Ford saves engine plant – for now
November 24, 2008 by David Twomey
Ford Australia’s decision to save the in-line six-cylinder engine that it has built in Geelong, west of Melbourne, for the more than 40 years is certainly a positive move for the Australian car industry, but it still leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
- David Twomey
As a result of the decision announced by a beaming new Ford Australia president (and Geelong local boy), Marin Burela, flanked by the Victorian premier, John Brumby, and Federal Industry Minister, Senator Kim Carr, the plant will not close in 2010 as planned and the Ford 4.0-litre, six-cylinder engine will be engineered to meet the stricter Euro IV emission standards that come into force that year.
The company says the development means that 400 jobs at Ford will remain, while an estimated 900 jobs in the component industry have also been saved.
“This decision is good news, not only for our employees in Geelong, our suppliers and the surrounding community, but also for the many fans of our I6 engine, which will now be re-engineered to achieve Euro IV emissions standards,” said Mr Burela.
“This is the first step in a broad product investment strategy to reduce emissions and deliver improved fuel economy across our locally built vehicle line-up, including Falcon, Falcon Ute and Territory.”
To carry out the plan Ford Australia, with the blessing of its US parent but no financial help, will stump up $21 million, while the Federal Government will reactivate a previous grant of $13-million that was cancelled when the closure announcements was made, and the Victorian Government will tip in an unspecified amount of money.
Premier Brumby refused to be drawn on how much help the state government was offering but said it was “substantial”.
CarAdvice understands most of the changes needed to bring the engine up to Euro IV were already developed when the decision to close the engine plant was announced, but more recent developments in engine calibration and refined catalyst technology will be incorporated into the new engine.
Ford spokespeople seemed to indicate that the advances had been so significant over the past 18 months that what seemed impossibility then was now achievable.
Mr Burela also made much of developing further powertrain options for the Falcon range but wouldn’t be drawn on just what those options were. He indicated some would be announced in coming months and CarAdvice believes some, at least, will entail much more sophisticated and refined LPG engines, which would give Ford an opportunity to build on the Falcon’s already leading edge in the LPG powered market.
“Our investment will go into developing the engine to meet Euro IV emission standards, standards that currently don’t exist in Australia, standards that will in fact take the whole development process of the engine to a whole new level that will deliver the environmental targets and standards that will make it viable into the next decade,” Mr Burela said.
He added that Ford Australia was actively working with companies that form its local supply chain, who had thought the engine was dead and buried.
“It’s an incredible day for our suppliers, who have supported us through thick and thin, many of whom have felt the pain and the difficulties that the industry has suffered as a whole over the years and certainly over the last few months,” Mr Burela said.
“We will continue to source components from those suppliers and we are talking with them as we speak about what this will mean to them.”
Mr Burela began his plan to save the engine plant with late night phone calls to Senator Carr, within days of getting the top Ford Australia job.
The two men agreed to meet and discuss the plan as soon as Mr Burela arrived in Australia and as Senator Carr said “it was all done in six weeks.”
Mr Burela refused to be drawn on the future of the Ford Falcon and its rear-wheel-drive platform but did indirectly indicate that the decision to stick with the in-line six-cylinder engine meant that the current FG Falcon would probably be around longer than originally planned, and could be expected to remain in production until about 2015.
The engine will certainly appear in the next Ford Territory, which we believe is still on schedule for a launch in early 2009.
Just how many years the decision will eventually mean for the huge plant that dominates the entrance into the Victorian coastal city is still unclear but Mr Burela has shown that he can think outside the square, that he is quite well connected when it comes to dealing with the political forces in power and he can take tough decisions, both cutting the workforce where he believes it needs cutting but at the same time saving an iconic Australian engine and its manufacturing plant.
Print it: 
Develop a “proper” LPG engine and they will be on a winner.
That’s a really cute !!
I am new to your blog and found it very refreshing and
informative.
you keep saying that, but ford have sold a dedicated gas falcon with the BF for quite a while now yet hardly anyone except taxi fleets bought them… People just don’t accept LPG, i’m not quite sure of the reason, but they just don’t…
Its a great engine. Why do we buy rubbish 4cyl SUV’s that use more fuel and handle like a second hand easywalker?
