Speaker 1: On Perth six PR. This is Remember When with Harvey D.
Speaker 2: Gan Well.
Speaker 1: I imagine many of our listeners have at one time
Speaker 1: or another owned a Ford car, and no doubt quite
Speaker 1: a few of you probably still do well. This year
Speaker 1: marks the one hundredth anniversary of Ford production in Australia,
Speaker 1: with Henry Ford's famous Model T the first car off
Speaker 1: the assembly line at the Ford factory in Geelong, Victoria.
Speaker 1: And it was seventeen years earlier, in nineteen hundred and
Speaker 1: eight that the first Model T was born, and that
Speaker 1: was in America, of course. Now having the studio with
Speaker 1: me a couple of likely lads that are well known
Speaker 1: in motoring circles and they've seen the evolution of Ford
Speaker 1: over the years. Wilf Chambers and John Luca welcome to
Speaker 1: Remember When, gentlemen. Thank you, Covey, Thanks Ivich. Now first up, folks,
Speaker 1: I feel obliges to acknowledge that last night a few
Speaker 1: of us gathered to help Wilf celebrate our birthday milestone
Speaker 1: of his own. Now we're not going to be so
Speaker 1: indelicate as to say what that milestone was. All I
Speaker 1: will say was just a few years less than the
Speaker 1: one forward is celebrating.
Speaker 2: Are a few?
Speaker 1: Yeah, quite a few. Actually, how did you both pull up?
Speaker 2: Boys?
Speaker 1: You look all right?
Speaker 2: Yeah, fantastic.
Speaker 1: I didn't have a drink until I get home. That
Speaker 1: was obviously some form of soft drink in the wine
Speaker 1: glass atitude which last night.
Speaker 3: Actually yeah yeah, definitely definitely one win and the mixture
Speaker 3: of ace.
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, we'll believe you lots, wouldn't Boys. Forward ended
Speaker 1: manufacturing in Australia on October the seventh, twenty sixteen, with
Speaker 1: a Blue XR six. I think it was rolling off
Speaker 1: the production line that day. Now, clearly continuing to produce
Speaker 1: cars in Australia was no longer viable. What do you
Speaker 1: think the reasons behind that were?
Speaker 4: It's a traycy, it's actually happened. I think it's the
Speaker 4: labor costs and around the world totally different in Australia.
Speaker 4: All the cars are coming these days are imported and
Speaker 4: is the cost of Labor's probably the key factor. And
Speaker 4: I think they probably maybe lost support from the government.
Speaker 4: They used to throw a lot of money at the
Speaker 4: car industry, so I'm not sure if that's stopped, but
Speaker 4: definitely the production side of cars from overseas China and
Speaker 4: Thailand all that it's probably the biggest killer.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, I guess that is the simple explanation for US,
Speaker 1: isn't it. You just can't you can't compete in those markets.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think a sadness is but as people well
Speaker 3: in Australia, what's happened in Australia and all aspects you know,
Speaker 3: you go to even just your underwear bonds has not
Speaker 3: meant in Australia anymore. And the manufacturing, so that's just
Speaker 3: a simple thing manufacturing has got. But I think the
Speaker 3: cost of labor and the cost of component around the
Speaker 3: cost of the labor said of it is we're one
Speaker 3: of the highest wedges countries in the world.
Speaker 1: So I think that's the sad part of it.
Speaker 3: There's and I think the government, well I'm not going
Speaker 3: to say i'm aunt the governments, but i think governments
Speaker 3: don't realize how lucky we are of the people who
Speaker 3: are the workers, and they're not respecting the working people.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well said wealth, no doubt at all. Well, matach
Speaker 1: you beck a bit boys, and I've dug add a
Speaker 1: model T sort of a commercial or a very much
Speaker 1: mini fature and i'd like you to have listened to
Speaker 1: it say what you think.
Speaker 5: In nineteen oh eight, the popular automobile, the Model T Ford,
Speaker 5: was launched. Henry Ford, born in eighteen sixty three in Detroit, Michigan,
Speaker 5: learned engineering through apprenticeship and started making cars in his backyard.
Speaker 5: In nineteen oh five. He introduced the mass production method,
Speaker 5: leading to the Model T Forard in nineteen oh eight
Speaker 5: with a twenty horsepower engine. Mass productions significantly reduced manufacturing
Speaker 5: time from one car per hour in nineteen oh eight
Speaker 5: to one every twenty four seconds by nineteen fourteen. The
Speaker 5: Model T's price dropped from nine hundred dollars in nineteen
Speaker 5: oh eight to four hundred dollars in nineteen fourteen. With
Speaker 5: reduced production costs, workers wages increased to five double the
Speaker 5: industry out of range, over fifty million Model TEA Forwards
Speaker 5: were sold, marking the my car are.
