THE NEW FALCONS are here - signaling a new Ford attitude to family car manufacture. The list of real innovations for the XB range is small but significant. And Rob Luck, who criticized FoMoCo last month for planning no major changes, finds he has to backpedal on at least two point - Ford has introduced column dipswitches and higher rated brakes and tyres across the board. Taking advantage of a postponed release date, Rob Luck zipped down to Melbourne to bring you this first full review of the new Falcon and Fairlane model range, plus a brief evaluation drive of the four-wheel-disc Falcon & GT Hardtop...

THE SWITCHOVER to five-year model runs is already paying handsome dividends for Australia's Big Two manufacturers - and Ford's fresh new Falcon facelift reflects the sweeping changes that long model life is bringing to the Australian automobile product. Although the new XB Falcon gets a style and trim facelift for the 1974 model year, the big news is under-the-skin - and the changes are among the most significant we've seen in a local family sedan. The most important item is the standard fitting inertia reel safety belts (front seat only) which will be applied to all cars under the Falcon nameplate. Keenly tied-into State legislation on compulsory seat belt wear, the inertia reel belts should remove the last conceivable objection to wearing seatbelts. Application of the Ford inertia reel belts is a one-handed, single-motion operation, and when the belts are removed, they slip easily away into their stowage position. Ford deserves full marks for this installation - and already the whisper is out that GM will follow suit when the new range of HJ Holdens is released next year. A warning word for enthusiast motorists - for performance driving, or country work on rough roads, you would be best advised to specify the now optional conventional three-pointer seat belts which will give positive location in the seat as well as providing safety in accidents. Ford's Big Item Number Two is dimensionally small but historically gigantic as a piece of automotive engineering. It is at once the symbol of Australian automobile inertia for 25 years, and a most valuable and vital piece of safety equipment. It is, in fact, the column-mounted dipswitch (do we detect a faint drum-roll from the European and Japanese manufacturers). There seems no good reason why this basic piece of equipment wasn't introduced across-the-board to the Australian family sedan years ago - especially when companies like Ford already had a column-dipper car like the Cortina rolling down their lines.

Certainly there will be cries of protest from the anti-change motoring minority (we recommend they take an Advanced Driving Course and find out what driving is all about) but in general the new dipswitch system will please intelligent Australian drivers and provide a much-needed safety feature as well. Will General Motors and Chrysler please follow suit! Brakes make big news in the now Falcon model lineup. Ford kicked-off the stopper revamp right down at the bottom of the line by fitting disc brakes as standard equipment on all Falcon and Falcon 500 models in both sedan and hardtop configurations. Not surprisingly they are not power assisted, but Ford claim a new system gives reduced pedal effort. And there's always the alternative of power available on the options list if you are really keen for it. All other Falcon and Fairlane models continue to employ power-assisted disc brakes as standard equipment And the Big Guns get four-wheel discs as standard equipment! The quad-discs are standard on all GT models - both sedans and hardtops. They are also available with the 351 4V engine and optional with the 351 2V engine. They are not available on any other models (of course they continue on the Ford LTD and Landau). Both the steering and road wheels also get safety improvements for 1974. Ford regard the new collapsible steering column concept as a major breakthrough for a number of viewpoints. They claim that comprehensive testing proved the new friction disc system reduced vibration fatigue for the driver, and gave better durability for steering components and gearshift components, as well as performing better against the barrier in crash tests. It now replaces the convoluted tube steering column previously employed. All Falcon wagons and Fairlane sedans now run 6in. JJ rims as standard equipment and the base tyre for the Fairlane has been uprated to 7.35 x 14 from the old 6.95 x 14. This is also the minimum specification for sedans and hardtops equipped with the 302 or larger engines.