Australian Car Spotters Guide - 1985 |
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Also see: Ford Falcon XD to EF Car Reviews and Falcon XF Specifications |
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September, 1985 saw the release of the special 25th Anniversary
Falcon, featuring a choice of three colour schemes and
unique badging and interior. 2000 were sold. Ford did
have something to celebrate. The XF represented the last of the fourth generation cars,
and featured softer, more rounded styling with revsions
to the grille and bumpers, and new tail lamps. The XF had big shoes to fill, the XE having taken Ford to the
top of the sales charts, however Ford needed the XF to be
something special with the General's VK Commodore quickly closing the margin. The Ford enginners gave the XF a softer styling treatment,
and even a new dash which presented a far more modern look
than the outgoing XE.
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Also see: Holden Gemini Car Reviews and RB Gemini Specifications |
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By 1985 the wonderful little Gemini
only had another 2 years of life in it, but in truth
the TG was really the last of Gemini's and certainly
the last of the "T"
cars. Now replaced by an "R" series front wheel
drive, the number of models and trim levels may have
been a give away that the General was intending to
phase out the car. Far from the heddy days when the "Gem" was
available in Sedan, Coupe, Wagon and Panel Van, now
your choice was limited to sedan only SL/X and better equipped SL/E
models (unless of course you were a fleet buyer, in
which case the SL was available). Sadly, the RB would be the last, but the RB was a mere shadow of the wonderful little car it once was.
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Also see: Holden Commodore Car Reviews and Holden VK Commodore Specifications |
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The pick of the VK range was always the SS or Calais
(V8 equipped) models. Interestingly, the L31 5.0 litre
V8 was replaced by the LV2 4.9 litre midway through
the life of the VK in June 1985. Designed to help
the Commodore in Group A racing, the new motor was considerably
lighter (shedding 75kg) although most still refer to
it as a 5.0 litre.
V8 engined cars also had the advantage of being equipped
with a much better braking system, including 4 wheel
discs and increased brake booster capacity. The VK
also had success at Mount Panorama, winning in 1984 ( Peter Brock/ Larry Perkins) and 1986 (Allan Grice/Graeme
Bailey), only missing out in 1985 due to rule changes
to the Jaguar XJS of Armin Hahne and John Goss. Did
anyone notice that the 1.9 litre 4 and 2.85 litre 6's
were dropped from the Commodore lineup? Not really.
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