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Forum
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RE: Ford Australia
Move the equipment over here and build the Global Ranger in the USA
It is actually made in Thailand, designed in Australia and was the 8th best selling model in Australia. The Toyota Hilux and Nissan Navara beat it on the Pickup stakes. The Ford pullout will not help it progress up the charts. The Hilux was best selling "car" at one stage in Australia for several months. The Navara (no it is NOT the Frontier) was about 5th.
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RobertRyan
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05/24/13 02:48pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Australia
Are they pulling out manufacturing or pulling out totally? IOW, they will still sell Fords, but will import them from else where.
That is a major problem overseas Fords from the US and Europe have not sold well. Only the Territory is realy making money for Ford here.
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RobertRyan
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05/24/13 02:42pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Australia
Wonder what will happen to the V8 Supercars series.
They are already have new manufacturers coming into the series, i.e Nissan and Mercedes. ford's departure was on the cards for a while.
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RobertRyan
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05/24/13 02:39pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Australia
I wonder if the closing if Ford Australia is reflective of a general economic malaise in Australia....or just that Ford and possibly GM are having trouble down under ?
No both are affected by the high dollar. So are other manufacturing and export industries
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RobertRyan
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05/24/13 02:37pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Australia
So true and so sad.
The above gent is similar to NewsW. He claims he is from Australia, but he started a 'dicussion" with other Australians here that they did not know what they were talking about as regards Australia! He then proceeded to take the 'discussion" to an Australian RV site and continue there. Most Aussies on the RV site "Caravanners forum" guessed he had some issues as his knowledge of Australia was vague and he was telling them they were all wrong. He only appears to post to criticize Australia.
Colorado71's "heated"discussion with other Australian RVers on these forums.
Your perception of the Australian way of life is floored and full of errors.
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RobertRyan
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05/24/13 04:18am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Australia
f they cannot make a profit there then they should close down the operations.
Not that simple. Ford owes the Australian government millions of Dollars in development loans. Ford WAS making profits BEFORE Mullaly turned up, but his cronies hinting that the Australian operation was going /not going to close down affected sales. The High Australian Dollar and some heavy handed advice from Dearborn really hurt the local operation. US and European imports have sold badly here for Ford, so the local products were the only things that were keeping it going till this decision.
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RobertRyan
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05/24/13 12:00am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Australia
hope the Aussies aren't that stupid, The UAW conceded so much that they ended up with nearly half of GM at tax payer and bond holder expense.
Any more concessions like that and we are doomed, if we aren't already.
Unions and other stakeholders are along for the ride, they are not steering the companies. High Dollar is reeking havoc with all export and manufacturing industries.
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RobertRyan
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05/23/13 11:53pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Australia
It's a great "work to LIVE" culture but the money has to come from somewhere and EVERYTHING is expensive in AU! I'd need about 2.5 to 3x my current US earnings to live a similar standard in AU
Small market is manly responsible . So we get high enough salaries and wages so we can "gove away free things at beaches" not as constrained as in the US.
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RobertRyan
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05/23/13 11:51pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Is This Motorhome selling well for Winnebago?
We toured Europe in 2007 in a Dethleffs Globe Bus
They are IVECO Daily based.
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RobertRyan
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05/23/13 02:14pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Ford Australia
Interesting stuff. Like the Aussies are the victims of their own success.....I wonder if the unions will wind up making concessions to save the jobs like they did here in the US.
nothing to do with Unions. High Aussie Dollar due the money printing efforts by the US and Japan.High interest rates also helped distort the exchange rate.
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RobertRyan
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05/23/13 02:03pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford Australia
Ford was/is biggest in manufacturing, Holden is second. Holden announced a major cutback in manufacturing a month or two ago
No it WAS 3rd, now about 10th. Never the biggest / Toyota biggest Automotive Company overall in Australia
. looking at sales figures it appears the Aussies have been buying globalized platforms anyways.
