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September 2002 to ? 2007 (PLEASE scroll down to find all available page links) On this page : Visitors Cars / Photo Gallery. INTRODUCTION - The Fairlane that ended it all : Introduced concurrently with the BA Falcon of September 2002, the BA Fairlane benefited greatly from the improvements made in the Falcon, which finally included a 5.4L 220kW SOHC 24 valve V8 that was actually worth while plonking money down on! This BA brought with it a vastly improved rear suspension system to that of the Commodore based Statesman at the time, but couldn't match the Gen III's power, acceleration or economy figures despite having arguably higher technology levels. Continuing the Fairlane's tradition of having a huge boot, the BA received it's much needed update at BA II to include piano black highlights to the interior and significantly revised trim materials. Importantly, a performance model was introduced too - the G220 - which amounted to little more than 17" wheels, a V8 (with no more power than standard) and a sports-luxury trimmed interior. All BA II models also picked up sports oriented suspension packages - with advertising switched from back seat passengers to emphasizing the driving experience instead. BA II also saw the exterior receive two-tone paint (a huge improvement), chrome mirrors & very attractive 17" wheels standard, producing an extremely attractive car both inside and out - something that was hard to imagine considering the Series 1's "long wheel base Falcon" treatment by Ford! But the damage was done and sales levels continued to slide, with Ford finally pulling the plug at (date). Unfortunately, it seems Ford had simply ran out of money while developing the BA - and had compromised the Fairlane DNA too much with it's Falcon front sheet metal, Falcon front bumper and even Falcon tail lights (the first time in history a Fairlane had worn these!) Ford's reaction to the AU Fairlane selling so poorly was to spend even less money on it - a decision that would ultimately see the demise of Ford's once cherished large car. To Ford, the Fairlane was no longer a separate identity - and I remember well Ford brass at the time continually referring to it as a "long wheel base Falcon". - And it showed, all while GM continued to develop the Statesman's profile going from strength to strength - demonstrating there was still plenty of oomph left in the market for this type of vehicle. In short, Ford starved the Fairlane - and then wondered why it died. Dimwits. However, that said the BA & BF Fairlanes & LTDs are still quite good buys - especially the later models with six speed ZF autos and all the bling-bling straight from the factory with a significantly larger interior / rear luggage storage space than Falcon. Such a shame Ford had not sought to add all of this right from the very beginning. - Maybe it would have had a chance. Hence it is with some sadness that I welcome you to BA & BF Fairlane / LTD Central at www.trueblueford.com !
BA & BF Fairlane & LTD
Gallery :
BA & BF Fairlane & LTD Visitor's Cars : If you think there
should be a list of Fairlane Visitors Cars here - you are right! So if you have an
BA or BF Fairlane or LTD and would like to see it on these
pages using our new Visitors Cars format (see
HERE
for an example or click
HERE
for the
Visitors
Cars Submission form) please follow
the links to submit information and photos - grab your piece of fame now!
If you'd like more details included on your car than this, please feel free to
request a full-write up as per Cliff's XF!
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