I can’t help but think though that this means that we wont be seeing a left hand drive falcon anytime soon. The re-engineer was to coincide with the intro of the v6.
Could Ford be ready to do a “cortina” and slap the johnholmes of engine configurations that the inline 6 is across the front of the next generation focus!?
people dont like lpg because of the old thoughts about, “i wont have boot space”, “its dangerous”, “if anyone rear-ends me ill explode”…people who dont realise they already drive cars powered by a volatile substance
Vaggeli – yeah i agree that its probably the “its dangerous” stigma that has stopped LPG becoming mainstream, its a shame but i think its also fact
Combine that belief of a bomb even though petrol in a plastic tank isnt at all safer, i think the belief that LPG offers less power and some people actually think there is minimal savings as the consumption is so high compared to petrol. But we all know when tuned properly those beliefs are wrong. Ford may well change that belief if they get it right. There shouldnt be such a massive difference in power as there is at the moment. If they get it right the LPG version should produce more power and even meet Euro 5 emissions laws. Once they got a more sophisticated injection method there should be no reason not to fit stability control and the 5spd and 6spd auto’s. If Ford make a sporty version maybe even a XR6 Turbo that blows v8’s away at less than the running cost of a Corrola then market it well as a safe 5star, sporty, green, hug the trees, save the whales car. Ford should take more of the market.
Trackdaze, HAHA!! might need some nip and tuck to fit that big mother in a focus.
Oh and Richo, there has been a dedicated Gas falcon since AUII back in 2001. Before that Tickford were offering LPG kits from factory since the EB.
Minnow on youtube there’s a Focus with an XR6 Turbo engine fitted in New Zealand… quite an interesting project. Worth looking for.
This decision only means that the local production of Ford vehicles will now definitely cease in 2013, and that’s it. There is no financial viability for Ford to develop a new car with a new engine for the small Oz market after that, and this engine was the cheapest option for the remainder of the production.
Territory will be well and truly outdated by then so there will be no more 4WD’s, Falcon platform will be outdated and the engine production will be dead by 2013, and I just don’t see Ford spending $2Billion just so they can make and sell 15,000 cars per year.
juggsy Says:
November 25th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Interesting negative perspective juggsy…….
Question though, Territory will be out dated by then?? I find that interesting asd it is one of the newest modified platforms on the Aust made market. I don’t douybt that the deicision is leaving the door open to drop the current vehicle in 2013 if it can’t be Euro5 complied and the numbers are still low, but I also believe it can also be seen as the GRWD platform is still open and thus engineering can concentrate on the whole package for follow on from FG. As Mr B said, this could see FG in 2015, thus allowing plenty of time to sort out a platform above the Euro CD size.
Hey just the optimistic view ;-)
@ Richo…
But those same people are more than happy to get into a cab when they need to.
The problem with the current LPG Falcon is the engine is not uniquely designed to run on LPG and get the best out of it. The only thing that makes it a dedicated LPG vehicle is the lack of a petrol tank and it’s associated hardware, and some slight engine tuning.
A true LPG dedicated engine could probably, if not definitely out perform its petrol cousin due to the increased tune-ability the higher Octane number that LPG has, allows.
You would have thought Ford would have learnt something by now…export the Falcon to other places other than NZ. Perhaps they could test the waters in the UK with the F6, it would be a weapon on euro fuel.
I am a Falcon owner.
The reasons why I did not choose dedicated lpg are:
1. Loss of Boot Space
2. Loss of performance
3. Potential for problems with mixer type installations
4. I don’t want dedicated Gas ( I prefer dual fuel)
I am now looking at aftermarket Gas Injection conversions and tank options before deciding on either a Territory or a Ute for next purchase.
Until there is a system which does not compromise the car in any way, I will not convert a SEDAN. Only a Ute or Wagon. And that I believe is the problem, not fear of explosion. People want a system with no compromises!
Gas is a real option for savings, our Patrol runs dual fuel and is cheaper to run per year than a petrol 6 cylinder sedan.