Not totally. The Holden Commodore was the best selling car here for 10yrs in a row and that finished in 2011. Problem as well is pickups and CUV/SUV's are replacing traditional sedans. The Toyota Hilux Pickup was the best selling "car" in Australia for several months last year.
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RobertRyan
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05/23/13 01:53pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Might have found that 100% American made truck
Volvo trucks in america started out by taking over GMC (white)? I was very suprised how much of the manuals and documents still have 'GMC' all over my trucks paperwork and its a 2005.
so they have plenty of GM detroit dna
A case of Had a lot Detroit DNA. A Lot of the newer Volvo's and Macks have parts from Volvo and Renault Trucks. They use Cummins as an alternative engine supplier in the US/Canada. Not the case outside NA all Cabovers and Volvo engines.
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RobertRyan
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05/22/13 09:42pm |
Tow Vehicles
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Is This Motorhome selling well for Winnebago?
It is basically a small European A and I wonder if it sells well in the US.As I suspect others may do the same with other European "Liners"
No points for guessing where Winnebago got it's inspiration from.Yes it is on a Sprinter Chassis as well.The Hymer "Integrated A" came out several years before the Winnebago.
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSxCGKEpsXvFmOIH5rs-Fuq5Ct0ChONCV2NgXwWihy3rrlg06gTRQ
http://www.motorholme.co.uk/images/exsis-external1.jpg
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/3173/hymerstarline.jpg
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/6118/hymerstarliner1.jpg
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RobertRyan
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05/20/13 11:43pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: RV Net Forums & Other Forums
I regularly vist RV NET Forums and read posts on the various categories. TC, Travel Trailer and Class C Motorhome interest me the most. I also post on the Caravanners Forum(more towable focused fairly heavily visited.)
Caravanners Forum, similar range of RV's covered like RV NET
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RobertRyan
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05/20/13 11:20pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Where Have You Taken Your 4x4 Dually Pickup & TC OffRoad
Little bit of clarification for NA Posters.
The first photo the Trak Shak is a Off Road Utility Trailer
The second shows a Kimberley Kamper a Crossover halfway between an Off Road Camper Trailer and a Caravan.The One running across rocks and camped in the US.
Lastly is an Off Road Caravan.
Crossover Kimberley Karavan Interior
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/4874/kimberleykaravaninterio.jpg
Palace on wheels Off Road Caravan Roadstar Safari
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/2664/roadstarsafariinterior.jpg
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RobertRyan
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05/19/13 05:05pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Where Have You Taken Your 4x4 Dually Pickup & TC OffRoad
been all over Australia, many times with Trak Shak camper trailer for 16 years,
You wife is not the only one who wants to move up from a Utility Camper. A lot of people are going to those Off Road Caravans, last Sydney Show only Millard(in a separate area) and Active Campers(got quite a few looking)and the US Puma(Not many interested) were the only traditional TC's there. The rest were Crossovers and Unconventional TC's(quite a few looking , especially the Tvan, Bolwell)
http://www.campertrailers.org/bud8.JPG
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR7GuW3QLVZTzPBFu5d4jqnCdieEWgkOi0fyYYm6BbaqaWwTLR8tA
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RobertRyan
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05/19/13 03:04pm |
Truck Campers
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RE: Hymer first European RV maker to build in the US
The reason is stated above. Americans want slideouts on their Cs for the most part, and if the HYMER models are not attracting the B market (or the people who would buy the PW Pursuit), nor attracting the "C" market
That would be one addition if they are to built in the US. Hymer has influenced other makers not on the European continent with their small A.
http://www.motorholme.co.uk/images/exsis-external1.jpg
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSxCGKEpsXvFmOIH5rs-Fuq5Ct0ChONCV2NgXwWihy3rrlg06gTRQ
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RobertRyan
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05/19/13 01:48pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Hymer first European RV maker to build in the US
example air conditioners and generators. I'm sure it won't be too much of an engineering hassle for HYMER to deal with those things.