Speaker 1: Globally interesting to go back in time though, over that
Speaker 1: little vignette I suppose you would call it. And it
Speaker 1: was established in March thirty first twenty five in Geelong,
Speaker 1: and apparently all the heavies from America came over from
Speaker 1: Ford and decided on Geelong because it just had everything
Speaker 1: had a port. It had plenty of space and plenty
Speaker 1: of workers.
Speaker 4: Correct, Yes, that's what happened. See the model of Tea
Speaker 4: in nineteen twenty five has actually seen its way out,
Speaker 4: so we've probably got the tail end of the Model
Speaker 4: TSS it finished in nineteen twenty seven. Actual, in fact,
Speaker 4: they came from Canada. They were right and drive vehicle.
Speaker 2: They were brought in a knockdown situation.
Speaker 4: And did I say the word hold them, but holding
Speaker 4: that motorworks or carriage builders were actually the ones that
Speaker 4: were assembling in the Model T Forwards in Australia before
Speaker 4: they actually built holding cars in the forties, but they
Speaker 4: were actually coach builders and they actually assembled the team
Speaker 4: Model Forwards in Geulyng.
Speaker 1: Okay interesting, yeah, And just talking about the cost of
Speaker 1: the vehicles. From my research, I discovered how much was
Speaker 1: it about one hundred and eighty five pounds the Model
Speaker 1: T cost, which in today's money would be about eighteen
Speaker 1: five hundred dollars. It's not a bad deal.
Speaker 2: Before my time, have you that we'll explain pounds. I'm
Speaker 2: not sure pounds are actually.
Speaker 1: Well two dollars to a pound, John, do you know,
Speaker 1: John Settled?
Speaker 3: I know?
Speaker 1: Please, Indeed cent some dollars man.
Speaker 3: So yeah, well when you think of the value of it,
Speaker 3: but then then once again it goes back to the
Speaker 3: costs of it.
Speaker 1: What was a man paid.
Speaker 3: The men's wages was sort of a penny, a dollar,
Speaker 3: two dollars something like out there, like Henry Ford was
Speaker 3: a leader. I'm actually just reading his book at the moment.
Speaker 3: What Henry Ford did for the workers, and I think
Speaker 3: I think has set the benchmark for the working capacity
Speaker 3: of the world of mass production if you actually what
Speaker 3: I watched a YouTube video this morning of building the
Speaker 3: forwards and what he did with his the migrants to
Speaker 3: commend their country and how good it was his staffed
Speaker 3: commodation for ed kad the staff and things that out there.
Speaker 1: So I think it was I think.
Speaker 3: It was a steerword for the future, and I think
Speaker 3: it's I think somebody it should be complimented. Thanks so
Speaker 3: much for what he's done for the production of the automobile,
Speaker 3: which I love the automobiles, and that's what I think
Speaker 3: is important from there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, indeed, all right, boss, We're going to take a
Speaker 1: break and we'll come back with a bit more about
Speaker 1: the general evolution of Ford over the years and just
Speaker 1: a tick. This is remember when with Harvey Degan on
Speaker 1: Perth six PR. Welcome back and Facts if you've just
Speaker 1: joined us. We're having a chat about the fact that
Speaker 1: this year twenty twenty five is the one hundredth anniversary
Speaker 1: of the first Ford car rolling off the production line.
Speaker 1: It was a Model T Forward at the Ford plant
Speaker 1: in Geelong. And we've got Wilf Chambers and John Luca
Speaker 1: who know all about Fords any other make of car
Speaker 1: for that matter, taking us through the years that Ford
Speaker 1: has been in existence. What was the car? John, you
Speaker 1: direct this question to you. What was the next vehicle
Speaker 1: that Ford produced in Australia. What was after the Model T.
Speaker 4: Model T Then came the Modelay nineteen twenty eight and
Speaker 4: again it came from Canada, so they were right down
Speaker 4: drive vehicles back then again in a knockdown form. The
Speaker 4: Modelay ran from nineteen twenty eight through to thirty one.
Speaker 4: Then the B model came out nineteen thirty two. In
Speaker 4: thirty three, our first ute was developed here in Australia.
Speaker 2: They called him trucks. In America we call them utilities.
Speaker 4: That was a coop that was the back was cut
Speaker 4: off and they built a tray at the back of
Speaker 4: the vehicle and turned him to utilities, which is quite
Speaker 4: unique to Australia.
