairdinkum... They have the car sitting on the lot over night but but continue to say to all that there are NO overnight drives available.. Does anyone have anyhting from Ford suggesting that this is possible..?? As I am sure if they (the dealer) thought about it, they could manage the over night loan thing and sell even more cars...The sale person I dealt with mentioned (when asked) that they had a roumor that the T6 was in one and was being tested.. I said, that IF next time the T is due for replacement (in just over 2 years) then if the I6 had a nice GT40 bolted to it then the Territory would be a goer..... My 2c... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ms700 Moderating Team 10,170 Member For: 22y 22d Gender: Male Location: Sydney Posted 30/04/04 08:10 AM Share Posted 30/04/04 08:10 AM My boss just returned from Sydney, after test driving a Territory with Ford. He rates it highly, and predicts it will be a big seller.He was explaining some of the features to me (downhill assist etc) and it sounds good! We aren't expecting delivery of our first until Early June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Here since the start... Lifetime Members 10,282 Member For: 21y 9m 28d Gender: Male Location: Victoria Posted 30/04/04 10:51 AM Share Posted 30/04/04 10:51 AM The dealers are a bit thick fairdinkum... They have the car sitting on the lot over night but but continue to say to all that there are NO overnight drives available.. Does anyone have anyhting from Ford suggesting that this is possible..?? As I am sure if they (the dealer) thought about it, they could manage the over night loan thing and sell even more cars... I asked Fordtech and he said that the overnight drive is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camerooch Member 129 Member For: 21y 9m 1d Location: Melbourne Posted 30/04/04 11:11 PM Share Posted 30/04/04 11:11 PM Cant wait for the TURBO version ??!!! - (Who Said That...!!!!???) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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