The Offer
So, I got the call from Mike Geylin (Global Vehicles USA Spokesman) last Friday just as Andy Isaacson (of MahindraTruckForum.com) had. I got back in touch with Mike on Tuesday morning. The offer was to fly down to GV-USA’s headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia and drive some Mahindra pickups next week before they are sent off to be destroyed.
I immediately got on Priceline and bought my ticket from Syracuse to Atlanta, then got thinking more about the value of the trip. The trucks available to drive right now are from various foreign markets. They are not equipped the same way our US spec TR20 and TR40 pickups will be.
So, I called Mike yesterday (Thursday) morning and told him that I would rather wait. I would prefer to be invited back to drive the first production trucks to arrive in the US.
Driving the foreign-market pickups would certainly give a general feeling of what we can expect, but they are not what we will actually be driving in the near future. I realized that I would rather photograph, video, and drive US spec pickups that are an honest reflection of the trucks that will be in dealer showrooms.
In a nutshell, I decided wait and report and write about Mahindra’s best US effort, and not try to look past flaws or inconsistencies in the vehicles that are currently available to drive. I believe that will be far fairer to Mahindra and GV, and better serve all of the people that read and support Mahindra Planet.
Other American Impressions
To quench your hearty thirst for a test drive report, Mike Levine (PickupTrucks.com) drove the TR’s on US soil back in August of 2009. His impressions of the foreign-market pickups (possibly the same ones) can be found here: Mahindra Test Drive on US Soil
Additionally, Jay Keffer from Motorcars Mahindra (Cleveland area dealer) was in Alpharetta this week to drive the foreign-market pickups first hand. He has posted a fantastic synopsis of his experience on Mahindra Truck Forum. Mahindra Planet will also provide a detailed report on Jay’s impressions, so stay tuned.
So, I got the call from Mike Geylin (Global Vehicles USA Spokesman) last Friday just as Andy Isaacson (of MahindraTruckForum.com) had. I got back in touch with Mike on Tuesday morning. The offer was to fly down to GV-USA’s headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia and drive some Mahindra pickups next week before they are sent off to be destroyed.
I immediately got on Priceline and bought my ticket from Syracuse to Atlanta, then got thinking more about the value of the trip. The trucks available to drive right now are from various foreign markets. They are not equipped the same way our US spec TR20 and TR40 pickups will be.
So, I called Mike yesterday (Thursday) morning and told him that I would rather wait. I would prefer to be invited back to drive the first production trucks to arrive in the US.
Driving the foreign-market pickups would certainly give a general feeling of what we can expect, but they are not what we will actually be driving in the near future. I realized that I would rather photograph, video, and drive US spec pickups that are an honest reflection of the trucks that will be in dealer showrooms.
In a nutshell, I decided wait and report and write about Mahindra’s best US effort, and not try to look past flaws or inconsistencies in the vehicles that are currently available to drive. I believe that will be far fairer to Mahindra and GV, and better serve all of the people that read and support Mahindra Planet.
Other American Impressions
To quench your hearty thirst for a test drive report, Mike Levine (PickupTrucks.com) drove the TR’s on US soil back in August of 2009. His impressions of the foreign-market pickups (possibly the same ones) can be found here: Mahindra Test Drive on US Soil
Additionally, Jay Keffer from Motorcars Mahindra (Cleveland area dealer) was in Alpharetta this week to drive the foreign-market pickups first hand. He has posted a fantastic synopsis of his experience on Mahindra Truck Forum. Mahindra Planet will also provide a detailed report on Jay’s impressions, so stay tuned.