Speaker 1: Wasn't that as the result of a farmer who went
Speaker 1: to Ford and didn't you say? I'm paraphrasing this so
Speaker 1: I can't remember his exact words, but he said something
Speaker 1: like I need a vehicle to take my family to
Speaker 1: church on a Sunday and to take my stock to
Speaker 1: the markets on any other days in the week.
Speaker 4: Spot on Harveyes exactly what was said. He needed a
Speaker 4: vigglar go to church with his wife and family and
Speaker 4: throw the kids probably in the back, and then we.
Speaker 1: Must run the wife in the back.
Speaker 4: You don't know, Yeah, what could be made the dogs
Speaker 4: on the front, so who knows. But then they needed
Speaker 4: a work vehicle that he could obviously earn some dollars
Speaker 4: out of as well, And that's how the utility was
Speaker 4: born here in Australia.
Speaker 1: So again, after the Model A and the Youth, what
Speaker 1: when did the Falcon first make its appearance.
Speaker 4: The Falcon was probably in the early sixty so that's
Speaker 4: when we probably came into production of real Australian cars.
Speaker 4: I think it was probably the x K Welf. I
Speaker 4: think it was sixty two, a little bit behind again
Speaker 4: the other brand holding which had brought the FX holding
Speaker 4: out in forty eight, so they were sort of caught
Speaker 4: a bit hopping there in history. So they were a
Speaker 4: little bit behind times as that went ahead of times
Speaker 4: in the early late twenties, but when it came to
Speaker 4: full production Australia, they were a quarter.
Speaker 2: A bit short.
Speaker 1: And we can remember, can't we the incredible rivalry but
Speaker 1: you mentioned Holden of course, the incredible rivalry between Allan
Speaker 1: Moffatt driving his Ford and Peter Brock driving his hold
Speaker 1: and particularly Bathist.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, exactly right now, Bathets was sort of and
Speaker 3: I still went on for a long time. But I
Speaker 3: think as important as the Moffatt and Brockie were the
Speaker 3: two steerwinners off that as I can talking to Billy
Speaker 3: Lee last night about it, who's a mud Holden fun
Speaker 3: We were just talking rave about it and high Brock
Speaker 3: he just finished one race, is about the finie. But
Speaker 3: his car was a legal car, but actually the windscreen
Speaker 3: is all cracky. Actually went into the pets, cracked the
Speaker 3: wind screen. I just knocked the windscret and finished the race.
Speaker 3: Didn't finish the race completely but without a wind screen.
Speaker 3: It's just amazing what happens from there. But yeah, Ford,
Speaker 3: I think when you see the one two Fords, I
Speaker 3: think it was just well, racing is sort of there's
Speaker 3: a big part of Australia us from there.
Speaker 1: Indeed, I wanted to touch on a very very important event
Speaker 1: in Perth that I'm lucky enough to have been invited
Speaker 1: to play a very small role, and that is the
Speaker 1: Buy any All every two years forward open Day at
Speaker 1: usually Basondeen Oval. Has been elsewhere, but Basandeen or Steel
Speaker 1: Blue Oval seems to be its permanent home. Now when's
Speaker 1: the next one?
Speaker 4: The next one's on the fifth October this year at
Speaker 4: Steel Blue Oval, Bason again where we put on the
Speaker 4: all four day run by the Mustangitus Club of West
Speaker 4: Australia and the gd Folk Club of West Australia. All
Speaker 4: funds that are raised through that event we then donate
Speaker 4: the charity and with help from yourself too on the
Speaker 4: day you do support us Harvey, which you would much appreciate.
Speaker 4: We don't actually give cash out for that event. The
Speaker 4: charities that we give them money to we actually buy
Speaker 4: goods or services or product and we just sort of
Speaker 4: seek the charities that we find a bit harder than
Speaker 4: the ones that get a lot of us, the three
Speaker 4: governments and other supports.
Speaker 2: So that's what we do.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And there are always different charities ANTHI will favorite
Speaker 1: year and they're always very very grateful for the efforts
Speaker 1: that you make.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Once again, we were chatting with Greg Hill now who
Speaker 3: were the co chairman's for about fifteen twenty years, and
Speaker 3: we were just discussed last night of all the different charities, Noah's,
Speaker 3: our Camp, Quality, Manor Ink and Guide Dogs for Black
Speaker 3: Guide Dog Blame Guide Dogs. And I think when you
Speaker 3: see the results from that there and you know what
Speaker 3: it goes to. And as John says, the product you supply,
Speaker 3: you supply, you don't supply the cash at all.
