Does anyone know what happened to the new compact diesel pick-up truck manufactured in India?  I thought it was to be introduced into the USA by now

Mahindra.

It's not coming any time soon.




Trust me.

Mahindra.  I keep waiting too.

I'm betting .gov is the problem.

vaporware

They had some legal issues with the US distributer last I heard.  Also, there were some rumors about getting poor MPG's which, if true, is a nail in the coffin.

Mahindra.

I'm guessing *safety* issues with the NHTSA have delayed their release. Indians don't have any experience selling safe vehicles.

If I had to guess that a Democrat administration with part ownership in two AFLCIO beholden companies is not going to smile on a cheap truck import.

With unrealistic promises to begin with.

 

It was not a new truck; I understood that they already make it. I guess it ran afoul with the administration.

It was behind schedule on emissions, and the Indians are too cheap to crash a handful of them for DOT regs.

They put Global Vehicles and all their dealers in a bind and GV loved them gently in the court room. The Indians learned the hard way that American companies (GV and the dealers they had signed up) don't like getting fucked to the tune of millions. Now, M&M is second guessing EVER bringing vehicles here. The truck was just a ploy to get the Mahindra name out there and sell more tractors. M&M doesn't give a shit about putting trucks on our roads.

Source: I'm a former employee of Mahindra USA. I don't say any of this to beat on Mahindra, I say it because it's the truth. I'd go back to MUSA tomorrow if they could match my current salary.

Aside from the problems listed above, the real problem is trade protectionist bullshit on the part of the federal government.  There's a $5K per vehicle tariff on imported diesel vehicles (maybe it's just trucks?) that makes the HiLux and similar trucks practically unsellable in the US.



This is 100% about protecting American manufacturers who continue to produce and sell products that cannot compete in a global market.  They might make a half-decent full-sized pickup, but their compact pickups positively suck and they apparently cannot make a 4-cylinder diesel engine for any reason.



The only reason the Mahindra might have worked is that it was so cheap that even after the $5K tariff it was still priced low enough to attract a few buyers.

banned from import for being too ugly.

Emission delay causes lawsuit.


http://www.globalatlanta.com/article/24002/


http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/08/will-ssangyong-market-mahindra-vehicles-in-the-u-s-soon/


Bet The "O" is behind the delays.. Union BS..

EPA Aproved


http://gas2.org/2010/08/24/epa-approves-mahindra-diesel-pickup-for-u-s/