Mahindra Inaugurates Chakan Facility, Will Produce US Trucks

[MahindraPlanet]

Register to stop seeing this ad!

Saturday, (March 13, 2010) Mahindra opened the doors to their recently upgraded Chakan facility in India. Mahindra Planet reported in January that this facility was receiving USD $1 billion in...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

More...

[pee wee]

One thing that's bothering me about this- the next Scorpio being a unibody construction, and the TR20 and TR40 being Scorpio variants. They're proclaiming the cargo hauling and towing abilities of these pickups, and if I'm not mistaken they would have trouble maintaining similar capabilities as a unibody vehicle. Are they introducing a vehicle here just before it goes obsolete? Will the Scorpio and its pickup truck version split and become unrelated? How much service support could a purchaser of the upcoming pickup truck expect to see once the vehicle type has been abandoned, if that is what is happening? I'd like to hear answers to these questions before I bother test driving one. It seems like it would be an unlikely time to stop making a body-on-frame Scorpio Lifestyle/Pik-Up/TRx, but I haven't heard anyone address this issue.
What if the next generation pickups are designed from scratch, will they lose their awkward looks? What is Mahindra's long term plan for marketing a pickup truck globally? When can we expect to see a version of the Bolero? Ah, so many questions and so few answers.

[Max465]

Originally Posted by pee wee

Ah, so many questions and so few answers.

You raise good questions but I know the answer to a fundamental question. Which manufacturer will introduce a pickup that has excellent fuel mileage, impressive payload capacity and a diesel engine… all packaged in a compact body? Mahindra. We can safely say that there is no truck currently out there that has all these attributes, and no one is planning to build one besides Mahindra. Which is the reason, in my opinion, why the compact/midsize pickup segment has declined over the years – we really haven’t seen a fresh new face in years. Seeing that VW has no plans to introduce their promising Amarok here, I credit Mahindra for bringing these utilitarian trucks to the US.

[AZDzlPickUp]

Originally Posted by Max465

You raise good questions but I know the answer to a fundamental question. Which manufacturer will introduce a pickup that has excellent fuel mileage, impressive payload capacity and a diesel engine… all packaged in a compact body? Mahindra. We can safely say that there is no truck currently out there that has all these attributes, and no one is planning to build one besides Mahindra. Which is the reason, in my opinion, why the compact/midsize pickup segment has declined over the years – we really haven’t seen a fresh new face in years. Seeing that VW has no plans to introduce their promising Amarok here, I credit Mahindra for bringing these utilitarian trucks to the US.

I hear you but it's still vaporhardwareware for now. We're waiting on important bits of info impacting sales worthiness. Such as official fuel economy - US fuel estimates have become harsh for diesels, safety/crash results, warranty, cost, release date, dealer network, parts availability, demos, vehicle specifics, ....

There's always a few bleeding edge fans that couldn't care less about the details and will buy regardless. To be successful, Mahindra needs to satisfy the more typical diesel pickup customer. Time will tell.

[pee wee]

Originally Posted by AZDzlPickUp

There's always a few bleeding edge fans that couldn't care less about the details and will buy regardless. To be successful, Mahindra needs to satisfy the more typical diesel pickup customer. Time will tell.

You're right AzDzlPickUp, some of us seem to be more cheerleaders for the brand than shoppers with hard earned money trying to make a sensible decision. I hope the Mahindra trucks are dynamite, and they may turn out to be- the fact is none of us here have seen, touched or driven what we will be offered, and the people responsible for bringing it to the U.S. have left us with a lot of questions unanswered, which has raised more questions. Those of us in the market for a truck are waiting because we want to be able to weigh this truck (all the factors- cost to buy, cost to run, mechanical details, perceived value and so on) against our other options. No, there isn't another truck exactly like this one, and we all want this to succeed, but there are other choices we can make that will satisfy our needs.
Two options I have in mind are:
1. buy a recent used truck and wait it out three or four more years for something I like better
2. buy a new Ford Ranger with a 7' bed
I've already determined that the Mahindra initial offering isn't exactly what I wanted, I was looking for less fluff and excess baggage, a work truck. I might buy one of these anyway (assuming they show up), but I want to know more about them. The idea that we should just buy one of these and not ask questions seems somehow wrong.

[Max465]

Originally Posted by pee wee

Two options I have in mind are:
1. buy a recent used truck and wait it out three or four more years for something I like better
2. buy a new Ford Ranger with a 7' bed
I've already determined that the Mahindra initial offering isn't exactly what I wanted, I was looking for less fluff and excess baggage, a work truck. I might buy one of these anyway (assuming they show up), but I want to know more about them. The idea that we should just buy one of these and not ask questions seems somehow wrong.

As a Mahindra fan myself, I get where you’re coming from pee wee. But wait a few more months to see and touch the trucks, wait for the government fuel ratings to come out. Buying a Ranger that gets 18-21 MPG real world, with half the payload of Mahindra doesn’t make much sense to me. Drive your current vehicle into the ground and wait it out with us!

[blue7.3]

Originally Posted by Max465

As a Mahindra fan myself, I get where you’re coming from pee wee. But wait a few more months to see and touch the trucks, wait for the government fuel ratings to come out. Buying a Ranger that gets 18-21 MPG real world, with half the payload of Mahindra doesn’t make much sense to me. Drive your current vehicle into the ground and wait it out with us!

Max! Welcome to the site (Have I done that already, so many new members, so little memory). I agree w/ your asessment btw. But I hear pee wee's angst. We're all wearing circles in the carpet pacing, waiting for some actual news to lift our spirits...

(ok, ok, that was just sappy as hell, but it's early...)

-pete

[Max465]

Originally Posted by blue7.3

Max! Welcome to the site (Have I done that already, so many new members, so little memory). I agree w/ your asessment btw. But I hear pee wee's angst. We're all wearing circles in the carpet pacing, waiting for some actual news to lift our spirits...

(ok, ok, that was just sappy as hell, but it's early...)

-pete

Hi Pete - thanks for the welcome! I'm really hoping for some positive news in the coming weeks - let's all keep our fingers crossed.

[pirate11652]

In regard to PEE WEE's question, When can we expect to see a version of the Bolero?

We were told in no uncertain terms that the Bolero will not be offered in the US. While the Scorpio platform was designed with the US market in mind, the Bolero was not and anything with the Bolero name would have to be redesigned from the ground up. Having said that the Bolero was very cool.

[DickIsGone]

"In regard to PEE WEE's question, When can we expect to see a version of the Bolero?"


I saw it back in '84 when it was released. Bo Derek was so smokin' hot in a few of the scenes, she set the asphalt on fire, twice.