New Statesman Crushes Fairlane

[JoeT]

New Statesman Crushes Fairlane

Joshua Dowling
21 April 2006
www.drive.com.au

Holden's next limousine is poised to squeeze out the competition.

The new Holden Statesman may have claimed its first scalp even before it goes on sale. The Ford Fairlane, Australia's oldest automotive nameplate, is likely to be phased out due to slow sales and its newer rival.

Holden customarily releases its luxury Statesman model two to three years after the Commodore sedan.

But it has caught the industry by surprise by planning to release an all-new Statesman barely one month after the VE Commodore, which is due on sale in August.

Ford would have been expecting the Holden Statesman to arrive in 2008 at the earliest and the Fairlane was scheduled to continue to 2010.

But the Fairlane may be phased out sooner, thanks to a dramatic decline in sales.

According to figures provided by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Fairlane sales are falling at a greater rate than the Falcon.

Fairlane sales are down by 24 per cent in the first three months of this year compared with the same period in 2005, while Falcon sales are down by 11.2 per cent. Only 288 Fairlanes have been sold this year.

Holden sold 548 Statesmans in the first three months of this year, which is a drop of 31.2 per cent.

But such a sharp drop is expected when a model is in run-out mode.

When asked about the future of the Fairlane during a media briefing in Sydney last week, the president of Ford Australia, Tom Gorman, said: "It's fair to say we're considering our investment propositions. [The Fairlane] is a tough decision.

"You look at the numbers and you scratch your head. Everybody's nervous about this. The volume is so small and our performance hasn't been brilliant. That part of the market is declining and we can't ignore what's happening to it."

When asked if the early arrival of the new Statesman would be a factor in the decision to keep or kill the Fairlane, Gorman said: "Competition is a bad thing. You always want the competition to have an older car and for you to have fresher car. New and fresh models typically sell well in this market segment."

Holden says the only reason it is able to continue to sell a Statesman is strong export demand.

Only one in five Australian made Statesmans are sold here; the rest are exported, primarily to the Middle East, where the car is badged as a Chevrolet.

When Drive contacted Holden this week about the Fairlane's struggle, company insiders said they predicted the demise of the Fairlane - because they know how much they are struggling with Statesman.

"The only reason [the Statesman] is sold here is because of the export program," said the Holden source. "We knew [Ford] would be struggling to make the numbers add up because the Statesman wouldn't make economic sense to build if it were just for Australia."

In addition to pressure from rising petrol prices, Ford's and Holden's biggest sedans have also recently been challenged by the new Chrysler 300C, which is now second in the class behind the Statesman and ahead of the Fairlane.

Frustratingly for Ford and Holden, most Chrysler 300C have been bought by private or business buyers who've paid close to full retail for the car, whereas the majority of Statesmans and Fairlanes are sold at significant discounts to governments and other large fleets, often 20 per cent off the recommended retail price.

Because the Statesman and Fairlane are sold at cut-price rates, this makes it more difficult to justify a new model.

Slow Selling Ford Fairlane & LTD Face The Axe


New 2006 WM Statesman

[mbukukanyau]

Nice looking sedan. Is it still a Catera plartform?

[JoeT]

Zeta, just like the new Buick Statesman will be, says Bob Lutz.

[FunkyPig]

The answer, to me, is quite obvious. Ford should develop a new Fairlane and export it to the same markets Holden exports the Statesman to now. Problem solved. Ford competes with the dated Crown Victoria in the Middle East, a modern Fairlane would be the perfect replacement. But we all know good ideas like that don't happen at Ford (or until recently at GM either). A big good looking (I don't mean the current one) RWD Ford Sedan 'might' even find a place in the US market too!

[Slick_Holden]

Was it ever really the Catera

[Slick_Holden]

Originally Posted by FunkyPig

The answer, to me, is quite obvious. Ford should develop a new Fairlane and export it to the same markets Holden exports the Statesman to now. Problem solved. Ford competes with the dated Crown Victoria in the Middle East, a modern Fairlane would be the perfect replacement. But we all know good ideas like that don't happen at Ford (or until recently at GM either). A big good looking (I don't mean the current one) RWD Ford Sedan 'might' even find a place in the US market too!

Big problem the Statesman is killing over there it's set it there. And the fairlaine wouldn't match it.

[Bravada]

Good for Statesman, but sad to see the Fairlane go

[chadbarb99]

Can't wait to see the Buick Statesman

[Slick_Holden]

It is sad it's a great name in the Australian motor car history.

Chab don't worry when the Stato is ready here you wont miss it

[kenman923]

So I wonder what the Fairlane replacement will be named. Fairmount? Granada?

[Richard1098]

Anyone else noticed that all stories from www.drive.com.au all have the same slant...the demise of the Australian car?

There was another story circulating a few months ago that the new Fairlane would also be used by Ford North America. They can't both be right. They also seem to ignore the fact that Holden's Commodore and Ford's Falcon are both nearing the end of their platform lives, but are still the two best selling cars in Aus. Similarly, when commenting on "declining" Falcon sales, they forget to mention that a large part of that was not demand related, rather it was due to disruptions to production cuased by a number of industrial disputes in the current FY, and a miscalculation by Ford regarding the number of buyers who would opt for the new 6 speed auto over the old 4 speed.

It could just be me, but www.drive.com.au seems to be targeted at import buyers keen to have their purchase decisions validated....

[Bravada]

Originally Posted by kenman923

So I wonder what the Fairlane replacement will be named. Fairmount? Granada?

500

[Aych Es Vee]

Originally Posted by kenman923

So I wonder what the Fairlane replacement will be named. Fairmount? Granada?

there wont be one, I think thats the whole point of the article. The long wheel base cars arent selling. I'm sure if Ford get rid of the Fairlane, and then later on decided they want a long wheel base car again, that it will be called the Fairlane.... again.

[Slick_Holden]

Originally Posted by kenman923

So I wonder what the Fairlane replacement will be named. Fairmount? Granada?

Territory Ghia

[rsbaker]

Can someone tell me if this new Statesman is a "Zeta" platform car. either way I'm impressed. Buick version should be nice also correct me if I'm wrong but if this is "Zeta", aren't the New Impala/MonteCarlo/G8/ also supposed to be based on this car?