At Last, A Small Pickup?

[troutsqueezer]

It looks like before long, Mahindra will start making and selling a small pickup here in the states. Mahindra pickups to be assembled in Alabama beginning next year

I hope it turns out to be something worth owning because I have been lamenting the demise of the small truck ever since the early 2000's. I've always been attracted to diminutive pickup trucks ever since my early twenties when the Toyota's and Datsun's first came out. I bought a Ford Courier in the early seventies and loved it. It would take a lot of weight, get in and out of traffic like nobody's business and got good mileage. Bumpy ride for sure, but that was part of the fun.

The trend with cars and trucks always seems to be that they get larger with each passing model year. Look at the Toyota Tacoma and the Nissan Frontier for example. They are as large as the full size trucks were back in the nineties. I don't consider them to be small anymore and I think in this day and age with the price of gas and cost of upkeep, that is a shame. The small stature is what got Toyota and Nissan pickup trucks off the ground in the first place. I've always felt that if someone came out with a pickup truck that is truly small and functional, they could make a killing. So I hope the Mahindra fits that bill. I'll buy one as long as it's not a piece of junk and I wouldn't expect it to be if they apply the same quality to it as they do their tractors.

 

[Scooby074]

Ill believe it when i see it.

I had a lot of faith in Mahindra, but excuse after excuse has ruined whatever trust i had in them.

 

[nybirdman]

Timing is right;Ford announced that the Ranger is no longer going to be built and the Chevy Colorado not far behind.

 

[TripleR]

My first small pickup was a Datsun and fit really well in tight places and with a set of snow tires got around pretty well. A few years later, I bought a Toyota and had two of them until I got close to retirement and needed something big enough to pull trailers and such.

I won't buy another one, but I think there is a market for them, I love my "full size" truck, 06 Tundra, but it won't go the places my little truck would.

 

[bp fick]

I've had 4 Ford Rangers, from the earliest to the latest. (and a Ford Courier (Mazda) before that) I still drive an '05. It's a baby, with only 60K miles on it. I hope to have it or at least have it in the family, forever. I love compact trucks, always have.

Frankly? There is no true compact truck on the market right now. Sad, really.

 

[CHDinCT]

My last truck was a '99 Tacoma. Toyota bought it back due to the frame rust issue. I started out looking at the new Tacoma's which do appear bigger, but to my eyes, were no bigger inside. I was hoping for a little more rear seat room for the occasional rear passenger or two. Ford hadn't updated the Ranger in years it seemed and I had no interest in the Nissan Frontier, so that left me fully size trucks only. Ended up getting a F150 XLT that I'm very happy with so far. But, had the Mahindra small diesel pickup been on the market, I sure would have looked hard at it. Just seems like it's been coming to market for years now, but never does.

By the way, why is Ford giving up on the Ranger? I'm sure sales were off partially due to it not being updated in a decade. I looked at them in '99 when I bought the Taco and the truck looks the same today. It's no wonder it didn't sell.

 

[bp fick]

My last truck was a '99 Tacoma. Toyota bought it back due to the frame rust issue. I started out looking at the new Tacoma's which do appear bigger, but to my eyes, were no bigger inside. I was hoping for a little more rear seat room for the occasional rear passenger or two. Ford hadn't updated the Ranger in years it seemed and I had no interest in the Nissan Frontier, so that left me fully size trucks only. Ended up getting a F150 XLT that I'm very happy with so far. But, had the Mahindra small diesel pickup been on the market, I sure would have looked hard at it. Just seems like it's been coming to market for years now, but never does.

By the way, why is Ford giving up on the Ranger? I'm sure sales were off partially due to it not being updated in a decade. I looked at them in '99 when I bought the Taco and the truck looks the same today. It's no wonder it didn't sell.

According to what Ford has said many times, they did not want to steal sales from the F-150. The whole "we're #1 in sales" thing. OK, but for many years, the Ranger was something like #3 or #4!!!

