Mahindra Truck will be here 4th Quarter

oilhammer said:

Phil, while I am sure your truck serves some purpose, it is a freakin' zip code to me. Yes, I have owned full-sized trucks. But really have no use for something that can pull my house down. That's silly. Full sized pickups flourish nowhere else on the planet but here, really. Yet others still seem to have roads, bridges, schools, etc. just like we do.

Farmers everywhere else can get by just fine with a Toyota HiLux diesel. That is what I want. Was just watching a documentary on building a huge hydroelectric power plant in New Zealand....nothing but 4 cyl diesel compact pickups. Not a single F series anywhere.

If you need to pull something that weighs 30,000 pounds, that's certainly going to take a truck larger than a HiLux. But I have never, nor will I ever, need something like that. And I bet 90% of people in the USA that buy those monsters do either. Seeings how I share the road every day with dozens of empty full size behemoths with nothing but the driver to carry I'd say I may be on to something. And I live in the middle of farm country (I literally have a field in front of and behind my house!).

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x2 Where's the Hilux and will Mahindra capture the market before Toyota makes a move...I'll bet Mahindra has the best price!

Hi new here. Called Mahindra and the VP called back. Said that that the engine has torque and hp figures EXACTLY like the 2009 jetta with 6 speed DSG. Wonder if they bought the engine of VW? Makes sense, no? Smoking is out I guess for diesels thanks to VW. Presseed him for details and he didn't have any. Begged off, said he would call back - still waiting.

Oilhammer, I bet there were a few 1-2 ton work trucks around the scenes behind the HiLux diesel (which itself might be okay for the 'White Hat', but the 'Yellow Hat' guys are driving bigger stuff).

Yes, you're probably right that many 1t p/u drivers don't need that much truck, but with limited options (after the demise of the 6.5 C/K-1500) it's a big quantum step from "nothing" to the first available diesel hauler (unless folks are considering the M320 CDI to be a work truck.)

Don't get me wrong, I think there should be more available in the light-duty diesel p/u segment, but there wasn't and I grabbed a CRD Libby. If Toyota offered a diesel Tacoma here in North America, I'm sure there'd be a whole lot of folks all over it -- I would, and Mahindra definitely may be able to fill a sorely unfilled gap.

Cheers
Duey

Someone on this forum made a post (and I will paraphrase) saying that a lot of of people who bought diesl 3/4 or 1 tons or gasser 1/2 tons would have bought a diesel 1/2 ton instead, had it actually been available.

I think that statement holds water!

It's too bad Mahindra didn't go with a 6 speed Manual and a solid front axle on the 4x4's. I think that would have helped them take a sure foothold on the market. Also, did Mahindra get out of paying the chicken tax?

4D55 Performance Inc. said:

It's too bad Mahindra didn't go with a 6 speed Manual and a solid front axle on the 4x4's. I think that would have helped them take a sure foothold on the market. Also, did Mahindra get out of paying the chicken tax?

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I imagine that it probably would have cost a lot more to certify a manual and an auto and it would have been a really poor business decision to offer only a manual. I just hope that in a year or two they will add a manual option.

I can't see how a solid front axle would be desirable at all.

Apparently Mahindra is asking the government for an exemption from the chicken tax. Haven't heard if they are getting it.

oilhammer said:

Phil, while I am sure your truck serves some purpose, it is a freakin' zip code to me. Yes, I have owned full-sized trucks. But really have no use for something that can pull my house down. That's silly. Full sized pickups flourish nowhere else on the planet but here, really. Yet others still seem to have roads, bridges, schools, etc. just like we do.

Farmers everywhere else can get by just fine with a Toyota HiLux diesel. That is what I want. Was just watching a documentary on building a huge hydroelectric power plant in New Zealand....nothing but 4 cyl diesel compact pickups. Not a single F series anywhere.

If you need to pull something that weighs 30,000 pounds, that's certainly going to take a truck larger than a HiLux. But I have never, nor will I ever, need something like that. And I bet 90% of people in the USA that buy those monsters do either. Seeings how I share the road every day with dozens of empty full size behemoths with nothing but the driver to carry I'd say I may be on to something. And I live in the middle of farm country (I literally have a field in front of and behind my house!).

