Darryl Twitt Ford is heading to Melbourne for a couple of industry events on the weekend the brand turns 100 in Australia. Pictured are the local dealership’s stock controller Angela Rainbird, dealer principal Jason Sherlock, sales consultants Stefan Vukelic and Rob De Cicco, and sales manager Steven Rouessart.
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Bree Harding
Australia’s longest continuous automotive brand turned 100 this week.
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The Ford Motor Company of Australia was founded in Geelong on March 31, 1925.
Several events will be held across Victoria for Ford fanatics to celebrate the milestone this weekend, including an invite-only ‘History in the Making’ event on Friday, April 4, in Melbourne and an ‘All Ford Day’ on Sunday, April 6, in Geelong.
The first car the Australian division of Ford produced was the Model T.
Possibly more familiar these days are Ford Australia’s iconic Falcon, Fairlane and Territory badges.
Shepparton Ford dealership owner and dealer principal Jason Sherlock said he would be taking a team from Darryl Twitt Motors to the annual President’s Award on Thursday — an event at which they won ‘dealer of the year’ in 2017 — ahead of a conference on Friday.
Darryl Twitt Motors sells six additional vehicle brands to Ford.
A vintage newspaper ad for a ‘trim, taut, terrific Falcon’ available at Smith Motors in Shepparton. Image: Facebook/Lost Shepparton
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While Mr Sherlock, who’s been in the industry for 33 years, says he doesn’t have a favourite, he does have a soft spot for Fords.
He even owns a 1965 blue GT Mustang convertible.
Besides the Mustangs, his favourite Fords include XP Falcons and the old Thunderbirds.
If he had to choose a side in the age-old Ford-versus-Holden debate, he thinks his block and tackle might swing toward Fords.
Mr Sherlock said he loved the brand’s heritage and how innovative it was, revealing there would be a hybrid Ford Ranger released later this year.
“Ford’s technology is as good as anyone’s,” he said.
“It has kept its American heritage as well.”
The Shepparton local and three Melbourne-based business partners bought Darryl Twitt Motors from Mr Twitt in 2003. Mr Sherlock worked alongside the former owner for five years before he retired.
He also worked for five years at the business in the ’90s before spending 11 years in Melbourne working at a couple of city dealerships.
Smith Motors Ford dealership was across from the Queen’s Gardens in Wyndham St, Shepparton. Image: Facebook/Lost Shepparton/Doug Cloke Collection
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Mr Twitt bought the Ford dealership from Smith Motors, which was across from the Queen’s Gardens on Wyndham St, in 1983, and moved it to the Midland Hwy site it still inhabits today.
The Ford brand is iconic to Australia for many reasons, not least because it has outlasted all other local car manufacturers.
It’s iconic to Victoria because that’s where it laid its Australian roots.
And it’s iconic to the Goulburn Valley because it’s been sold locally for more than 60 years.
The Ford dealership was sold to Darryl Twitt in 1983, who moved it to the Midland Hwy location where it can still be found today.
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The Australian motoring company celebrates its centenary alongside the AFL football club it has sponsored since both were established.
The Geelong Cats will take to the field in round four against Melbourne in Geelong this weekend wearing special guernseys that feature the Ford colour blue on the sleeves and nape, a replica of the side stripe on an XY GT 1971 across the front and integration of ‘100 years of Ford’ within the design.
The special Ford jumper Geelong players will wear against Melbourne this weekend.
In a first for the Cats’ players’ shield, the Cat within the logo faces forward to represent the future of the partnership and acknowledge how far both organisations have come.
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