Speaker 1: You supply on my product.
Speaker 3: Like I remember Manorinc I Sae just having this beautiful
Speaker 3: big van because there's like eight thousand kids we learned
Speaker 3: or once as a learning curve of us as well,
Speaker 3: we learned about the eight thousand kids go to school
Speaker 3: every day without breakfast. And we bought this fan through
Speaker 3: Macanonie Forward equipped it out from and Manorink had just
Speaker 3: taken breakfast and kids at school, so I think when
Speaker 3: you look at that there, it's a good feeling for it,
Speaker 3: and it's a great feeling of achievement and it helps
Speaker 3: you sort of progress and what Chardi work you want
Speaker 3: to do.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and unless you go to Steel Blue Oval, I
Speaker 1: don't think you can fully appreciate the fact that there
Speaker 1: are so many avenges and classic forwards still in existence.
Speaker 1: They're still being driven. I can't I should know. But
Speaker 1: are there any Model Teas amongst them?
Speaker 4: We have probably Molitar for a while, but there's been
Speaker 4: Model Te's Model like cars turn up and through their clubs.
Speaker 4: So there's two big groups in Model A Club and
Speaker 4: a Mutal Tea Club. I'm not sure who's coming this year.
Speaker 4: The entries are starting to open up right now. If
Speaker 4: you go to the all four day dot org Ace
Speaker 4: e Ben, you can register your vehicle to come in there.
Speaker 4: We drew put about four and fifture to five cars on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a.
Speaker 3: Good event and I think it's important to it's sort
Speaker 3: of the cross section like I as an individual, Okay,
Speaker 3: I'm probably a known as a patrol head as well,
Speaker 3: and people say why forward, Well, I've just got to
Speaker 3: establish something. The first card I did sort of at
Speaker 3: a faster speed than the sort of the speed and
Speaker 3: it was actually a Ford Casseer back in nineteen sixty
Speaker 3: three which I didn't have my license, but just I've
Speaker 3: always driven forwards as well. But I think the important
Speaker 3: factor is that the cross section of a manufacturer and
Speaker 3: a manufacturer may have left the country, but a manufacturer
Speaker 3: still a very big manufacturer in Australia, and I think
Speaker 3: that's what's important, and to sort of that.
Speaker 1: Ford have stayed Ford the world has stayed.
Speaker 3: With Australia and back to Australia where Holden hasn't and
Speaker 3: they've changed it completely. So I think with Ford, with
Speaker 3: the presentation of all the different models they've got and
Speaker 3: the Mustang naturally of course, and things that get there,
Speaker 3: which I think is so important and on the day
Speaker 3: like we get as I said, we've been doing it
Speaker 3: for nearly twenty years and it's just a great achievement
Speaker 3: and the enthusiasm, like you still get the amount of
Speaker 3: people where Bolden had a show. I'm not knocking holding,
Speaker 3: please don't get me wrong, but they had only probably
Speaker 3: about two hundred and fifty cars at maximum. So when
Speaker 3: you get out on a day, so car showers are
Speaker 3: a big thing in life now as people are just
Speaker 3: a classy cars and different things from there, so it's
Speaker 3: important that way.
Speaker 1: Well, I mean all vehicle brands have have got their
Speaker 1: ups and they're down their positives and their negatives. I
Speaker 1: think it's interesting to note though that Ford Cars won
Speaker 1: Wheels Car of the Year seven times since the award
Speaker 1: was established in nineteen sixty three. Amazing. It's not bad
Speaker 1: as with the Ford Everest being the most recent. That's
Speaker 1: I was having a chat to Lauris from Macdernie Ford
Speaker 1: and he had one of those on show well nearly
Speaker 1: two years a year and a half ago now and
Speaker 1: it's very impressive.
Speaker 4: Yeah, the Ford Ranger and the Everest and the Musti's
Speaker 4: been a big plus for the Ford Motor Company in Australia.
Speaker 4: I think it's probably been their survival car or cars,
Speaker 4: so they've done very well. And macan Ani Ford's are
Speaker 4: if I mentioned that they're a great support of our organization,
Speaker 4: been there through the All four day as club and
Speaker 4: actually I looked up today that's Dennis beck and established
Speaker 4: in nineteen seventy five, so it's actually their fifty three
Speaker 4: year as well. Yeah, so yeah, so I privately owned.
Speaker 4: I are it's still the only privately owned Ford Motor
Speaker 4: Company dealership in Perth.
