lame. lame. lame. lame. lame. how ****ing lame is that, as if we dont have enough ****ing trucks in north america.

I actually rode in one while in Morroco, crude but surprisingly tough. Functions very well in hot climates, don’t know how it would handle winter weather. It would be a cool little truck to keep up at the cottage, has no problem driving through deep mud.

I hate everything about it.

Its just not cheap enough and it looks totally dumb as well. Wey on earth would you buy one **** even if it was $10k?

not a bad idea, but the name needs work.

planet_drive has it spot on – Most indian vehicles have a history of being crude, but they are tough as they come.

TOZO and mars_smiley, are you upset that these third-world countries are what it takes to develop things like hybrid diesel trucks – things the US haven’t done, being as great a power as they are??
Lame? For shame, they’re outshining the western world and all you can do is hate… Such is the ignorance of the masses.

Finally the Ford Ranger has some competition for oldest-looking pickup with the oldest engineering on the market!

But seriously, the Appalachian looks like it has the lines of an ‘81 Toyota pickup, but with modern trim bits as designed by Kia.

It seriously looks like the pickup version of a 2000 Dacia 1300 or a Brazilian Peugeot 504 from the ’90s.

Then again, I kinda like that sort of thing.

But I’ll bet it’s a true and proper pickup that more than gets the job done. If it is, it has my respect.

Appalachian? What did somebody already own the rights to ****box?
What a stupid name, did they research this or just look at a map and pick a mountain chain that wasn’t already taken.
Will they have a Deliverance model with a free canoe rack?

This reminds me of the Datsun 1200 pickup. At the very least they could out some style into it.

I was in a Mazda showroom couple of weeks back and they had a new B series on display, and I’m thinking to myself not a bad little truck. The price was only 21k cdn for the 3.0 six, auto, air and 4 wheel drive. So why is Ford giving up on this segment? I understand they don’t sell as well as they used to, but when was the last time you saw a Ranger/B Series in any form of advertising? My point is, even if these haven’t been updated since some ancient time when Ford was profitable I would still buy one over this Mahindra thing. In fact if you squint it kind of looks like the old Rotary pickup from the ’70s. Maybe they should call it the Disco since the sheetmetal appears to be from about that era.

I’m down with these spartan rides. It reminds me of the Wrangler – honest, cheap, and easy to maintain. This is what people need in a pickup truck, not leather and all the ****ing options they offer now. Who wants to abuse and roughhouse a $55,000 Lincoln Blackwood?

What happened to LP, that gooch-eating chodester?

Johnny has got it down on this one. In a country where the Ranger and its competition are leaving the market because of small demand, how can someone expect to sell something in the same segment that does not even appear to be comparable. I mean this truck may be a good little truck but park it next to a Ranger and ask someone to pick one; I’ll bet almost anybody would rather take the Ford.

20 grand? Too much.

I agree with DeansterTJ. We need a simple work pickup that is under 15 grand, without power this and that or leather this and that.

The Tacoma and Colorado have grown in size, and at the expense of price and mpg.
What ever happened to the days when you could get a small pickup for 12-15,000?

Other than the Ford Ranger, which is so old now, this Indian pickup should prove popular. Give them a chance at least.

If small pickups are losing demand, then we should not complain about 3.50 per gallon gas here. Obviously, these guys who are moving up to bigger trucks (F150, Silverado, Ram) can afford the gas. They must be making big bucks, while people like me are losing their homes.

The looks need major work, the name is just horrible, but I’m glads to hear that it at least performs well for its intended duties. Nothing pisses off people faster than a pick-up that can’t do what it’s meant to do.

LJ, that link says this is a “$40k” truck? Anyone know how that is justified? Just because the seller says so?

Mileage aside (and that isn’t proven yet) if this is in the low 20s it will be a tough sell against the colorado or tacoma, I think. This thing’s gotta come in 4k below them to be considered.

This truck is really behind the times..and for $20k? are they kidding?!

I’ve seen some adds for a Ford Ranger in Toronto Area for as low as $12,5K Canadian. Mahindra has a Diesel engine, but I bet it’ll be priced around $25K in Canada. As much as I like modern Diesels it’s not worth two Ford Rangers!

bimmer- Agreed, but there’s still not a whole lot of advertising there. Ford barely scraps by advertising crumbs for the Ford Crown Victory/platform mates, and the Ford Ranger/Platform mates.

ricardohead- It’s a $40,000 truck that we’re going to sell in the mid-$20,000s

More or less, they’re saying it has the same specifications as an 18 wheeler, just smaller. Great.

