bloan

Auto or Man? What was the initial RWKW reading? Do you intend to do further mods? Thanks.

Does anyone know how to disable the seat belt reminder chime on the FG? And yes I am aware that I should simply just wear the seat belt. Thanks in advance.

The following is a message from the new FOA President: "Following the announcement of Geoff Polites' passing on the weekend, the following arrangements for Geoff's funeral have been confirmed. Funeral Service The details for the Geoff Polites funeral service are as follows: Melbourne Cricket Ground. Olympic Room (enter Gate 3) Monday April 28 at 11am. Parking is nearby at Olympic Park with access via the footbridge The "wake" will be at the same venue, following the service. Parking is available at the venue. The funeral directors are John Allison Monkhouse. Condolence Messages for the Polites Family Ford is providing a mailing address for any messages of condolence to be forwarded to the Polites Family. For people wishing to send condolence messages, please forward them to the following address: The Polites Family c/o – Ford Australia Private Mail Bag 6, 1735 Sydney Road, Campbellfield, Victoria 3061 Australia Memorial Donations The Polites Family has requested that no flowers be sent. They have also asked that if people wish to make a donation in memory of Geoff, that a donation to one of the following organisations would be greatly appreciated: The Royal Children's Hospital:- http://www.rch.org.au/rch/index.cfm?doc_id=1495 The Cancer Council of Victoria:- http://www.cancervic.org.au/how-you-can-help/donate Company Flag As a mark of respect for Geoff's passing, the Company flag will fly at half-mast until the day following the funeral service. Please make the most of this opportunity to farewell a passionate and long serving Ford employee, in a manner befitting his illustrious career at Ford and his enormous contributions to the success of Ford Australia". Bill Osborne President - Ford Australia

Believe it is actually second quarter 2009. Will post more info. when I know.

All very impressive to most here I imagine. I just hope it's enough to convince the average Joe Blow. Unfortunately we already have two so called respected journilists by the names of Julian Edgar & Will Hagon who couldn't be more unimpressed by the changes that have been made! they both seem to think Ford could have & should have done more exterior changes!

That should give the workers down at Geelong a nice warm fuzzy feeling!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "He also has had involvement with the Duratec V6 program, which will make him a perfect fit for the new Orion’s transition between the current Barra engines and the new V6 coming in 2010".

Give the man a cigar!

I couldn't agree with you more! At the end of the day all they were only tarted up 2 door falcons that had a different paint job & interior!

Don't be surprised not if but when FPR announce that they will no longer exist with Ford already owing them $$$ & looking at every avenue to cut costs! The best that can be hoped for is that Prodrive take over from Ford. It remains to be seen wether it will remain as a two car team.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Cyclone_engine "The Duratec 35 (code-name Cyclone) is a family of automobile engines from the Ford Motor Company. The first version, a 3.5 L V6, appeared in September 2006 in the Lincoln MKZ. Its displacement can be increased to 3.8 liters, meaning a Duratec 38 could come soon after. Mazda calls its version of the Cyclone the MZI. The Duratec 35 was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for 2007. The Cyclone is an all-aluminum engine based on the Lincoln/Jaguar Duratec 30 DAMB, and includes variable cam timing on the intake side, a feature already found on the Jaguar AJ30 and Mazda AJ versions of the 3.0. The new heads relocate all accessory drives to the front of the engine with a flush chain drive. Unlike the current Duratec 30 used in most North American Ford applications, this engine features direct acting bucket style valve actuation (with shim adjustment) instead of roller finger followers with hydraulic lash adjusters. The new combustion chambers are reshaped as well. Direct injection, turbo charging and a dual-stage variable length intake manifold can be added later. Centrally-located sparkplugs, and a 10.3:1 compression ratio are other features. The Duratec 35 is ULEV-II compliant and is said to be capable of meeting the PZEV requirement as well. Official SAE certified engine output is 265 hp (198 kW) and 250 ft-lb (339 Nm) on 87 octane gas, but could reach 300 hp (224 kW) once planned features like gasoline direct injection are added. This is a substantial upgrade in power from the Duratec 30, and bests all competitive engines except the newest version of Nissan's VQ35DE and Toyota's 2GR-FE[1]. The 3.5 L engine is the same exterior size as the 3.0 L Duratec 30, and is intended to replace it in some applications as a standard or optional power upgrade, notably the Ford Taurus in the 2008 model year. Production began in 2006, for the Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX, and Lincoln MKZ. Eventually the company expects the engine to be available in 20% of all Ford vehicles by the end of the decade. The Duratec 30 continues in production for other vehicles, such as the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan. The Duratec 35 displaces 3.5 L (3496 cc/213 in³) with a 92.5 mm (3.64 in) bore and 86.7 mm (3.41 in) stroke. The first batch of aluminum blocks was made by Teksid in Mexico and is now being made by JL French, while the heads come from Nemak in Alabama, and the crankshaft comes from Bharat Forge of India. The engine is assembled at Lima Engine in Lima, Ohio, with expansion planned in Cleveland Engine Plant #1. Current applications: • 265 hp (198 kW) at 6250 rpm and 250 ft-lb (339 N•m) at 4500 rpm o 2007 Ford Edge o 2007 Lincoln MKX • 263 hp (196 kW) at 6250 rpm and 249 ft-lb (338 N•m) at 4500 rpm o 2007 Lincoln MKZ o 2008 Ford Taurus o 2008 Ford Taurus X o 2008 Mercury Sable • 2007 Mazda CX-9 ("MZI") Possible future applications • Ford Mustang • Ford Falcon (Australia) • Ford Territory Duratec 37 A 3.7 L version of the Cyclone is reportedly being developed for the Lincoln MKS and other vehicles, starting in the 2009 model year Twin Force A direct-injected, twin-turbocharged version of the all-aluminum Duratec 35 has been developed, producing 430 hp (321 kW) and 400 ft-lb (542 Nm) of torque. The Twin Force 3.5L V6 is intended to deliver the performance (on demand) of a typical large displacement 6.0 L-class V8, with the normal driving (highway) fuel efficiency of a 3.0 L to 4.0 L class V6. Gasoline direct injection more precisely manages fuel flow into the cylinders, for more efficient combustion and emissions control, when compared to port injection. Twin-turbo charging forces more air into the engine on demand, allowing additional fuel to be injected and burned, producing more power: 118 hp (88 kW) per liter in the case of the Twin force. Technologies for the twin turbo charging system were developed in cooperation with Volvo Cars, and the gasoline direct injection system is a joint development between Ford and Bosch based on Bosch DFI systems already in production. The engine is also capable of operating on any mix of E85 ethanol and premium gasoline, and makes its debut in the Lincoln MKR concept coupe/sedan, introduced at the 2007 North American International Auto Show".

Would like to say more but to divulge any other info. at this stage could jeopardise my current state of employment! I know it's going to seem like an eternity but I believe the wait will be worth it!

No, much closer to the action!

Just seen & sat in the new XR8 & Tornado & must say IMHO I believe they will not disappoint when they hit the showroom! And no I don't have or can't get photos. I can say though I don't believe anybody will need to upgrade the IC on the F6 models!!!!! The sooner they release this new range the better.

Did anyone notice the new door handles???

Did anyone notice the picture of the engine bay of the new Sebring in the motoring section of Fridays Herald-Sun? In particular what the inlet manifold was made of????????