The BA Falcon!
There is a lot to unpack here, so I will have to break this into sections, starting with the basic BA overview and the starting point of the range.
The BA was Ford overreacting to the poor reception of the AU……………….and I say that in the most positive of ways. When you look at Holden’s VY facelift that launched at the same time, all they did was throw some new panels and a dashboard at the VX and called it done. Ford on the other hand
HAD to make an impact with the new Falcon, they had to overachieve to win back lost ground.
It would take me many thousands of words to fully describe the BA Falcon, but I suspect many here would already know the story, so I’ll try and keep this more generalised and take a more personal approach to this pivotal model.
I was 16 years old in September 2002, not far off 17. I was living and breathing all things Ford. My uncle was the spare parts manager at the local Ford dealer, he fueled my passion by collecting every single Ford brochure in 2002 for me to geek over, I still have those brochures and I can’t begin to describe how influential that was. My dad also lined up a ride in one of his employees then new AU III XR6 VCT Ute with ALL of the Tickford options, fittingly, it was Venom Red! It was fate in the making!
As was the thing back then, you were either a Ford or Holden boy, each side giving as good as they got. The only exception to that was if you were some weirdo who liked JDM or German stuff, in which case they got ribbed by both the blue and red side of the equation.
I mention this because as a Ford boy, the Falcon and its lack of success on the racetrack meant I was on the underdog team. But the BA Falcon changed that!
Once again, I lived for the release of new magazines to indulge my intrigue………………no instant internet media in those days, you would be waiting for that next copy of Wheels or Motor to read about a new model. Ford at the time started to drip feed the media with little snippets of information on this new Falcon, which was being called the AV Falcon until Ford finally dropped that piece of information too. Details such as all new seat designs, rear suspension, tucked and hidden wiper system and adjustable pedals were dribbled out to the media all in an effort to drive interest in the new model. Even the race teams played along, just check out Craig Lowndes car from that era and you will see the black outline of the new XR’s headlights in the classic Green-Eyed-Monster………….
To be frank, it would be quicker to list what wasn’t changed in the transition from AU to BA, so I will keep this as brief as I can. The usual front and rear quarter panels, hood, boot, bumpers and lights were naturally changed, but at great expense, Ford went even further to change the roof along with the front and rear glass on the SWB sedan, Ute/Wagon/LWB carried the AU parts over. While the doors looked the same, they were also altered. The interior was all new, save for some minor less used switches. Mechanically, the sedans got that new
IRS as standard, banishing the classic Watts Link rear end to history. Wagon and Ute carried the leaf rear end over, which to me was a good thing. The rear chassis legs were straightened on the sedan, said to increase structural rigidity by 88%!! Front suspension was carry over. The brakes were new across the board, offering larger rotors and calipers. Every single engine was either brand new (V8) or heavily revised (Inline 6), all featuring drive-by-wire throttle control, an Aussie industry first. The automatic was now adaptive and offered manual shifting across the range. Combined with a host of other small, but important changes and additions, the BA was a massive leap into the future for the Falcon.
The work Ford did was rewarded in the form of several awards, including the then still relevant Wheels Car of The Year. Sales went through the roof, at one point the plant was at over 100% daily capacity, they even implemented overtime to keep up.
Back to a personal point of view, I learnt to drive in a 2003 BA Futura in Mercury Silver. When the lease was up on the current family car, I pestered and pestered my Dad to buy a BA Falcon. The Barra was, even in NA form, a pure joy. At the time, this was the most powerful car I had driven and coming from a gen-1 Forester with only 92 kW, you can imagine how 182 kW and 380 Nm felt in comparison! The ride was soft and cushy, the perfect long-distance combination of ride comfort and power in reserve.
I remember on a family holiday to the Victorian high country, my Dad at the wheel, being stuck behind a stupidly slow caravan for many km’s. With a large cue forming behind us and despite multiple opportunities for the caravan driver to pull over, the tension within my Dad was building and building…………….until he cracked! When the opportunity arose, he slammed the throttle down, the gearbox went back to 1st (which was would run to 88 kph with the 3.23 diff), the big Barra erupted and passed that stupid caravan with supreme ease. I laughed and cheered in excitement, my mother other hand was less than impressed. And that’s why these cars were so good for touring, they had power and torque in reserve to pass quickly and safely. Try the same mauver in a gutless naturally aspirated medium SUV that seems to be the default now, and that result would likely be different.
I loved that BA Falcon, I just wished I had pestered Dad to buy an XR6 instead.
Coming next, the models that recaptured interest in the Falcon and won over a whole new generation of fans………………………..