When the Ford Falcon is axed from production in 2016, Australia won’t have much time to grieve the loss as Ford’s iconic muscle car, the Mustang, will be returning to our great land after almost 50 years. The last time a Mustang was imported to Australia as a right-hand-drive was in the late 1960s, so you can imagine that this news will be met with some excitement.
Jim Farley, Ford’s global vice-president of sales and marketing, will be travelling to Australia to officially make the announcement on August 13. This unusual move by Ford (who are notoriously secretive about their movements) is a bid to reassure the Australian people that cars will continue to be sold here even though manufacturing is being closed down after 90 years.
Whilst buyers in Australia will not be given the current Mustang that is on sale in North America, they will be given an all-new model that has been designed for global markets. The car is due to be unveiled at the 2014 New York Motor Show, which also happens to be the 50th anniversary of the Mustang. Whilst some countries will get a four-cylinder version, Australia will only get the V8.
It is true that Ford Australia converted a small number of left-hand-drive Mustangs between 2001 and 2003; this was done in a bid to compete with the popular Holden Monaro but sold fewer than 400 (probably because they cost around $90,000). This time around, however, Ford will be starting the cost of their iconic vehicle at around $50,000.
