KEY POINTS:
'Mate, d'ya mind me photographing these new Fords?" When the camera-toting telecoms worker made the request, during our car change on the slopes of Mt Hotham, one of Victoria's higher peaks, the sense of relief from the senior Ford folk seemed palpable.
It was day two of our 500km first drive of the new Ford Falcon FG in its homeland, and until then the car that everyone was talking about was also one nobody seemed to notice.
Vindication of Aussie media conjecture that this reshape hasn't gone far enough? Perhaps, although if Ford's new American boss has his way, then within a few years this Aussie legend will be seen by a lot more people.
Bill Osborne has been impressed enough by the FG to pitch for US funding to engineer the car for the lucrative Middle East and China markets, both left-hand drive.
It requires 20,000 extra sales to be a certainty, and won't be started until after 2010, when the FG goes to a new V6 petrol and - according to speculation - a V6 turbodiesel.
For now, though, Kiwiland is the sole export market and, as in Australia, there seems to be uncertainty about how well it will go in an environment of rising fuel prices and anti-big car political sentiment.
Ford New Zealand's new vehicle brand manager, Mike Gibbon, acknowledges change is in the air. While the FG is expected to remain as the brand's top-selling model this year, with 2000 registrations tipped between launch day June 1 and year-end, it will still command just 25 per cent of overall Ford sales. In 2003, every second new Ford sold was a Falcon.
The rising cost of fuel is a factor, although the experience from the 500km launch drive suggests we shouldn't write off every Falcon as a gas guzzler. Even the 290kW 5.4-litre V8, still no paragon for petrol parsimony, is better than before, but the real achiever is the 270kW turbocharged six-cylinder, which achieves the unlikely double of being faster than the bent eight and less thirsty.
It doesn't feel as muscular as the bent eight, but the stopwatch tells a different story. Tests suggest a 5.1 seconds 0-100km/h capability, against 6.3s for the "hero" engine.
Fuel tests show the stoker six will return 11.7 litres per 100km economy, a fraction behind the non-turbo entry version and 20 per cent better than the 14l/km average nominated for the V8. In the real world, the gap is wider still.
Providing a good chunk of motoring metal for the money has always been a forte with Falcons, and that continues with the FG. If anything, the value improves.
Adoption of what is being called "transparent pricing" means mostly cheaper cars - the most dramatic example being the XR6, which drops $4000 to $45,990. For the first time in some years, too, a Falcon can be bought at full retail for less than $40k, with the XT retailing for $39,990.
The three turbo cars start with the XR6 at $50,990, then top with the G6E Turbo for $5000 more. The G-badged models, replacing the Fairmonts, start with the $45,990 G6 then bump up in $5000 increments. The XR8 is $52,290.
The revised front suspension and the adoption of monotube shock absorbers all around has lifted the dynamics of the range. The relocated steering rack has done away with the dartiness of the previous car. It's also quick, with 2.6 turns lock to lock.
For balance, body control and sheer cornering ability, it has stepped up to the mark. It's simply a more assertive drive. The sports versions especially have a sense of lightness and agility on the road that belies these cars' size.
There's still no footrest in any Falcon, but most other shortcomings from the BA have been addressed. Visibility is better and ergonomics are good.
It's joined the modern age by taking an MP3 jack as standard, with dearer cars also having full iPod integration.
A new five-speed automatic transmission for the XT is a big step forward, although the carryover ZF six-speed is better still.
The safety story is also rosy, with predictions this could be the first Aussie-made car to score a perfect five-star rating in the independent NCAP crash tests.