Yes they are not standard but optional. The other is Slideouts, we have them here on the Ducato chassis, but are non-existent on Hymer products.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/RobRyan7/SunlinerDucatoSlideout.jpg
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RobertRyan
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05/18/13 09:13pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Looks like it is raining Class C Expedition Vehicles
It does sound like the bed in the front of the "house" section would block going from the cab to the rear????
Good question looking at it.
http://liveimages.editorial.carsales.com.au/caravancamping/general/editorial/ge5255417604784811852.jpg
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RobertRyan
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05/18/13 06:19pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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Hymer first European RV maker to build in the US
I noticed this on RV Business: They build a lot of Class C's globally.
HYMER Planning to Proceed with U.S. RV Plans
Print Print
January 22, 2013 by Sherman Goldenberg 4 Comments
HYMER AG headquarters
Europe’s largest RV builder, HYMER AG, is proceeding with plans to enter the U.S. recreational vehicle marketplace, based on the company’s own research and on the “awesome” reception its European-built products received last week in a test-marketing display at the Florida RV Trade Association’s (FRVTA) 2013 Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa.
Roel L.W. Nizet, CEO and chairman of HYMER Group’s executive board, confirmed the decision in an interview with RVBUSINESS.com on behalf of the German conglomerate, a $1.7 billion company with annual sales of 47,000 units that distributes its products throughout 28 countries.
Nizet was dividing his time last week between the Tampa Show exhibit and the 2nd World RV Conference, hosted by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) in downtown Tampa.
HYMER would become the first foreign — in this case European – manufacturer to bridge the gap to the States in a substantial way.
“It’s a very exciting deal for us,” says Nizet, whose company showed a handful of trailers in Tampa as well as Class A and B motorhomes, both of which were based on Fiat Ducato chassis, which Chrysler Group LLC reportedly plans on importing to the U.S. in the near future. “But it’s a necessity because, we (industry in general) are always talking about a global market. The RV industry should be a global market, and someone has to bridge it. So, we’re willing to be the first.”
HYMER currently builds 22,000 units a year in Europe on the Ducato.
While HYMER plans a gradual rollout of towable and motorized U.S. products – maybe two this year and two the next – the German firm is looking to finalize a joint venture manufacturing agreement with an American concern because the southern German company’s game plan does not include, with the exception of a few startup models, building inventory in Europe and shipping to the States.
So, joint venturing with a U.S. manufacturer is the only logical plan at this point for HYMER, which is headquartered in Bald Walsee with manufacturing currently located in nine German locations.
“Absolutely,” Nizet told RVBUSINESS.com. “We are not willing, let me say, to ship from Europe to America. Our intention is to make a sustainable business out of it. We simply want to be a local (U.S.) OEM with the quality level of Europe, of Germany. And we will stay in a niche, definitely. As I’ve mentioned previously, we want to be the iPhone with wheels – very innovative. And that’s our goal on a high level – not the cheapest, definitely That’s our main goal.”
Nizet, who attended last year’s National RV Trade Show in Louisville,said HYMER would conceivably target 10% of the American market’s annual production.
“So, after the show we will keep the vehicles for three quarters of a year in the states,” said Nizet. “We’ll make a tour and show them during various occasions, dealer meetings and other RVIA occasions and then finally after this period we will collect all the feedback. We will take a look at what we have to do and then we will decide which products we will start with to sell in the U.S. market.
“Based on the feedback from the people here (in Tampa), we’ve already decided to start with two, probably three models which we will adapt to the American market, meeting 110 voltage, and we will adjust the gas to the American standard and we will ship over a couple of them so that we keep things moving so that we don’t have a (time) gap, let’s say, between this show and the expectations we have heard from the people coming here.”
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RobertRyan
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05/18/13 06:06pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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