There is a Silverado ad on the right side of this page..I know, I know they are different sizes – one small and one full-size – but it still shows how pathetic India is. This “truck” they are producing is decades behind everyone else

I think it will be ahead of it’s time if it will make into US market as advertised. If Mahindra can certify 2.2L diesel it is an achievement. Neither GM, Ford or Chrysler have such power plant. On paper it looks very promising: 150 HP and 300 lbs of torque. Most of V6 don’t have that much torque. Honda’s and Toyota’s 2.2L diesels in Europe are rated less then 150 hp (they do have version in 180hp range but for extra Euros a lot of extra). Of course it is on paper and it probably far cry from Japanese diesels in NVH, but nobody developed small pickup with diesel since ’80s (Toyota had one and they lasted until rust ate body completely).
If you are not urban cowboy and need pickup for work this is the working truck. The only thing: how the hell you gonna get smell of curry out of it? Imagine plumber who smells like that ****?

I guess no one has riden their tractors?

Silly-awkward looks, stupid-unfortunate name and priced way too high.
Yeah, India, bring it.

$20k for an Indian POS? Are they nuts? I can get a Silverado or F150 for that and then I’d have a real truck that isn’t assembled by children.

And true value = $40k? That just reeks of BS.

No Indian branded anything is $40K. Maybe they meant the cost to produce each of these hideous wastes of space. Mahindra does not seem to have a problem with losing money. They can almost be guaranteed to lose money by entering the US market. It’s very costly to come here, and the buyer count is bound to be low. Losses expected.

I actually can’t wait to start getting options in the truck and car market from India AND China. Cars have ALL gotten needlessly HUGE AND absurdly expensive!…

Toyotas “small” truck is currently larger than their “large” truck of just a few years ago! Aside from the Ranger, there really is no true “small” truck left on the U.S. market today. Seeing as how I would NEVER even consider buying a Ford or any other U.S. car, the market leaves me with zero options.

Pickups also USED to be a cheap buy. Not any more. Now, you can’t find one on the lot for under 20k. Perhaps an end to ten years of easy, breezy credit will put an end to that! I only hope.

Personally, I like the looks of this Mahindra thing. It looks like a truck. It’s not “pretty”. It has angles and a rough around the edges, way behind the times sort of look. I like that. That’s what I want MY truck to look like! I wish it didn’t look quite as modern as it does. I wish the cab looked more seventies and the bed part more fifties. I personally don’t think they even need to waste money on the plastic (let’s look modern) applique’, like they have on the side, after the window. That just looks dumb and out of place.

I want a simple, squarish, rough and tough, almost industrial looking pickup no larger than the Ford Ranger with common options only for a MAX price of 10k. Think VW thing concept applied to a pickup, with A/C, P/S, ABS/ and Four Airbags. Perhaps this CAN’T be done in America or Japan, but I KNOW the Chinese could meet my price point with the design and features I’m looking for.

I can’t wait until the Chinese start selling cars here. I’m not talking about Chicom cars that some U.S. or Japanese company rebadges and then sells at only 1k less than their other vehicles. I’m talking about Chinese companies selling Chinese cars. That development combined with the loss of eeeeeezzzy credit should bring sane prices back to the U.S. car market.

To think that the Corolla is now a 20k plus vehicle today is unbelievable!…I bought a new one with A/C for 12k only 8 years ago! Has anyone checked out the cost on a Matrix today? A small Japanese hatchback should NOT cost that much. Go to the Toyota website and build one with a few normal options and you’ll quickly be in 20k territory!…FOR A SMALL HATCHBACK!… Yes. We need to bring sanity back to pricing in the U.S. auto market.

Back to the Mahindra. I can’t wait, BUT….they are DREAMING if they think they are going to even get a whiff of interest in this or any other Indian/Chinese vehicle coming into the maket with a 20k price. These companies need to stop thinking that they can lure Americans away from trusted brands with miniscule savings of 1-3k and some cheap electronic gadgets thrown in. This is what the Koreans are currently doing and I would NOW never consider them when I can get a comparable Japanese vehicle for 1.5k more.

This Mahindra needs to be 10k and it will SELL like you wouldn’t believe.