Ford KA/KB Laser: redefining small car orthodoxy in Australia
Looking back on the decade 1976 - 1985, it really is quite remarkable how swiftly small car orthodoxy switched from rear-wheel drive – still widely described as 'conventional' in the late 1970s in describing such cars as Corollas, Geminis and Escorts – to front-wheel drive. GM-H had only been making Geminis in Australia for six years when the Laser was introduced.
Ford Australia was fortunate to have a partnership with Toyo Kogyo (manufacturer of Mazdas). The first front-drive 323 made its debut here in 1980. In the 1976-77 time frame, Ford Australia's product planners were actively seeking an Escort successor. They had considered the Escort/Lynx project in the US and, for a variety of reasons (probably chief among them cost), found it unsuitable. Two other options remained. One was the Erika program in the UK to replace the rear-drive Escort. The other was Mazda's new 323 to replace its mid-70s rear-drive predecessor.
Before discussing the decision to develop an Australianised, Ford-branded version of this 323, it's worth asking how the switch from rear-drive to front-drive quickly became impossible to fight against for makers wishing to compete in the sub-1.5-litre sedan/hatchback category, and quite soon afterwards in the 2.0-litre class (the 626-based Telstar lagging just two years behind the Laser).
My own view for decades was that the Volkswagen Golf set the template for this wholesale changeover, but recently I have read another opinion. The late, great, highly erudite and opinionated British motoring journalist and historian the late L.J.K. (Leonard) Setright credited Dante Giacoso's 1971 Fiat 128 as the real starting point.
Setright’s argument is that while it was indeed the Golf that inspired a wholesale change in engineering philosophy, the Golf was itself inspired by the 128. At various points in his final book, Drive On!: a social history of the motor car, Setright acknowledges Citroen and BMC as early adopters, but he reckons the boxy little Fiat was the game-changer:
Fiat could see what was wrong with the [front-wheel drive] manifesto, and how to rewrite it. With one of the most admirable engines of all time, with a separate gearbox that did not chew up the viscosity-index improvers (long-chain polymers which were vital additives) in the engine oil, with new refinements of wheels and suspension complementing the latest in tyres, and a new understanding of what was wanted and how to achieve it, they made the 128. That was the car in which all the serious flaws of previous front-drive cars were eliminated, in which all the standards met by conventional small saloons were exceeded, and in which all the major manufacturers of the world would in due course find their inspiration.
...Before long, VW of all people were making cars in the image of the 128 – and the world concluded that if VW, of all people, had abandoned its traditions and switched ends, this must be the right way to go.
Well, maybe. Regardless of the supposed influence of the Fiat, it was certainly the case that the designers and engineers at Toyo Kogyo were chiefly inspired directly by the Golf, for they effectively copied it; it’s unlikely that they would have paid much heed to the 128.
Note, too, that the Fiat was a smaller car than either the Golf or the 323/Laser which, in the day, seemed remarkably closely based on the Volkswagen. Setright correctly credits VW ('of all people'!) in the change of paradigm. but I don’t think they necessarily needed Fiat’s example to get there; after all, the Volkswagen planners had only to consider Saab, Renault and Citroën (notably the brilliant GS) to see the possibilities!
The Fiat 128 may have influenced the Europeans; the Volkswagen Golf transfixed the Japanese. Mazda was first with the new 323. Although the earliest Datsun Pulsar preceded it, this gawky machine showed little VW inspiration and is, frankly, best forgotten. So the 323 was first, followed by the Mitsubishi Colt and, shortly afterwards, the Laser.
This was the first time that Australian buyers could choose between a local and imported version of the same basic car from different makers. Of course, their agreement notwithstanding, Ford Oz and Mazda were deadly rivals in the market.
From the beginning (March 1981), every KA Laser emerging from the extensively refurbished Homebush plant could boast 50 per cent local content and rising.
While the product planners evaluated both Erika and the 323, economics alone would have given Toyo Kogyo the nod. With hindsight, we can see this as a most significant step in orienting the local car market towards Japan and away from Europe. Just as the Holden Gemini had replaced the Vauxhall-based small car (HA Viva, HB Torana), the Laser replaced the Escort, the Telstar replaced the Cortina. Before the Telstar arrived, Ford Australia's marketing people cheekily insisted that the sedan version of the Laser, the Meteor (codenamed GA and launched in April 1982) stood in for the Cortina.
Broadmeadows executives were involved in the entire product program from its early days. While their focus was Laser, they contributed to both versions. The Laser's front and rear styling was very different from the Mazda's. The Ford had its own front sheet metal and headlights. Five-door versions had a unique C-pillar.
Ford Australia naturally sourced tyres and batteries from local manufacturers. Engines, gearboxes and much of the interior was shared. Wheels' Mike McCarthy suggested:
So while the Laser and 323 may be a bit more than just badge-engineering, they're certainly less than different cars. And that may well be to their mutual advantage anyway.
Adding the two ranges together meant a surprisingly large range of variants with six for Mazda and 10 for Ford. The cheapest 1.3-litre two-door 323 cost $5803 in February 1981 and rode on cross-ply tyres. An equivalent Laser was $5846 but was equipped with textile radials.
Like the 323, the Laser could be specified as a three-door hatch or five-door from the start of sales and with a choice between 1.3-litre and 1.5 engines. There was the entry level L (three-door, 1.3, four-speed), mainstream GL (either body or engine, automatic optional with 1.5), Sport (1.5, five-speed) and Ghia (1.5, five-speed or auto). The dearest Ghia commanded $7677 but could not match the old Escort Ghia for luxury.