Is it just me, or does the main reason the factory seems to be remaining open is to secure jobs for people? It doesn’t seem like there is much profit coming from the I6 engines? Sure its great if they’re keeping it open to keep jobs for people, but on a business perspective is it going to put Ford in Debt?
Thanks Mr Burella for helping at Geelong.
For all those who wrote unfavourably of Mr Burella’s appointment when he got the job….
Any wise crack comments now?
The current egas lpg is the gas eqivalent of throttle body fuel injection as opposed to the real mc coy being multipoint injected system. As a result horsepower is down as well as efficiency. Proper injected gas systems offer same performance and economy.
Egas is still very economical to run and given power is only down towards redline is still ok but not as good as it could be.
My egas au ute with 270,000klms on it gets between 450 to 500 klms out of 80 litre tank around the sydney suburbs and better than 630klm on the highway sitting on 120kph.
Never had any probs with the egas system.
I’m not really sure of the proposed 3.5 US-based engine for the Falcon two years from now. Being smaller in displacement, it will probably have less useful torque. They shouldn’t go the way Holden did migrating from the pushrod 3.8 to the Alloytec 3.6 which worsened torque spread for the Commodore.
The 4-liter is a great engine, robust and LPG-ready. Although some people are still sceptic with this form of fuel due to conversion issues, contaminated supply from some stations, and the fact that it doesn’t work together with new technology like stability control and cylinder shutoff. I would probably say the E-Gas should get the current spec engine and at least a 5-speed auto.
Lee,
the E-Gas falcon is tuned specificlly for LPG, and is the only vehicle on our roads (pewrhaps in the world) offered that way.
its not just different tuning, but different piston rings and spark plugs etc.
why do you think an E-Gas falcon doesnt have to be run on petrol every now and then, whereas a dual fuelled vehicle does.
Richo,
do you honestly think LPG isnt as safe as petrol??
come on mate, get off it.
For starters an LPG vehicle is easier and safer to fuel. it has a sealed coupling that ensures no spills and less fumes escaping compared to petrol.
Oh, and in case you didnt know, the smell you get from LPG is only because they add that smell to it so you had a leak, you could smell it.
if LPG was pretty dangerous, we would see barbecues blowing up all over australia. I know autogas is slightly different to your typical BBQ gas, but its essentially the same for arguments sake.
Also, how do you know no one is buying the E-Gas falcons??
WRONG…….
fords percentage of E-Gas to petrol models has increased quite substantially.
Alec,
the only valid reason you have for not having chosen dedicated LPG is that you prefer Dual fuel.
with dedicated, you wont get an LPG tank in the tray of that ute you were eyeing off. they actually put the LPG tank where the petrol tank would normally be
LPG performance isnt related to whether its dedicated or not, its related to what brand of system you are running.
potential problems with mixer types??
well Taxis have always used this system and apparently prefer it because its basic and proven. and on top of that, if something does go wrong, its cheap as chips to fix.
the taxis have always used the system that ford still currently uses. the brand starts with a “V”, the name slips my mind.
what may be a surprise to many is that when ford introduced the dedicated LPG in AU11, it was only down by about 10kw, BUT it picked up 8NM??? of torque.
and on top of that it reached its 100% torque at around 1000RPM lower, also the power was also reached quite a bit lower in the range.
as far as drving LPG goes, the main difference is in the high end of the rev range (as already touched on).
because LPG reaches its power earlier, it struggles around 4500-5000RPM.
that is where the big difference can be felt.
ford hasnt put anything (well bugger all) into their LPG system over the years, whereas they have with the petrol equivalent.
its more a case of the Petrol falcon being advanced, but the LPG not so. Perhaps they didnt want to spend much on it as most LPG’ers go to fleets anyway.
I also know there was legal issues preventing Injected LPG coming on board earlier
On topic,
this new Honcho seems to actually have some drive about him.
about time.
good to see him getting in their and trying/pushing for stuff.
good riddens to the basketballing waffle eating yankees that previously held the reins
I knew this bloke would actually care once i read his CV.
