Ford Fairlane is fair-dinkum exec

By Alastair Sloane

The movement around Auckland of bigwigs to the APEC conference later this year is under wraps.

It is not known, for example, which prime minister or president will travel in which vehicle.

What is known is that Ford New Zealand is the official supplier of cars to the conference - 150 of them, including a handful of Fairlanes.

President Bill Clinton might even find himself in the back seat of a Fairlane, unless he flies in a limousine with the presidential seal.

The back seat of a Fairlane isn't a bad place to be. It is not the executive suite of the Savoy, but APEC heavyweights who head the pecking order when the wheels are dished out will be comfortable.

The Fairlane has always been an executive car of sorts in New Zealand and Australia, mostly bought by both governments to ferry MPs about.

It has traditionally sold well for Ford when it didn't look like a stretched Falcon, which wasn't often. Perhaps then the future for the 1999 Fairlane is good, because its styling is even more adventurous than previous models and in some ways more daring than that of the AU Falcon.

It looks better than previous Fairlanes, it drives better and it is more comfortable, something Ford is hoping APEC's chosen few will agree on.

The Fairlane over the years has never been a driver's car as such. It was basically an executive barge built for comfort, ideal for Australia's roads.

On some New Zealand roads it could be a handful, its woolly steering and unsophisticated rear suspension especially unweildy at speed through even modest corners.

But the 1999 model (which starts at about $65,000) is comfortable and surprisingly nimble, thanks to its much-acclaimed independent rear suspension system. Its steering is accurate too, something that government drivers, for example, will come to appreciate.

What drivers and some occupants might struggle with, condsidering the good job Ford did with the outside of the car, is the interior. Apart from the seats, it falls short of executive status. It is overwhelmingly grey. Even the wood veneer strip across the dash doesn't help.

The Fairmont Ghia has a similar strip and a similarly flat interior. Ford has borrowed from the Falcon for the interior of the Fairlane. It borrowed a few bits for the exterior too, like the Ghia's bonnet, which it reworked to fit the Fairlane's grille, and the Falcon wagon's rear doors.

One thing which will add more colour to the car's interior is a satellite navigation screen. But, for the moment, only the Australians will get satnav. - AUTOMOTIVE NEWS