Skip to main content

What's in a name?

As I’ve mentioned before, I was pretty happy that Ford had dropped the Futura, Fairmont and Fairmont Ghia nameplates with the launch of the new FG Falcon.

Apparently plenty of people were pretty attached to the old names, at least judging by recent letters to Wheels.

I’m the opposite. I’m actually slightly embarrassed to own a Fairmont. Partly because it's (IMHO) a slightly poncey name, and also a bit posh—which I don’t really like.

I’d prefer that the car be called Falcon because:

  1. I don’t like seeming posh
  2. I like the associations the Falcon name has with Ford’s illustrious racing history.

Specifically, Falcon GTs are Falcon GTs—even if (in the old days) they were based on the Fairmont. That’s pretty much all there is to it.

Drive corrections

The Sydney Morning Herald's Drive writers continue to make really basic errors.

First there was Joshua Dowling's mystifying (and embarrassing) assertion that the original XC Cobras were 400 sedans and utes, not coupés. As every Ford fan knows, the XC Cobra was produced as a way of moving the final 400 of the slow-selling hardtop (two-door coupé) body style, and the only utes ever produced were by street-machiners.

Now Toby Hagon asserts that the G6E is a replacement for the Fairmont Ghia. No, Toby. The G6E is the Fairmont's replacement. The Ghia is replaced at the top of the range by the G6E-Turbo.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The unforgivable sin as expressed by Andy Prieboy

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” Jesus Christ, Mark 3:28–29 I caught Andy Prieboy’s Tomorrow Wendy on the radio on the weekend and it’s been an ear worm for me for the last few days. I really like the song, but when it gets to the third verse I’m afraid I can’t sing along. I told the priest - “don’t count on any second coming. God got his ass kicked the first time he came down here slumming He had the balls to come, the gall to die and then forgive us - No, I don’t wonder why I wonder what he thought it would get us.” … But God says “jump”, so I set the time ’cause if he ever saw it it was through these eyes of mine and if He ever suffered it was me who did His crying … Hey, hey, good bye tomorrow Wendy’s
9 comments
Read more

I hate suits

Having grown up in a family where ‘shiny-bum’ was a term of abuse applied to useless office types who never did any real work, I’m embarrassed to confess that I’ve worn a hole in my trousers. Of my suit. I’m actually embarrassed to admit that I wear a suit to work, but there it is. I have to wear a suit. I also work for an investment bank, but I’m not even going to start to talk about. So anyway the suit has a hole in it, which is OK, since this is the suit I bought about six years ago for job interviews, weddings, funerals and other suit-requiring events. But really I haven’t worn it that much. Suits are just very flimsy. And expensive, very exensive. Which is what I really hate about suits. They cost a lot to buy and wear out very quickly. The exact opposite of King Gees . This is what really ticks me off. I now have to pay 10 times as much money for clothes which last a tenth of the time. Nevermind that I’m earning 10 times the money, that’s not the point. I wouldn’t mind paying
5 comments
Read more

Feeling bad about abortion

A new study of New Zealand women has concluded that abortion in young women may be associated with increased risks of mental health problems. This included depression and anxiety disorders and they were also more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs. The study’s leader, Professor David Fergusson, is at pains to show that he’s not a pro-lifer and he’s just telling it like it is. Fair enough. But with over 80,000 abortions being done each year in Australia, there’s a lot of people who will be suffering, assuming you can extrapolate the study to Australia. As the study shows, not all women feel bad about abortion or suffer consequences for it. And Emily Maguire in The Sydney Morning Herald offers suggestions about how women could feel better about their abortion experience. I say it doesn’t really matter. What really matters is what God thinks. It’s clear from the Bible that God is against abortion, for plenty of reasons. I’m with God on this point. As the father of three children—one
2 comments
Read more