With him being Australian alone showed he might actually care about this countries operatioins
also, nothing even suggests that the I6 will be dead in 2013.
its suggested that another 10 years has been guaranteed for this motor.
no matter what company, or what industry, to have a product planned in / guaranteed for 8 years is a big deal.
is toyotas current donk GUARANTEED for ever??
is it even Guaranteed for half of the time that the IU6 is now Guaranteed for??
Holden will probably go through another V6 donk before the I6’s guaranteed time line comes through.
8 years gives tham a hell of a lot more time to try and plan this motor into more and more things to guarantee its future well past 2015.
Well done Marin Burela,
i look forward to more great and hard fought decisions.
now would you bring the Kuga here to plaese NM???
Andrew M,
All 4 of my reasons are valid for not choosing LPG
You should read my post again mate.
Take note especially where I mention the ‘boot’.
Until I don’t lose space in that part of the car, I’m not interested.
That is why I am looking at a territory or ute.
And even with Dual Fuel I wont be having my tank in the tray, it will be underneath where it belongs! As it it usually!
Yes I prefer Dual Fuel for 2 reasons
1. Remember the contamination issues a couple of months ago? Its always good to have a back up!
2. Also I like having the extra 500km or so range from dual fuel for my big trips.
I am not knocking Ford at all, I am one of their biggest advocates amongst my mates, however before i buy a sedan with a gas tank, I want my compromises fixed, and also wouldn’t mind a small emergency 25 litres sub tank for petrol too! This goes for all manufacturers!
Alec,
the way i read your post was your reasons for not wanting a DEDICATED fuel system.
I find that a Dual fuel system is more of a compromise than dedicated fuel system.
you wont get an LPG tank and petrol tank under every ute.
you may get both under a Jap ute, but some of them lose the towbar and certainly the spare tyre becomes a tray bound item.
dedicated LPG will see spare tyre and all totally under the tray.
and on emergency fuel, i reckon they would be better off coming up with some sort od emergency canister that you could refuel roadside with, perhaps even if the RACQ had on for starters.
but with that if you run out of fuel you have to wait for roadservice (typiclly), and if you run out of LPG you also have to wait for roadservice, but instead tell them that you ran out of LPG so they can send a different unit to tow you to the nearest service station.
the way i see it, you wont eliminate the tuning compromise until you have a dedicated fuel.
the commodore came out with a more advanced system than the falcons LPG system, yet it still couldnt match let alone beat the economy of the old tech LPG falcon.
and on fuel contamination,
less chance of that happening with LPG.
sure it happened, but very rare.
no different to all the unleaded contaminations that take place and appear on today tonight every second night.
at least when the LPG comtamination was found down south there, action was taken and someone took responsibility declaring remuneration for repairs.
if unleaded contamination takes place, all you get is a camera shot on today tonight of some dodgy looking Indian running away from the camera.
Im an LPG fan, and yes i agree fords system could be so much better (and will be as of Jan ‘09, about time), but what i am not is a dual fuel fan.
how can an engine be optimised to run on 2 fuels with different characteristics efficiently???
Oh,
and just to be clear,
do you, or do you not realise that the LPG falcons dont have their tanks in the boot, tray or any cargo space for that matter.
also do you realise that if its not a dedicated LPG, that your instrumentation wont work???
no fuel guage, no Dist till empty etc.
on the dedicated falcon all of that still works,
on a dual fueld vehicle, you only get 4 Leds.
Dedicated fuel isnt near as much a compromise as dual fuel.
thats why im a fan of dedicated, but no so much dual.
big difference between the 2 in my eyes
If 2013 isnt the drop dead date why not invest the committment in euroIV compliance longer term into euroV?
It smacks a bit of our typical australian mentality, only doing what is necessary to get a job done and not really pushing the envelope.
either way, if 1300 jobs are saved then great.
WVB,
do you wonder why we even bothered producing video tapes??
why not go straight to “blue ray” disks???
going further costs more money and time.
if they spent oodles on taking the emissions 5 steps ahead of the targets, the cost of the falcon may go up by like 5K
ford even says achieving euro IV today is easier and cheaper to do than when the originally announced cutting the engine.
why buy a rear projector telly 5 years ago when LCD is all the rage now??
did you buy an LCD when they first came out for like 10K