Yes, they stopped doing anything, in terms of upgrading, the Ranger for 10 years. They've wanted to stop building it as long ago as '04, but the fleet sales and actual retail sales held very strong. As late as a few years ago, the Ranger just refused to die in sales, even though it hadn't been touched virtually at all in many years.

Finally, unless you bought a plain Ranger, the price was sky-high and the customer was in F-150 territory.

The shame of it all is that Ford has sold the T-5 and T-6 (modern Rangers) around the world, but will not bring them here. So, what else is new? Europe had the new Focus and Fiesta long before we got them.

"North Americans don't buy small vehicles" is the mantra. OK. Whatever.

 

[KentT]

I've owned a couple Rangers, a Dakota, and now drive a Frontier. I've also owned F-150s and Dodge Rams. IMO, the new full size trucks are huge and a PITA to drive in city traffic or to park in parking lots, especially if 4WD...

The one I've been watching is the Jeep Gladiator. Originally on the concept car show circuit several years ago, it looks like it has finally been approved for production and should be here sometime next year, likely as a 2013 model. It's based on the Jeep Unlimited chassis. I'm interested in seeing what the engine choices really are when it comes to production -- the concept car was a 4cyl diesel with a 6 speed manual...

Jeep Gladiator 4-Door Pickup "Truck" Coming in 2013 | Motor City Muscle Cars

 

[Willl]

"Small Pickup"

That's a 'oxymoron', ain't it ? :laughing:

 

[Redneck in training]

I see advertise and in trafic as well Chinesse made Great Wall PU. They look OK to me and cost about 45% less than comparable truck from in ex Nissan. I am in Australia.
Great Wall | Paceway Great Wall dealer Perth, Western Australia

 

[Sasquatch4100]

Sweet pick up. Australia is def ahead of us in the small pick up category. When I was there I saw one F-150 (in two years) and that was the largest pick up I saw. The rest were mini trucks or as they're know down there as "Utes". In fact they still make and are hugely popular the "el camino and ranchero style vehicles. It was awesome. I'd love to import those here.

Here's a sample. Caribe? Mustanchero?….They call them Utes, mate. | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

 

[bindian]

Don't hold your breath on a Mahindra pickup from M&M. Besides the cost being high for an economy truck, the MPGs are low. About one or two MPGs better than what my 2003 Cummins powered dually gets on the freeway. For the price and MPGs, I'll keep my one ton.
hugs, Brandi

 

[txdon]

My Ford 150 cost 17K new (end of year) and a Toyota Tacoma 26K. Gas millage difference is 2-3mpg. The math doesn't add up for the advantage of a smaller truck. That Jeep truck sure caught my eye.

 

[Scooby074]

I see advertise and in trafic as well Chinesse made Great Wall PU. They look OK to me and cost about 45% less than comparable truck from in ex Nissan. I am in Australia.
Great Wall | Paceway Great Wall dealer Perth, Western Australia

I just looked up the Great Wall PU from your post.
Can the chinese come up with anything on their own? Or is all they do rip off others designs... The GW is a clone of the VW right down to both having a 2L diesel, 6 speed manual, and same dimensions There is a bit of hilux in there too, but not as much as the VW, at least in my eyes. How do they keep getting away with it?

VW Amarok

Toyota Hilux

Great Wall V200

 

[DIRTROAD]

The shame of it all is that Ford has sold the T-5 and T-6 (modern Rangers) around the world, but will not bring them here. So, what else is new? Europe had the new Focus and Fiesta long before we got them.

It's not just Ford. It seems like all the manufacturers have small diesel platforms sold everywhere but North America. Jeep even makes a wrangler with a diesel, just not sold here.

That is why I am going to the trouble to fix up a 1982 VW diesel pickup. Even if I have to spend several thousand dollars to make it like new again, its still cheaper than a new truck and nobody sales anything comparable to it anymore.

The VW should get near 50mpg. It will pay for itself very quick considering that last year I spent $6000 on gas for my Dodge.

