There's bad news and good news in Ford's announcement concerning the Geelong plant.
The company's Public Affairs department issued a statement at 1.30 pm, putting the best possible complexion on the news that up to 600 staff would be laid off in 2010.
With the Project Orion Falcon due early next year (more here), the in-line six-cylinder engine (pictured) currently in production at Ford's Geelong plant will continue until the company can bring in a new V6 (also pictured), which is built at Ford's Lima, Ohio plant in the USA.
The new engine will be a DOHC V6 of all-alloy construction. In 3.5-litre form, the 'Duratec' engine is an oversquare design (wider bore, shorter stroke), but does offer variable valve timing to overcome some of the inherent 'peakiness' of that engine characteristic. Rumour suggests the Falcon will get a 3.7-litre version.
Torque for the 3.5 V6 is 325Nm at a high engine speed of 4500rpm. The V6 can be built in capacities up to 4.0-litre and it may be possible to tune the engine for the sort of heavy duty torque applications for which the Falcon's in-line six is renowned.
In fact, the 3.7-litre version of the engine is the base powerplant for the new F150 commercial vehicle, so torque probably won't be an issue for a sedan.
This new engine will be 'E85-compliant', meaning it could conceivably run on fuel containing 85 per cent ethanol, by volume. The engine may also spawn diesel variants which could be offered in future Falcon and Territory models.
A 'Twin Force' version of the V6 with twin turbochargers may replace the XR6T Barra engine.
The engine was designed to be coupled to a modern six-speed automatic for applications in the US, but it's by no means assured that this transmission will be coming to Australia when Ford has such a long and mutually beneficial relationship with BTR and -- more recently -- ZF.
Ford Australia President Tom Gorman said "Our new engine strategy is a direct response to the lower manufacturing levels of locally produced large vehicles."
"Although we remain committed to our current local vehicle lines – Falcon, Falcon Ute and Territory, it is imperative that we improve our ability to respond to the increasing consumer desire for alternative fuels, improved performance, and better fuel economy while spreading the investment required across a broader base of vehicles. Importing the new engine from 2010 will allow us to achieve these goals."
The Ford statement also touched on the subject of returning the Campbellfield car-building plant to 100 per cent capacity.
Unfortunately, Mr Gorman was not forthcoming on what the strategy for that endeavour might be, saying merely "We are currently investigating a number of alternatives that will allow us to return our Campbellfield manufacturing facility to 100 per cent capacity."
Among all the doom, the good news is 1400 staff will remain employed by Ford at Geelong and the company's R&D centre will be completed later this year.
Ford would not confirm or deny it, but the word on the R&D centre leads us to surmise that Ford Australia is now committed to providing the research and development effort for the platform of the Falcon to come after the Project Orion model -- said to be codenamed Project Huntsman -- and that car may share its undercarriage with the American market Mustang.
Industry minister Ian Macfarlane told Melbourne paper 'The Age' that he had received official confirmation a few days ago.
Both the federal and Victorian state governments will stump up a total of $21 million to promote innovation and investment for the Geelong area. Ford will also contribute $3 million towards the Geelong community.
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