Mid-sized Diesel pickup for the US market

[notfarnow]

- 2600# payload
- 2.2l diesel
- 150hp, 300ft/lbs
- <30k
- 30+ mpg

However, it's made by Mahindra, and it ain't pretty



http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/11/mahindra-appalachian-diesel-pickup-arrives-in-us-next-year-dies/

Just the same, I bet this will spur some competition in the small diesel pickup market

[The Gaijin]

Who needs pretty. It is a truck!

"the truck will deliver 30 to 35 miles per gallon and cost in the mid-$20,000 range. It will be paired with a six-speed automatic that's controlled via a floor-mounted shifter or paddle shifters(!), have a class-leading payload of 2,600 lbs. and feature a 60,000-mile, four year bumper-to-bumper warranty..."

Sounds good to me.

[notfarnow]

just noticed, it's going to be built in Ohio

[onewhippedpuppy]

With numbers like that it will sell like crazy, no matter how ugly. For anyone who uses a truck for work purposes, just imagine the savings in fuel costs. Not to mention, it's cheap.

Rumor has it there will be several domestic 1/2 ton trucks with small displacement diesels for 2009 or 2010, I wonder how their MPG, payload, and price compare?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Even more interesting:

"If that's not enough to strike fear in domestic and import truck makers alike, Mahindra has also revealed plans to sell a diesel hybrid version of its pickup by 2010. If it happens, the diesel hybrid Appalachian will be, as far as we know, the only diesel hybrid on sale in the U.S. market and achieve fuel economy figures even higher than its diesel-only counterpart. Imagine a midsize pickup in the low-$30,000 price range capable of 40+ mpg."

[The Gaijin]

Those big red mahindra and mahindra tractors are popular up by us. I think they use a lot of Fiat technology.

[JavaBrewer]

I think it looks cool. I'd be on that real quick if the quality is decent.

[911Rob]

sorry, too small imo.

[notfarnow]

The Mahindra website is worth a look, just for the product descriptions:

http://www.mahindra.com/OurBusinesses/automotive_domestic_products_pickup_bolero_camper_ dlx.htm

Bolero Camper DLX



Don’t be deceived by its macho exteriors. It’s really luxury in the guise of a vehicle. The air-conditioning is superb, the driver’s bucket seat is plush and the DI Turbo engine is actually adrenaline in overdrive.

Experience the smooth 5-speed transmission, take it through terrain that challenges the independent front suspension. And drive on. Be it on business or even some flimsy pretext of business.

Unique features :
• Independent front suspension
• Superb air conditioning
• DI Turbo engine
• Spacious double-wall cargo box
• Powerful 9-inch booster brakes
• Radial tyres
• Metallic colours
• 5-speed transmission

Radial tyres! Metallic colours!

They do have an interesting range of small trucks & Jeep knockoffs.

I think there's a much larger market for utilitarian -but well built- small trucks than the domestic (and even Japanese) manufacturers recognize. They keep getting bigger, better optioned and more expensive. I hope this will bring back the old rough & tumble small trucks and 4x4s. When the Suzuki Samurai was first introduced, every said they were too crude for the North American market. They sold tons of them.

[kach22i]

Carbon copies of WWII Jeeps and 3-wheelers..............interesting product range and history.

[onewhippedpuppy]

It kind of has a butch simplicity to it, like the '80s and early '90s Toyotas. If the quality is decent, I'd absolutely buy one. A truck is a truck.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

there are 3-axle, 10-wheel, 30 ft cargo trucks, mostly flatbed/stakeside made by Eicher running all over India. They look like they are carved from a huge solid brick of forged steel and could crush anything in their path.

if someone were to downsized to a pick-up style body, they'd sell like hotcakes. just did a serious google search and can't find a pic that shows the look, will snap a pic next time I'm there.