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Hey look, full-sized trucks have their place, Oil...for instance, I thought I was gonna have to flag one down to pull me up that grade beside your house...all that clover was wet and my Odyssey ASC was going "Nope...no traction here...must not move...must sit and watch honeybees run amok outside my door" lol

More seriously, is your beef about the guzzler rep or just the sheer size? My son is gonna drive our 94 Burb to school next year, round trip about 7 or 8 miles, top speed 45 or 50...mileage probably 13, but the miles racked up on it will be probably minuscule compared to many driving our TDIs...after awhile your greater miles trumps mine and you pass me in the fuel guzzling category, so who is the sinner? If it is about size, we have lots of redneck kids in this town racing around in Mustangs and gasser Golfs...I'd prefer him to be packing more armour if there is trouble at an intersection .(walks away humming "Gimme 40 Acres And I"ll Turn This Rig Around.." )

You do make valid points, though...I admit to being annoyed at all the Expeditions that go by me in the mornings on the way to work...people putting on their makeup and crossing lines, etc...and you just know those babies have never seen dirt, let alone haul anything

It is simply the size (footprint) to capability ratio that I have issue with. They are horribly inefficient at what they do, no wonder why they are only popular here, and in many cases simply not sold at all in other countries around the world.

This is why I feel the Mahindra truck will be good for us, since it will be the only truck of its kind available here, whereas they are commonly available pretty much everywhere else. Just sad we cannot get all the other cool stuff. I'd love a new VW T5 single-cab pickup.

What purpose does a big gas V8 serve other than phallus status display if a 4 cylinder turbodiesel can do the same thing while using half the fuel?

Matthew_S said:

I imagine that it probably would have cost a lot more to certify a manual and an auto and it would have been a really poor business decision to offer only a manual. I just hope that in a year or two they will add a manual option.

I can't see how a solid front axle would be desirable at all.

Apparently Mahindra is asking the government for an exemption from the chicken tax. Haven't heard if they are getting it.

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I would have like to have seen a solid front axle for durability and strength. SFA have come a long way since the 70's and 80's. Long gone are the days of leaf springs. Leaf springs have been replaced by variable rate coilovers. A SFA truck with coilovers will ride smoother than a torsion bar setup. This Mahindra truck has the same type of suspension that most the compacts were running 25 years ago. A torsion bar front end is just old and out dated. I just think if they were going to go with an older style front end setup a SFA with coils or coilovers would have been the way to go. But all in all, I think it is good to see the return a compact diesel pickup to the american market. I hope it does great, and gets Chrysler to reconsider the Jeep Gladiator, cause I want one really bad.

oilhammer said:

It is simply the size (footprint) to capability ratio that I have issue with. They are horribly inefficient at what they do, no wonder why they are only popular here, and in many cases simply not sold at all in other countries around the world.

This is why I feel the Mahindra truck will be good for us, since it will be the only truck of its kind available here, whereas they are commonly available pretty much everywhere else. Just sad we cannot get all the other cool stuff. I'd love a new VW T5 single-cab pickup.

What purpose does a big gas V8 serve other than phallus status display if a 4 cylinder turbodiesel can do the same thing while using half the fuel?

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That's a fair point, size to capability...not sure I buy the phallic part ROFL. If I only used my Burb to commute carrying myself, or at the most a few bags of groceries, I wouldn't open my mouth since I agree that is a rather thoughtless American trait of resource wastage in this day and age. (Now I shall bring an example of another thoughtless trait...trying to be thoughtful about the use of fossil fuels and environmental footprint while dragging my big fat boat all over)

There are other reasons for having a larger size vehicle when it comes to work...for example, my Odyssey weighs something like 4600 pds with a tank of gas and no people. It has plenty of power and could pull my 4000 pd boat (with modifications that would be a warranty no-no), but it doesn't have the frame strength or sheer weight to control that much weight behind it on a single axle or even double axle I would guess. The boat is big and tall and catches a lot of wind.

As it is my K1500 doesn't pull it magnificently, but it doesn't own me when its hooked up either...the Burb's weight and wheelbase keep it in line nicely. It also only drops from 12-13 to 10 or so when I pull the boat at highway speeds (usually 5-10 under SL). My neighbor's chipped Duramax gets 18-19 around town he says, and drops to 12 when he pulls his 6500 pd boat...my Burb 5.7 probably only puts about 120-130 hp on the ground after it gets through the geartrain, his puts about 200-250...I dunno, mine doesn't look that bad.