Speaker 1: So the cars, this is a naive question. I know
Speaker 1: it is, but there may be other people who are
Speaker 1: as uninformed as I am on this. The cars that
Speaker 1: bear the Ford badge, Now where are they assembled?
Speaker 4: Well, the Everest in the range, as far as I know,
Speaker 4: they're all built in Thailand, and the Mustang still built
Speaker 4: in America.
Speaker 1: So I got a question for you, Harvill, what's this?
Speaker 1: So what was your first car? My first car was
Speaker 1: a green Morris Minor. Oh fantastic, Yeah, good built classic?
Speaker 3: Has had it to spread screen or full screen?
Speaker 1: What the wind screen? I think it had a full screen?
Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, it was after an eighteen fifty five and I.
Speaker 1: Didn't go very fast and I wanted it to. So
Speaker 1: what's the future there do you think for Ford?
Speaker 3: I think, once again it goes back to the manufacturing side.
Speaker 3: I think they're the parent company worse in America and
Speaker 3: things that I think is still very loyal to the product,
Speaker 3: and I think a product is such an important thing.
Speaker 3: And I think the stability of what they're producing on
Speaker 3: the vehicle, Like once again, you look at the you
Speaker 3: Mustang when it was out twenty sixteen, but even they
Speaker 3: were the current shit the leadership was two thousand and seven,
Speaker 3: two thousand and five. I think, I think when the stability,
Speaker 3: if that is so important, and I think that to
Speaker 3: me as an individual, I think it's just great to
Speaker 3: see that that a manufacturer is still producing cars, like
Speaker 3: we're not going to get into electric cars today. But
Speaker 3: all I'm saying is, I think is are you're not
Speaker 3: a fan of electric cars completely? Well? Actually I think
Speaker 3: I don't want to see it. And here but in
Speaker 3: channel seven I think you've got I think I prove
Speaker 3: them know on electric cars of the connection of the
Speaker 3: batteries and the failures of the fires, and I think
Speaker 3: that's the biggest thing from there.
Speaker 1: But no, I'm not a fan.
Speaker 3: If if miss Uber come to me to pick him
Speaker 3: up on the Tesla, I would not get into it, Sorry,
Speaker 3: but I would'tet do you feel that you is passionate
Speaker 3: about that?
Speaker 2: John?
Speaker 4: Probably on the fence of myself. I've driven electric car
Speaker 4: it must have been they do go quite well, but
Speaker 4: I am a petrol head, So like Wolf, I do
Speaker 4: on the get to.
Speaker 2: The bows and filling it up and going. Well, I
Speaker 2: wonder if you're.
Speaker 1: Driving around in the country and you suddenly haven't got
Speaker 1: any battery power left. You can't exactly take a can
Speaker 1: down to the local service station and fill up with electricity,
Speaker 1: can you?
Speaker 3: No?
Speaker 4: Exactly right, So Australia a vast wide state that we
Speaker 4: and we do a lot of traveling and get away.
Speaker 4: The EV's probably aren't quite there as yet. I know
Speaker 4: they've taken off in Europe. In Europe you travel short
Speaker 4: distances and most people work within the city. So I
Speaker 4: think we're probably a little bit ahead of a soul
Speaker 4: here in Australia for evs. They are out there, but
Speaker 4: you probably won't see me one for a while.
Speaker 3: Well, I'll just sort of opinion is we won't be
Speaker 3: sitting here in twenty five years time, however, having a
Speaker 3: discussion we were discussing and turning combustions of Henry Ford.
Speaker 3: I'm not knocking any electric carriers are going to get there,
Speaker 3: but we won't be having that discussion. Electric cars, electric
Speaker 3: carris I believer, come and go. Nate the Belt the
Speaker 3: first electric car in eighteen forty five with Jill batteries
Speaker 3: and it lasted two and a half years.
Speaker 1: Now you've just given us a clue here. So in
Speaker 1: twenty five years time, Welf, I'll book you in for
Speaker 1: another interview. Great your centenary anyway, that's right.
Speaker 2: Then, Harvey mob an electric wheel chair.
Speaker 1: You'll probably forget to plug that in as well. Boys.
Speaker 1: One quick reminder again for people to put in their
Speaker 1: diary all four day at Steel Blue Oval.
Speaker 4: So it's October fifth, twenty twenty five, is still Blue Oval.
Speaker 4: Entrances are online out to book your cars in and
Speaker 4: for the gates of open nine point thirty on the
Speaker 4: day for entrance comes through the public coming user cars.
Speaker 1: Will Chambers, John Luca, thank you for your time on
Speaker 1: remember when it's been an absolute hurt and all the best.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for having best wishes to you too,