Federal Government says Falcon and Territory's locally built six-cylinder engine has a few more years in it yet.

"Barra", the locally made engine that has faithfully powered generations of Australian-built Ford cars, will be around for at least the next five years, the federal government has confirmed.

According to Federal Industry Minister Kim Carr, the engine — made at Ford's Geelong-based casting plant — is likely to be a member of Ford's powertrain a*** until at least 2016, after which its future is uncertain.

''For the foreseeable future, Geelong will be supplying engines to Ford,'' Senator Carr said today.
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''Remember ... if it wasn't for the actions of this government, Geelong would have closed three years ago. So my expectation is that we will be providing engines out of Geelong for the current line-up of vehicles as an option for consumers through until at least 2016.''

Ford Australia is expected to switch to a mix of engine choices for its future Falcon and Territory line-up, including an imported V6 ''Duratec'' engine that potentially lacks the same low-down pulling power as the Barra, but improves fuel economy, and an even more economical turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder ''EcoBoost'' engine that will power versions of the Falcon from next year.

The car maker has also recently launched the Territory with a 2.7-litre turbocharged V6 engine in an attempt to sway buyers back to the vehicle that may have been put off by the high fuel-use figures of the petrol version — although it commands a $3000-plus premium.

The diesel engine has replaced the petrol version as the default powertrain on the more expensive, all-wheel-drive versions of the Territory in a move that Ford says reflects a ''strong customer preference for a [diesel] powertrain combination with the AWD capability''.

The company has already struggled to keep the Barra up with increasingly strict emissions laws, with turbocharged versions of the Territory last year failing to meet a July 1 deadline to clean up the engine's exhaust gases.

The turbo variant joined the Territory range in 2006, two years after the model first launched, surprising an industry that was expecting the more fuel-efficient, diesel version that was only launched this year.

According to Senator Carr, problems with the roll-out of the dedicated LPG version of the Falcon — changes to the way the system feeds the fuel into the engine are expected to provide power and fuel economy figures that shadow the petrol version — have hurt the car's sales.

According to Ford, the decision to stop making the dedicated LPG version of the Falcon in September last year has eroded the car maker's sales since its demise, with gas-powered models at one time accounting for almost one in four Ford sales in Australia.

However, Senator Carr's reference to future generations of the Barra engine as an ''option'' for buyers suggests it won't be the showroom staple that we've come to expect.

Ford Australia spokeswoman Sinead McAlary said the company did not have an ''end date'' for its Geelong-made engine or the plant that builds it.

''We're continuing to invest in our local line-up, including all the new technologies we're launching this year,'' she said.

''The in-line six-cylinder engine remains the standard engine for Falcon but will be supplemented later this year with the addition of the new liquid-injection LPG system and the introduction next year of the EcoBoost four-cylinder engine.

''Neither of those will be standard fitment, however. They'll both be optional on various vehicles within the range,'' McAlary said.


Source: http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/ford ... 1e8yu.html

good to hear not only for the trusty inline 6
but for all those jobs a geelong

well said. i agree

thank goodness

+1, good move. Hopefully we get an option on engines with more power than the Barra in the future - or perhaps the gap between 6cyl. and V8 will finally widen to the point where it's worth getting the V8 rather than a turbo...

stick a charged coyote in one and watch the sales fly

I tire of the engine dying talk. the big 6 still has its place, if you want a high reving small block 6 that can't decide which gear its in, holden have what you need.

Ford should just shutup & build cars, thats what their competitors are doing

What really bothers me is that a political big wig comes out and says "if it wasn't for govt assistance, Ford Aus would have folded years ago" or other self rghteous s**t to that effect.

Personally I can't wait for the ecoboost. If the pricing is right and its within my financial means, that's what I'll be aspiring to own.

The only good thing to come out of the above news is that fords supposed fwd/awd platform will be delayed by a few years. Hopefully the economic stuation swings in our favour by then. As it stands Australia is the most expensive country to manufacture anything in within the whole world. And the bad news is that even though our dollar s going up, its buying us less and less in our own country. I can't even begin to imagine what an aussie built exported falcon or commo would cost overseas.

when a Falcon is released with a Diesel or a V6. i will not own it.

Wow...biased much?

I'd much love to see a Diesel Falcon on an AWD platform, or Diesel Territory. Good mileage and diesel is just a tad more expensive than fuel. Just costs an arm and a leg if the engine dies.

I'll buy what ever suits me at the time, if a V6 or Diesel, or even a 4T fits that bill, then so be it.
being one eyed and short sided is simply stupid, and a good way to miss out of decent offerings.

Have to agree with WILDEB on this one. A falcon without a 6 or a 8 or even worse one that is fwd would most likely end up in me never looking at a new ford with any enthusiasm at all. The big six has always been a falcon thing, well to me it has.

Well, without getting too technical and boring you all, I think you'll find it's not a case of our economy being particularily strong, but a case of the US economy being particularily weak. Good old hidden inflation is also making life a merry hell, hence the reason your dollar is buying you bugger all these days. Seems the gubberment and ABS are quite content to keep feeding us all a load of s**t re our real position, so I guess you'll just have to suck it up and enjoy the a*** raping...

thats what i mean. the Falcon is known for it's straight 6 or V8. and RWD. not FWD ( ) or AWD.

I could live with a AWD falcon but getting rid of the 6 is just plain sacrilegious.