For the handling reason alone I dont' think a smaller vehicle with a stronger motor would necessarily suffice. It takes a certain amount of heft and tire/chassis chutzpah to safely do work. The Mahindra MAY be able to handle it, I haven't looked closely..if its frame and such is as big as a Tundra as I heard, maybe it would work...if that were the case I wouldn't be against moving down in size. But what if the Mahindra's mileage reduced to a bigger gasser's mileage if it had to pull more weight that put it out of its comfort zone? Its virtue may drop a little. And what if there were a steep boat ramp? At some point the 4k pounds behing a 3500 pd vehicle could overcome its tire patches and drag it in...not fun, seen it happen. I only use the Burb to take the boat someplace now and then, otherwise it rarely gets used except for a trip now and then to work in bad weather. And it doesn't look all that big when I park it out at the back of my property lol.

As for phallic symbols...I've seen some sigs here describing modded vehicles that could easily pass for a lower torso flexing contest LMAO.

You assume everyone pulls something with their truck. Yet every day I see plenty of them driving around empty, with one person in them. Some do not even have a hitch! I would venture to say my ~75hp Vanagon has spent more time with something in tow than many of these monsters do. And that Vanagon has more payload than any 1/2 ton full size pickup. It is on par with most 3/4 ton trucks. Its modern T5 decendant has a TDI engine that easily out muscles a modern "small block" gas V8, and can return 30 MPGs.

I think I would have less issues with domestic full-sized pickups if they had a modern engine under the hood. But both Ford and GM scrapped those plans. The 2.0L TDI in my B5 has almost the exact same output as the old Ford 4.9L inline 6 cyl. So wouldn't it stand to reason that a 2.5L 4 cyl modern turbodiesel could move any domestic full-sized pickup around with an adequate useable amount of power that most anyone that owns them would ever need? Search the web for the specs on Toyota's current 4 cyl diesel in their trucks, like the Land Cruiser Prado. It is pretty impressive considering its frugal use of fuel, and has similar performance as the gas engines in the same platform. No different than our TDIs do against VAG's own gas engines.

Matthew_S said:

I imagine that it probably would have cost a lot more to certify a manual and an auto and it would have been a really poor business decision to offer only a manual. I just hope that in a year or two they will add a manual option.

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Supposedly they WILL be offering a manual transmission...eventually.

I have a gut feeling that it will prove prudent to sit out the first model year anyways.

michigandon said:

Supposedly they WILL be offering a manual transmission...eventually.

I have a gut feeling that it will prove prudent to sit out the first model year anyways.

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Probably best to sit out the first 5-6 model years and buy a 3-4 year old used one from the 2nd or 3rd model year.

Matthew_S said:

Probably best to sit out the first 5-6 model years and buy a 3-4 year old used one from the 2nd or 3rd model year.

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Things keep going the way they are for me right now, that's probably the only way I'll be able to afford one.

"And that Vanagon has more payload than any 1/2 ton full size pickup."

Oilhammer, what is the payload capacity of your Vanagon? Most of Ford's "half-ton" pickups are rated to carry more like three-quarters of a ton and some are rated to carry about a ton and a half.

On edit: I fully agree that most pickup drivers use their pickups in exactly the same way I used to use my motorcycle: one-up commuting.

mavapa said:

"And that Vanagon has more payload than any 1/2 ton full size pickup."

Oilhammer, what is the payload capacity of your Vanagon? Most of Ford's "half-ton" pickups are rated to carry more like three-quarters of a ton and some are rated to carry about a ton and a half.

On edit: I fully agree that most pickup drivers use their pickups in exactly the same way I used to use my motorcycle: one-up commuting.

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The GVWR of my 1993 2WD F150 was 400 pounds more than my 1982 2WD Vanagon. Given the curb weight of the Vanagon is far less than the F150, it is a safe bet to say the Vanagon's payload is quite a bit more. GVWR = curb weight + max payload.

5400+ vs. 5000+ I am sure the 4.9L all-iron 6 cyl weighs a LOT more than the 2.0L Type 4 engine. I do not recall the exact payload rating, but I know it was less for the F150.

