Best & Worst Falcons

[Crazy Dazz]

Yeah, its a Sunday Night thread. Don't like it, don't post.

Please respect others personal opinions, that's all these are. There are no intrinsically right or wrong answers.

So these are my picks, please post your own.

1. XR
   I'm biased, I grew up riding in the back of an XR wagon.
   This was our first V8, the first GT, and first Bathurst win.
   Also the first high-roof PV.
   Ours was only a "Falcon 500" but it had a heater, push-button radio, and a super-pursuit 200. Compared to the Holdens of the day, it was a starship.
   
2. EL
   IMHO this remains one of the best looking Falcons of all time, including the XR6/8.
   Most of the e-series foibles had been ironed out, the engines were strong, including the recently reintroduced Windsor.
   With airbags, abs, etc, etc, they were very well equipped.
   
3. BA
   Twin-Cam engines standard across the range, Factory Turbo, IRS, and a spread of OHC V8s available across the whole range. Well equipe and updated interior. No wonder it won COTY in 2002, and for a time reeled in the Commode. My only criticisms are the bland styling, and the delayed 6spd trannies.

And for my not-so favourites:

1. EA
   The EA26 was behind schedule and still not ready when it went on sale. We finally got the OHC engine due two years previously, and it was a dog. Leaky and prone to head problems. Still had a 3sp, the front-end was atrocious, and the interior defined "cheap'n'nasty." It's only claim to fame was being better than the Frankensteinian Abomination that was the VN
   
2. XD
   I liked the XD, but lets be honest, it was an XA/B/C with a new body.
   If Holden hadn't made the monumentally stupid decision to replace the Kingswood with the Torana-sized Opel Commodore, the XD would have flopped badly. It still had leaf springs, 4sp manual, and carburettors. Plus their first attempt at an alloy head proved to be water-soluble.
   
3. FG
   Whilst it was of course the best ever Falcon produced to date, it was also a dinosaur. We can debate whether Ford had already made the decision to Kill off the Falcon and Australian Production. At the very least, the lack of a wagon, lack of LWB, lack of V8 options, plus the decision not to update the Territory to the new platform, all pointed to the beginning of the end.
   For 50 years the Falcon grew larger, heavier, more powerful, and thirstier, and with the FG they finally jumped the Shark.
   Then of course there was there was the whole dropping of the iconic Fairmont and Ghia badges. Might as well have been called the FU.
   Who knows if anything could have saved the Falcon or our Industry, but the FG certainly didn't help.