It’s clearly ridiculous to bring out a car inferior to your competitors if you want to stay in the game, unless you have a mindaltering super marketing team to create spin, but that only takes you so far to the point where test drives are concerned.

I think you are looking at a bigger picture of exporting, I was referring to engineering the Falcon to be capable of LHD that could be used for exporting programs, which undoubtly the choice to produce focus here provided the drive not to spend the money into LHD engineering, and this incapability of LHD means that there will definately be no exporting from this model of Falcon. I might has sounded vague previously in what i said, sorry.

As for performance and efficiency, its attempting to appease the current market (Local Aus), because they are not going to export, they might as well spend to attempt to take to top spot in the current market, its not pushing the global thing aside but because Aus is their only market they might as well try their best to appease us.

the money that was to be for the falcon export program was transferred to the Focus program.
it is well documented as that was the case as there was a government grant involved.

any money spent on refineing the I6 motor didnt come from the same pool of $’s
i also doubt that a few consumers wanting a tiny bit more power is going to push a global program aside

Improving the donk was what the feedback was received by the consumers, they wanted more power and more effeciency. And Ford thought it was better spent than making a LHD capable Falcon for exporting.

Theres no doubt if Falcon is a success, we’ll see 2010 with the new engine a LHD possibility would be there.

I thought the Focus 2 be in Aus was already on the books already?

it was either the export falcon program or make the focus here program.

i dont know where refining the current donk fits into your equation