The BS Motoring article is here: Court battle puts a hold on M&M pick-ups
Showing posts with label Mike Geylin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Geylin. Show all posts
Monday, August 9, 2010
Collateral Damage: Dealers Caught in the Middle of Mahindra Pickup Delays
The BS Motoring article is here: Court battle puts a hold on M&M pick-ups
Friday, March 5, 2010
The Mahindra Test Drive
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.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
New VP of Sales and Marketing at Global Vehicles While Delays Remain Likely
Dan T. Najour has been named executive vice president of sales and marketing for Mahindra importer, Global Vehicles USA. Najour replaces Larry Daniel in the senior vice president position and brings with him 30 years of automotive sales experience to the GV-USA organization.
It is unclear what circumstances lead to the replacement of Daniel. However, GV-USA and Mahindra are said to still be working toward an eventual 2010 launch. Rumors lead us to believe that US-bound Mahindra TR20 and TR40 pickups will be manufactured in India beginning in January 2010 with a soft launch (key markets first) expected in February of 2010. However, some dealers are stating that they expect trucks in mid-May 2010.
NHTSA and EPA approval of the vehicles is still unknown. In a mid-November interview, GV-USA spokesman, Mike Geylin stated that NHTSA and EPA approval had not yet been given for the new-to-the-USA vehicles, but were expected sometime in the first quarter of 2010. Specific dates were not given.
The timing of several elements will have to fall perfectly into place for a February rollout. Details of the Mahindra dealer network throughout the US have yet to be announced or confirmed, US government vehicle approvals are unknown, and marketing has been non-existent. Hopefully it all comes together and we can get some first impressions of the TR pickups early this spring. It’s likely to be a very busy Holiday season for GV-USA.
Sources: PickupTrucks.com, MotorAge.com, MahindraTruckBlog, MahindraTruckForum
Special Thanks: Joe Callimachus and Pee Wee at MahindraTruckForum
It is unclear what circumstances lead to the replacement of Daniel. However, GV-USA and Mahindra are said to still be working toward an eventual 2010 launch. Rumors lead us to believe that US-bound Mahindra TR20 and TR40 pickups will be manufactured in India beginning in January 2010 with a soft launch (key markets first) expected in February of 2010. However, some dealers are stating that they expect trucks in mid-May 2010.
NHTSA and EPA approval of the vehicles is still unknown. In a mid-November interview, GV-USA spokesman, Mike Geylin stated that NHTSA and EPA approval had not yet been given for the new-to-the-USA vehicles, but were expected sometime in the first quarter of 2010. Specific dates were not given.
The timing of several elements will have to fall perfectly into place for a February rollout. Details of the Mahindra dealer network throughout the US have yet to be announced or confirmed, US government vehicle approvals are unknown, and marketing has been non-existent. Hopefully it all comes together and we can get some first impressions of the TR pickups early this spring. It’s likely to be a very busy Holiday season for GV-USA.
Sources: PickupTrucks.com, MotorAge.com, MahindraTruckBlog, MahindraTruckForum
Special Thanks: Joe Callimachus and Pee Wee at MahindraTruckForum
Friday, September 18, 2009
Mahindra Committed to Ultra-Competitive US Pickup Truck Market
MahindraPlanet has been continuing a dialogue with Global Vehicles USA’s Mike Geylin over the last two weeks. We’ll summarize all that has transpired:
MahindraPlanet posted our Open Letter to Mahindra on September 8th. The letter addressed concerns gathered from readers of this blog, and general commentary from around the net. The intent was to offer constructive criticism and solicit a response from Mahindra which we did receive.
Contact
As noted by our comment contributors (thanks joecallimachus and Anonymous) the GV/Mahindra website and contact email address had some issues. This was confirmed by Geylin:
Delays have plagued the Mahindra pickup launch. With my personal experience in heavy truck and bus OEMs and Tier 1 automotive engineering, I can relate to vehicle launch issues. All of my experience was with domestic product and companies with established history and infrastructure in the North American market. Trust me, it is difficult to launch a new vehicle domestically, I can’t imagine the logistic challenges Mahindra is facing. No specifics were discussed, but it is clear that GV and Mahindra want their trucks to be the best possible product they can put in front of US consumers.
MahindraPlanet will continue to bring you news as it comes our way. Have an opinion on the delays or any other aspect of Mahindra in North America? Make sure you vote on our launch date poll in the upper right corner, or post a comment. As always, please leave your comments, suggestions, questions, or complete flame-jobs on our posts or send them via email. If you have a tip, story idea, or would like to contribute to MahindraPlanet, please contact us: Christian.Winfield@MahindraPlanet.com
MahindraPlanet posted our Open Letter to Mahindra on September 8th. The letter addressed concerns gathered from readers of this blog, and general commentary from around the net. The intent was to offer constructive criticism and solicit a response from Mahindra which we did receive.
Contact
As noted by our comment contributors (thanks joecallimachus and Anonymous) the GV/Mahindra website and contact email address had some issues. This was confirmed by Geylin:
“I understand yours and some of the correspondents’ frustration overLaunch
non-responses and I apologize. There was an issue on our end with emails going
to infor@gv-usa.com we have addressed this issue.”
Delays have plagued the Mahindra pickup launch. With my personal experience in heavy truck and bus OEMs and Tier 1 automotive engineering, I can relate to vehicle launch issues. All of my experience was with domestic product and companies with established history and infrastructure in the North American market. Trust me, it is difficult to launch a new vehicle domestically, I can’t imagine the logistic challenges Mahindra is facing. No specifics were discussed, but it is clear that GV and Mahindra want their trucks to be the best possible product they can put in front of US consumers.
“As for the delays – these are quite normal with an introduction like ours. Much
more important to all parties involved – dealers, Global Vehicles, Mahindra
& Mahindra as well prospective customers – is getting the pickup truck
RIGHT, not meeting an “artificial” on-sale date. The United States is the most
sophisticated and competitive pickup-truck market, so the challenges for getting
things right looms large. Our and M&M’s aim is to do just that.”
MahindraPlanet will continue to bring you news as it comes our way. Have an opinion on the delays or any other aspect of Mahindra in North America? Make sure you vote on our launch date poll in the upper right corner, or post a comment. As always, please leave your comments, suggestions, questions, or complete flame-jobs on our posts or send them via email. If you have a tip, story idea, or would like to contribute to MahindraPlanet, please contact us: Christian.Winfield@MahindraPlanet.com
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