In the automotive world longevity isn't common. Fashions come and go at the whim of the marketing people, styles change, names of cars come and go. And buyers are taught to rush out and buy things just because they are the latest and greatest.

              

So it's nice to see the Ford's Falcon has defied that trend and is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary in Australia. In that 50 years the Falcon has seen off competitors like Holden's Kingswood, Chrysler’s Valiant, Leyland’s P76. Not to mention Toyota Crown, Nissan 300 and others.

Falcon was launched in Australia on June 28, 1960 and has been sold here continuously. Falcon dominated the sales scene for many years, but has slipped in recent times, due mainly to an onslaught of SUVs, including its small brother the Ford Territory.

To celebrate the happy anniversary, Ford Australia will presumably introduce a series of special models. Details are still a secret, indeed the company won't even tell us that the special editions will be produced, but stay tuned as we get further information and test drives of the upcoming celebratory Falcons.

            

A logo has been designed to go with the 50th anniversary Falcons. Very much after the style of the original models it has bird like lines for the flying falcon for which it was named. We only have a pictorial representation at this stage, but look forward to seeing the real thing.

In the meantime, it might be worth a trip to your local Ford dealer to ask if they can give you a call when they hear a whisper limited edition Falcons are on the way. Some of these special models can become collectors’ items down the track – no promises, though...

Incidentally, Ford is not only celebrating half a century of the Falcon, but also 85 years of local manufacture in Australia - the company set up its plant in Geelong on March 31,1925 to build the famed Model T.

           

Ford Australia is still operating on that Geelong site today, albeit with numerous changes over the years to keep up with the latest technology and techniques in this exciting automotive world.