The Motor Report Auto News Blog

Word on the street last year was that Ford Australia execs were reviewing the manufacturers involvement in motorsport, including the holy-grail – V8 Supercars. At the time, Ford’s continued involvement in the premier class of Australian motorsport appeared to be less than guaranteed, however a press-release issued yesterday by Ford Australia confirms that they are committing to an ongoing significant investment in V8 Supercar racing.

Ford’s involvement in V8 Supercars will remain the company’s single largest sponsorship and category investment. However, Ford will be seeking to leverage their return from this involvement by more closely linking it to their performance car line-up.

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A Diesel for Ford Territory? (Apparently yes…)

It’s official brothers and sisters - straight from the horse’s mouth – an oil-burner is being assessed for the engine bay of the Territory. Ford boss, Bill Osborne, has confirmed to respected industry magazine, VACC’s Australian Automotive Workshop (AAW), that Ford Australia is “actively investigating” a diesel for its class-leading and highly awarded AWD.

“We are actively investigating the possibility of introducing a diesel engine to the successful Territory range. We recognise that this is an area of potential opportunity for both consumers and for the company,” Mr Osborne said. (AAW, Issue 4 2008, page 10)

Now the corporate world is very careful about its choice of words; loose lips have sent more than one corporate ‘grand plan’ to the bottom of the harbour (and development dollars with them). Does “actively investigating” signal a ‘dead cert’? In this instance, with the head of Ford Australia speaking directly to the national motor industry (and to Ford dealers), you would have to think “yes”.

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Ford’s updated LV Focus XR5 Turbo goes on sale this month spearheading the arrival of the rest of the updated LV Focus range. The LV model update includes a fresh new face and even more specification and premium quality features.

The iconic German-built flagship of the Focus family is the first model in the small car line-up to feature Ford’s kinetic design philosophy.
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It has been a long running saga but it now looks as though Ford’s sale of luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata motors is complete. It was last August that Ford decided to explore its options for the Jaguar Land Rover business it owned.

“The sale is the culmination of Ford’s decision last August to explore strategic options for the Jaguar Land Rover business, as the company accelerates its focus on its core Ford brand and “One Ford” global transformation. It also allows Jaguar Land Rover to focus on delivering what is best for its business”.

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