The specification of these cars was quite advanced at the time. Rack and pinion steering (with power assistance optional from the KB facelift), all-coil suspension and powerful engines for the class (especially the 1.5), Lasers set new standards at every price point.
There could be no question that Ford Australia's engineers were keen to optimise the Laser for local conditions and their efforts were apparent in the Sport with its updated suspension.
It is important to note that the Laser set a new and much higher standard of build quality for the local industry (with the arguable exception of the Sigma from 1977). Japanese production engineering and manufacturing technology proved a real eye-opener to Ford Australia’s planners; there could be no looking back.
The most pedantic critic might have noted a marginal advantage in build quality and finish for the Mazda, but measurable differences were few. Here was an ‘Australian’ car with real Japanese quality.
When the KB/GB facelift models arrived in January 1983, there was more evidence of the engineers' determination to calibrate the car for local roads. Testing the revised Sport for the June 1983 edition of Wheels, editor Robinson wrote:
In the past we have been critical of the harshness (and especially the savage crash through) of the front suspension and the softness of the rear end when the car is heavily loaded, of both the Laser and the 323. It is in these areas that Ford has concentrated its engineering efforts...
It takes just one bump and one corner to confirm that Ford has indeed wrought a noticeable improvement in the ride quality of its top selling small car.
For enthusiasts the Sport was the favoured variant. In a bid to keep some advantages for itself, Mazda initially retained the twin-carburettor version of the 1.5-litre engine for its SS variant and the Sport got the standard 1.5. But in 1982, Ford Australia was able to use this engine, putting the Laser Sport at least on a par with its 323 SS rival.
Buyers wanting a sedan could specify the Meteor GL HP with five-speed gearbox and the twin-carb engine (or the premium Ghia HP). The Meteor, obviously derived from the 323 notchback, boasted a boot to rival cars in the next class up (rear-drive Mazda 626, Datsun Bluebird, Toyota Corona) combined with the then quite novel split-fold rear seat, a feature not offered in the brand new Holden Camira.
The Meteor sedan, which briefly stood in for the discontinued Cortina, blurred class boundaries. Its cabin may have been tighter than, say, the about-to-be-superseded rear-drive 626’s, but it had that great boot and, when specified with an extra carburettor gave away just two kiloWatts to the bigger Mazda.
The flagship Laser/Meteor variant was the Meteor Ghia HP, which cost $9919 in June 1982, compared with $6421 for the Laser L two-door 1.3 and $8221 for the Sport.
The 1.3 made 48kW, the 1.5 54 and the twin-carb engine a pleasing 59. The Sport weighed little more than 850kg and could cover the standing 400 metres in 18.2 seconds on its way to a top speed of 155km/h.
Visually the KB Laser was easily recognised with its new sloping frontal treatment incorporating a new grille and flush fitting headlights. The Meteor continued with its unique grille and was generally positioned just above the Laser on price and in marketing.
Interiors were revised. Electronic ignition was standard. Brakes, sometimes criticised on the earlier model, were upgraded. Plenty of attention was paid to NVH and the KB/GB cars were noticeably quieter. The exhaust mountings were changed. Curiously, they used three engine mounts instead of the previous four.
Enthusiasts warmed to the Laser/Meteor and so did the aftermarket. I still remember driving a KA Laser equipped with a Garrett turbocharger and marvelling at its performance. That was probably in 1982.
Early in 1985, the year the larger KC Laser range would be launched, Ford Australia offered a limited edition turbocharged variant, white with white wheels. There was a choice of three-door ($13,335) or five-door ($13,660). At that time the entry level L three-door cost $8702 and the Ghia five-door $10,711.
Although the boost was set quite low, the KB Turbo was an interesting niche vehicle which paved the way for the TX3 Turbo models of the future. In 1985 maximum power of 78kW and a top speed approaching 180km/h seemed remarkable for a small hatchback. There was certainly no direct rival.
The Laser played a key role in giving Ford Australia market leadership. At 8.57 am on Friday 21 January, sales and marketing director Max Gransden was handed a silver platter bearing an envelope: for the first time the company had beaten GM-H in annual sales in the passenger car market. The Falcon and Laser both topped their segments. Market acceptance of the Australianised Japanese car had been immediate and proved lasting.
(Incidentally, Ford Oz drew well ahead in the 1983 sales race: 116,013 to 85,767. The Falcon/Fairmont were way ahead of the Commodore, the Laser placed fifth outright with 24,910 sales and the Telstar, launched on 15 May and so with just six and a half month of sales, finished 11th outright but its monthly sales rate was not far behind the Camira’s. The Fairlane/LTD easily outsold the Statesman/Caprice and, from memory, I think the Falcon would have been easily the top-selling utility.)
In summary, the KA/KB Lasers were critical to the future of Ford Australia. Just as Chrysler Australia had found great benefits in making the transition from English Hillmans to Japanese Galants and Lancers, few at Broadmeadows looked back in nostalgia at the Cortina, or even the Escort.
Mazda may have been in advance of its Japanese rivals in making the switch from rear-drive, but once the 323/Laser hit the market, any doubts about the future of small car drivetrains was banished. It is also obvious that Ford Australia did better out of its affiliation with Mazda than did GM-H with its ill-fated Camira version of the J-Car (a car whose time never came!).
