The truck that has me rethinking my aversion to an auto loan

Before we get to the Day 5 posting, allow me to share something totally off topic. I can do that because it's my blog.

I'm not a car person. I really could care less what I drive and anyone who has seen my vehicles can attest to that. I went the car mortgage route for many years and hated it. Just when you get the car paid off it starts falling apart – or in one case gets totaled in a wreck with an uninsured motorist a week after I drop my collision and uninsured/underinsured coverage.
So for the past several years I've been going with paid-for used car route. You know the car. It might not look like much, but it gets me from here to there, and it does spend a little more time in the shop to pass the Missouri vehicle inspection every other year.

This week my 1990 Chrysler LeBaron convertible, for which I paid $1,500 four years ago, was replaced by a newer 1993 Buick Century with cold, cold air-conditioning and only 105,000 miles. Yes, the 'Baron is still in the driveway and after power window issues that sent my wife's mini-van to the shop this week we decided it is best to keep it around for a spare and for cruising Sundays in the country with the top down. It's a basically dependable heap, and a convertible, thus worth keeping a while longer.

But during the course of my work at Equipment Dealer magazine, I learned about a new vehicle offering coming late 2008 or early 2009 and it caused me to sit up and take notice.

Mahindra & Mahindra – farmer types might be familiar with the company's compact tractors – will distribute its line of diesel-powered compact pickup trucks and SUVs starting in late 2008 or early 2009 through its U.S. importer, Global Vehicles USA Inc., of Alpharetta, Ga. According to press reports model names and final pricing have not been determined. However, expectations are that the vehicles will be priced competitively starting in the low $20,000 range for the basic pickup truck and in the upper $20,000 range for the high-end SUV.

The vehicles will all feature common rail diesel engines with a six speed automatic transmission and two- or four-wheel drive with a touted MPG of 28 to 35. Furthermore, from what I've read about these trucks already at work in the rough terrain of their native India and the outback of Australia they are built to last. Mahindra & Mahindra has long been famous as the builder of Jeeps in India.

I quote directly from a Global Vehicles USA Inc news release: "The Mahindra Group's automotive sector is in the business of manufacturing and marketing utility and light commercial vehicles, including three-wheelers. It is the market leader in utility vehicles in India, and currently accounts for about half of India's utility vehicle production.

"Created in 1994 following an organizational restructuring, the automotive sector can trace its roots back to 1954. The iconic jeep that led American GIs to victory in World War II is the same vehicle that drove the Mahindra Group to success in its early days. Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, the flagship company of the group, was set up as a franchise for assembling general purpose utility vehicles from Willys, USA."

Three things about the truck appeal to me: It comes with a diesel engine, it will be priced in my budget range, and it is built to last.

We hear a lot these days about ethanol and food vs. fuel and the need to improve gas mileage. I've long thought that U.S. automakers should spend more time and money developing more diesel cars and trucks. Diesel engines have always provided more miles per gallon, and having more new generation diesel engines on the road will go a long way to reducing energy consumption across the board. Unlike internal combustion gasoline engines, diesels run and run, and run. And I like the idea of being able to fuel my vehicle with a biodiesel blend.

I also like the looks of the pickup truck, though some folks to whom I've showed pictures say it sure is ugly. Ugly or not, at the very least I am intrigued enough to go out of my way to have a test drive and consider a purchase. And thanks to Dave Hollar of GVI for providing the photo.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled blog.