[Born 2 Be Wild]

Just went through this months edition of Autocar it has an article on an Offroad session where there is a comparison between The Audi Q7 , Endeavour, Gypsy ,getaway And off course last but not the least the Major Souvenier.

Its mentioned in that article that the major Souvenier is a SWB Jeep.

[Samurai]

In that article they have mentioned the price as 5.4L for the Souvenir. They conveniently omitted the fact that 1.95L more is required for the souvenir conversion.

[!aaaoops!]

I am not sure this is the correct place to ask this but...are there any rumors worth repeating about what M&M or any other manufacturer has coming for 2009? After reading so many posts here in this thread I find myself in the "same shoes" as so many others, looking for a good mannered, good quality 4x4 for under 8 lakhs or so.

Originally Posted by Samurai

In that article they have mentioned the price as 5.4L for the Souvenir. They conveniently omitted the fact that 1.95L more is required for the souvenir conversion.

Are you saying a new bolero 4X4 costs only 5.4?
the conversion, we could do ourselves right? its only cosmetic stuff anyway.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

Are you saying a new bolero 4X4 costs only 5.4?

Bolero? why is Bolero is even being mentioned here... The 5.5L ex-showroom is for the new Major according to them.

PS: Love the spell checker on Chrome

Originally Posted by Samurai

Bolero? why is Bolero is even being mentioned here... The 5.5L ex-showroom is for the new Major according to them.

PS: Love the spell checker on Chrome

ok! got confused between the souvenir,inspira, striker
but, 5.5 ex showroom for a dependable , basic 4X4 is not bad.
I still have this mental block against going 2nd hand.

[GTO - Touring]

Behrams been dropping plenty of hints. I would bet that Mahindra is coming out with a basic 4x4 in the near future.

[offroad_maniac]

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

Behrams been dropping plenty of hints. I would bet that Mahindra is coming out with a basic 4x4 in the near future.

As I said earlier, the Mahindra is surely upto something. As I saw the slightly modified body of a Mahindra Major which gives it a CJ-3 kinda look, while keeping the Wheel-Base same as current Major. (I am just trying to illustrate the changes)
Pic 1: Current Major
Pic 2: Possible replacement or another Varient (Here the door length is increased)

So, now the title of this thread finally has its meaning

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by GTO

Impossible to offer a basic 4x4 for 3.5 - 4 lakhs, those days are long gone. My Classic - exshowroom - in 1997 was tagged at Rs. 345,904 (without insurance etc.). On the road was about 371,xxx. Consider inflation over 10 years and the fact that these are extremely low volume vehicles, a similar Jeep wont sell for less than 5.5 lakhs if made today, which is in the region of what a Major retails at. But then, the Major enjoys economies of scale, while a competent 4x4 is part of a niche segment.

IIRC, Santro, WagonRs etc used to cost around 3.75 - 4 on road back then. Even now they cost around the same if not a little higher. Considering this Mahindra should be able to keep prices low since they have all the dies etc. But since its a niche vehicle, they may not.

[GTO]

Yup, a niche 4x4 will never enjoy the volumes and resultant economies of sale to keep the price competitive. Just look at the Gypsy's retail for a 20 year old design.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by GTO

Yup, a niche 4x4 will never enjoy the volumes and resultant economies of sale to keep the price competitive. Just look at the Gypsy's retail for a 20 year old design.

I think if Maruti had committed to putting a good Turbo Diesel in the Gypsy it would have sold in much larger numbers, given the over all refinement compared to jeep alternatives.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by offroad_maniac

Hey guys,
Today I saw new tubs (Bodies) of Mahindra Major That had a SWB.
Yeah & I am a really bad explainer.. .

Slow down, man. Can you tell us where and how you got these pictures and what you think they are pictures of exactly?

[offroad_maniac]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

Slow down, man. Can you tell us where and how you got these pictures and what you think they are pictures of exactly?

Actually I saw those bodies at Mahindra's Kandivali (Mumbai) plant, where they manufactures the Major.
The 1st pic is of current Major & the other pic is just the same, but I kind of changed it with MS-Paint to give some idea about the new Major.
(As I couldn't shot the pics of it at the plant itself)

Sorry about dumb explanation though. Was just a bit excited after seeing it.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by offroad_maniac

Actually I saw those bodies at Mahindra's Kandivali (Mumbai) plant, where they manufactures the Major.
The 1st pic is of current Major & the other pic is just the same, but I kind of changed it with MS-Paint to give some idea about the new Major.
(As I couldn't shot the pics of it at the plant itself)

Sorry about dumb explanation though. Was just a bit excited after seeing it.

I finally noticed your editing and then understood. Thanks for the news. I was about to make a purchase. Now I think I will wait some more.

[4x4addict]

offroad_maniac:

Don't mean top sound rude man, but you looked at the picture of the Souvenir and thought it was based on SWB Classic, so forgive me for being skeptical about a SWB jeep from Mahindra.