The current T5 has a payload in excess of 1700 pounds, and with optional packaging in excess of 2400 pounds. I would suspect my T3 is similar to the 1700 pound version.

I know the newer F150s have a higher payload option, but again it gets into an area where it becomes nonsense... how can you even FIT that much into that little bed that sits 5 feet in the air? A single cab T5 with drop gate sides and over 9 feet of bed length only 4 feet off the ground is clearly far more useable.

I'd be quite interested if they offered them with a manual transmission. I'm not going to own another automatic until I simply can't drive stickshift anymore.

Oilhammer:

Here you go. The bottom link could even be used as an SUV type vehicle since it seats 6.

http://www.um.co.za/specifications/volkswagen_t5_pickup_1_9_tdi_s_cab_lwb_(2005).aspx

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volkswagen/T5/D-Cab-Pi/200925194353644/advert?channel=CARS

Yeah, that would be the bee's knees.

Show me the money: manual vs. automatic

phatcyclist said:

I'd be quite interested if they offered them with a manual transmission. I'm not going to own another automatic until I simply can't drive stickshift anymore.

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.....hoping my 'part of the family' '82 VW Diesel Rabbit PU doesn't hear this: me too.
In a way, one really can't fault Mahindra for the automatic only direction............hence the thread title. The nation has indeed changed; folks are focused elsewhere (a note from J. Travolta "Stayin' Alive").
Sad (for those few of us within the total driving population) who actually enjoy the synchro, pressure plate, clutch finger et al........and related fiscal benefits.
all the best from (a somewhat philosophical this am) ez....

Is it just me, or does anyone else see the irony of manufacturing a truck in the Hindu country of India and offering leather seats?

(Edited: brain thought Hindu but fingers typed Buddhist.)

mgwerks said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else see the irony of manufacturing a truck in the Buddhist country of India and offering leather seats?

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Well RabbitGTI wants to make it perfectly clear that he does.

India is primarily a Hindu nation, not Buddhist.

The interiors for the US model trucks are [supposedly] going to be designed and built by Lear Corporation.

FWIW: I have a leather solo seat on my Royal Enfield motorcycle, although that was an aftermarket add on.

Hey, Michigandon, I have noticed your sig before and wondered about the Travco. Have you told us about that? It reminds me of the thread started last year by MrMopar about possibly repowering a GMC motorhome with a diesel of some sort. Of course that's an entirely different problem what with the GMC being front-wheel drive. But the Travco is a pretty neat looking MH in its own right.

Nice Thing About Canada IS:

In Canada we can get a Used car or Truck from Japan. Has to be 15 years or older. So 1994 and older.

Most of these vehicles are in showroom condition and have low miles. eg Last year I purchased a 1991 Isuzu Elf 2 Ton Cabover with 208km! It originally was purchased by a company in Japan in 1991 and was never put on the road. This Mahindra truck thing does not interest me. Any Canadian can buy a Japanese Cabover Pickup anytime!

Remember all the FUSS over the $2000 Tata from India? DID NOT HAPPEN!

I would not want a RHD truck.

Mahindra

Here's a link to some info on those trucks

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/07/australian-mahindra-pickup-looks-very-close-to-us-truck.html

mavapa said:

Hey, Michigandon, I have noticed your sig before and wondered about the Travco. Have you told us about that? It reminds me of the thread started last year by MrMopar about possibly repowering a GMC motorhome with a diesel of some sort. Of course that's an entirely different problem what with the GMC being front-wheel drive. But the Travco is a pretty neat looking MH in its own right.

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Not sure if I have or not. Swapping in the engine and tranny is the "easy" part. Hooking up all the ancillaries and making the radiator and intrcooler fit was the time consuming part. I took us about a year, working off and on as spare time, finances, and weather conditions cooperated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo11DG1nuGk

I've heard of at least a half dozen other Travcos that have been repowered with 6BTs.

oilhammer said:

I would not want a RHD truck.

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Not so sure I would either. However, there are a LOT of rural mail carriers in this area that would be tickled to death to have something like a Hilux Surf to run their routes in.

Yeah, TD 4Runner would be nice, no doubt. I think I would want to put the diesel driveline in a LHD American spec truck though.

I have a nice solid Texas '89 4x4 Xtra cab pickup that needs an engine.

Michigandon, pretty neat. Did that thing take off as well as it looked like?