On the wings of a departing Falcon Old classic: the Ford XA Falcon GT. If Hubert French were still alive, it would hard to know what he'd make of the news of Ford pulling the plug on its manufacturing in Australia. French - who was appointed general manager of Ford in Australia in 1925 - established a car-making dynasty that will have lasted more than 90 years when production ceases in 2016. Ford's Australian empire once spanned six factories in five states. One by one, they dwindled. In October 2016, the final two - Geelong and Broadmeadows - will close too, bringing to an end a chapter in the Australian motor industry. The Ford Model T was built in a converted wool store in Geelong from June 1925. The company later established several plants around the country for the "Tin Lizzie," widely considered as the first affordable car, and one of the most important cars of all time. A few years later the company invented the ute. The 1934 Ford Coupe Utility was - as legend has it - spurred into development by the wife of a farmer who wrote to Ford asking for a "vehicle to go to church in on a Sunday, and which can carry our pigs to market on Mondays." The Falcon arrived in 1960. The first Falcon, the XK, was derived from a US product, but hit the right note with buyers as the first viable alternative to Holden's well-received locally-made offerings. It was not as nice to drive as the Holden FB, but Ford quickly toughened up its local reputation by adapting it to suit local conditions. By 1972 the Falcon was designed and engineered exclusively for Australia. There were to be seven different generations over the years. Among them the one that stands out is the Falcon GT-HO. Introduced in 1969 in the XW model line, the HO (Handling Option) model offered more power and improved suspension over the rest of the Falcon range. It was, in effect, a race car for the road, because rules for the Bathurst 1000 required a certain number of road cars to be built before a car was eligible to compete. There were three production iterations of the GT-HO (Phase I, II and III), the latter of which was seen on the updated XY model, considered to be the most valuable of the lot - one example sold in 2007 for $750,000. For more than decade it was the fastest four-door production car in the world. The XA, launched in 1972, spawned the GT-HO Phase IV, capable of 260km/h, which sparked the infamous public "supercar scare" which led to a government crackdown on such powerful cars. Some diehard Ford lovers still hold hope that the company will launch a final GT-HO before the Falcon name is retired in 2016. Before that happens, there will be one more Falcon model update next year. By the time it finishes, it will be among the longest continually running nameplates in the automotive world. Ford racing driver Dick Johnson is known for his success on the track in many Falcons, and he ranks a few models in particular as being his favourites. Most of the Fords I've had over the years have been fantastic. The ones that I've been driving have always been the hot-rod versions. I've always been into the GTs and XR6 Turbos. The three-time Bathurst winner says Ford's decision to end local manufacturing is "extremely bad news." "It's a shame," he says. There are guys whose fathers and grandfathers worked at Ford. It's been a family thing since day one. Unfortunately it's a sign of the times. This has been coming for a long time. Nothing stays still in business. with Stephen Ottley and David McCowen