Big oil is killing this country. Until the auto manufacturers get out of bed with the oil companies, nothing will change.

 

[Redneck in training]

The problem is how the emissions generated by the engine are measured. The US automakers are in bed with government. Here is how I see it:
In Europe the emissions are measured by volume per km driven. So the rule favors small, light vehicles. In Europe you pay tax based on pollution the vehicle emits. Somebody from Europe will clarify it.
In US the emissions are measured by percentage of total volume. So the rule doesn't punish big engines as long as they comply with the percentage. Even though small engines pollute less in total volume they might not qualify because they can't meet the percentage.
All US manufacturers sell diesel cars everywhere except US because they don't comply with the emission rules in the US.
I think Europe has more rational system.

 

[DIXIEDOG]

I don't see the appeal of the small truck. I've have several Toyotas and Nissans when I was younger....they all got in the 15-18 mpg range.....the 06' GMC Sierra I owned got 18+ mpg all while being more comfortable on long drives and pulling nearly twice the weight....the 10' Super Duty I own now gets 15 mpg, is comfortable with plenty of room for my stuff and can pull basically anything I hook to it....

If VW brings that Amarok to the US and it has a diesel engine close to my VW TDI ALH engine I'll check one out right away but I'm not in a rush to buy another small gas truck that gets poor fuel economy, can't haul squat and I has no interior room.

 

[bp fick]

Many guys don't see the see the need for a small truck, and that's OK for them. But for many others, the compact is just plain handy, similar to RTV that is street legal.

My 4 cyl Ranger gets 28/31 mpg in normal/hwy driving. I want even more. I want 37/40 and only a small diesel will do it, and yes, a small diesel is what the rest of the world gets. Shrug.

A small truck isn't for everyone and isn't for everyone all the time. But, for just puttering around, shagging parts or a few bags of feed? Perfect. Will the M&M truck ever become a reality? Serious, serious doubts.

I see absolutely no point in firing up our big truck, and suck gas at 16 mpg, just to drive it essentially as a short commuter.

 

[thatguy]

I've owned a couple Rangers, a Dakota, and now drive a Frontier. I've also owned F-150s and Dodge Rams. IMO, the new full size trucks are huge and a PITA to drive in city traffic or to park in parking lots, especially if 4WD...

The one I've been watching is the Jeep Gladiator. Originally on the concept car show circuit several years ago, it looks like it has finally been approved for production and should be here sometime next year, likely as a 2013 model. It's based on the Jeep Unlimited chassis. I'm interested in seeing what the engine choices really are when it comes to production -- the concept car was a 4cyl diesel with a 6 speed manual...

Jeep Gladiator 4-Door Pickup "Truck" Coming in 2013 | Motor City Muscle Cars

an after market company already sells a pickup conversion to make a regular wrangler into a pickup.. The cost is about $5k plus installation.. Jeeps shows a pic of it in their Wrangler literature..

American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) - AEV Brute TJ Wrangler Jeep Pickup Truck Conversion

here is the double cab

AEV Wrangler Brute Double Cab

the Gladiator rear seat is only for children and pets it looks like.. its tight back there

I do like the look of the pickup jeep.. The current powerplant for the Wranglers is the Penstar 6cyl that has been in the dodge vehicles - If i understood correctly, 2012 is the first yr this engine is in the Wranglers, and has gotten pretty good reviews based on reading some other forums..



b

 

[Scooby074]

Global Ranger... Apparently the globe no longer includes north america:laughing:

Sharp looking vehicle, available with 2.2L 148 hp 277ftlb and 3.2L 197 hp 347 ftlb diesels.

Notice that the 3.2 is nudging up against the much hailed by ford "ecoboost" v6, at least in the torque figures, which is important in a truck. Its only 3ftlb less than the car edition of the v6 ecoboost and 73ftlb less than the truck version.

And there is your reason why ford wont bring it. A compact with the diesel would take the shine of the f150 ecoboost cash cow.