An analyst quoted in The Detroit News has proposed that it would make more sense to locate the global rear-wheel drive development work for the next generation of Mustang, Lincoln sedans -- and the Australian Falcon -- in the US.

The market analyst, not employed by Ford, asserts that the global rear-wheel drive development work will need to shift to the US, due to the low value of the American dollar.

"You don't save any money with Australian dollars anymore," said Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics LLP. "There are economies of scale in engineering too."

The writers of the article admit that Ford would not comment on the information from their source that the entire global rear-wheel drive development program would be based out of the US rather than Australia. Ford is reiterating that Ford Australia continues to offer an important role in the development of a global rear-wheel drive platform.

Ford Australia PR staff could not be contacted for this article.

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