Australians soon relegated to walking - or not?

[17-Coffees]

They still make them?!

 

Yes!

 

Australia get's it, as do the African market & i'd guess the middle east. The land down under get's them with a 4.5 twin-turbo diesel V8 and only that option! (Guessing smaller engines are offered elsewhere) 

Oddly, they randomly brought it back for sale to Japan for 2014 - 2015.

[LC Torana]

Our car industry survived the UK export-or-die program

Our car industry survived the Japanese car invasion.

Our car industry survived the "supercar scare"

Our car industry survived the fuel crisis

Our car industry survived the inflation and wage explosion of the 1970s

Our car industry survived the extreme ADR rule interference of the late 1970s / early 80s

Our car industry survived the loss of key export markets

Our car industry survived the floating of the $A

Our car industry survived the government interference of the Button Plan

Our car industry survived the market switch from station wagons to 4WDs

Our car industry survived the tariff reductions

 

And I probably forgot a few.

 

But the opening of those mega-factories in Thailand and China - that's what has killed our car industry stone dead.

 

Talk all you like about Australia being a high-wage country - not a factor.  If every worker, from the tea lady to the CEO donated their time for free, we still couldn't compete.  It's all about economies of scale, and we've been blown out of the water, one hundred-fold.

 

Simple as that.

[garethj]

If I had a car factory going spare I'd be using it to knock out Mk1 Escort bodyshells, E Type Jags and 1929 Bentleys

 

 

The Taiwanese have beaten you to the first.... Mk2 is already available, Mk1s were following just after.

 

Christ, how behind the times am I?  Everybody's doing it!

 

http://www.dynacornclassicbodies.com/gm_models2.html

 

[warren t claim]

Seven grand for a brand new Escort shell.

 

https://www.motorsportauctions.com/category/329/Historic-Rally-Cars/listings/35372/Escort-Mk2-Brand-New-Bodyshells.html

[lisbon_road]

Interesting comments from LC Torana.  I wonder what the lessons for the UK car industry are in these changing times?

 

Edit, I had a read of this and learned a lot:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_in_Thailand

[sierraman]

£7k sounds cheap.

[DodgeRover]

Sounds like the Aussie manufacturers got shafted by their own government wanting to please overseas markets. Sounds all to familiar

[Junkman]

[LC Torana]

^ He's right, but building the wrong car was still just another symptom.

 

For example, Ford built the Territory, which can hold its own against any large "SUV" (I hat that yank term) in the world.

 

But were any car company to tool up to build a small car or a 4x4 pickup or small 4WD, they would be destroyed by the economies of scale.  It was those giant car factories in Thailand that finally killed our last three makers off.

 

But blaming the last three companies for giving up rings a little hollow to me.

 

After all, they lasted far longer than the Australian assembly or manufacturing operations of:

• Mitsubishi (Tonsley Park, Adelaide) - ceased 2008
• Nissan / Datsun (Clayton, Melbourne) - ceased 1992
• Mini / Moke (Enfield, Sydney) - ceased 1982
• Renault (Heidelberg, Melbourne) - ceased 1981
• Chrysler (Tonsley Park, Adelaide)- ceased 1980
• Rambler / AMC and Triumph (AMI, Port Melbourne) - ceased 1978
• Volkswagen (Clayton, Melbourne)- ceased 1976
• Morris / BMC / Leyland  (Zetland, Sydney) - ceased 1975
• Hillman / Humber (Tonsley Park, Adelaide) - ceased 1972

A few other makes, like Mercedes and Peugeot, were assembled in existing factories now and again, but the above is a list of full-blown factories or at least dedicated assembly plants.

 

My point is - blame Ford, Holden and Toyota for "giving up", "reneging" or "welching" all you like, but the reality is, they are car companies 10, 11 and 12 to give up.  The closedown of the Australian car industry has been steadily happening for 40 years.