[vinod_nookala]

"Dhabarji,

In Malayalam there is a saying which roughly translated to English says "Even if you promise an elephant, never promise hope" :-).."


Wonderfully said 4x4 addict. Hope the a capable MM550 comes in a new avatar!

[GTO]

• Basic body : No plastic add-ons which seem to be a favorite with Mahindra these days. The “classic” 540 with good rubber looks astoundingly handsome.
• Your 2.5 Common-rail mated to a 5 speed would be awesome. If substantially cheaper, Arkas recommendation of a turbo-XD3P would do too.
• Disc brakes + Booster.
• LSD rear.
• Diff locks.
• Atleast a Scorpio level of build quality. And no rust please.
• MANUAL 4x4 : Please don’t make us waste our money on Borg Warner and all that jazz. It will push the price up unnecessarily.

Keep it basic. Some have asked for better interiors et all, but that will only push up the price of the Jeep. Keep it clean, basic, capable & high on 4x4 functionality. If feasible, the following may be offered as options or in a full-blown loaded variant

• Air-con
• Power steering
• Cosmetics : Better mirrors etc.

Let us buy the winches in the after-market. It will anyways be too expensive on the manufacturer price list.

Target price : 7.5 lakhs.

[fazalaliadil]

What a thread started by Mr. Behram!!
None of us on the forum could be more turned on. Just the mention of a upgraded 540/550 has got us drooling and our poor wives will never be able to guess the reason for the smile on our face from evening till we hit bed.
Is Mahindra testing waters before taking the big plunge?? If so, I can't add more to the wish list inputs by our experienced forum members, couldn't be better. Filter and make the best configuration and aim at limitted editions, as this is not going to be a mass production vehicle neither should it be. The "Legend" was big time disappointment (I did a test drive). An obeslete DI engine in it, need I say more?
Keep the price around 6-7 lakhs, it will be a HIT.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Keep it basic.

I echo Arka and GTO. I would hope that you could stay away from a computerized engine maybe by using the old Scorpio engine...but give it some testosterone under the bonnet please, and a five speed tranny, not that god-awful 4 speed POS. The rumor is that the current General Manager and Head of Vehicle Development at M&M is a disgruntled old spinster woman who has never been...who has no real experience with men and what they want in terms of performance. Behram, if you or your friends have any influence with her maybe you can woo her into giving us a mm550 with some big spheroids.

1.The standard MM540 4WD with better braking/disc brakes and better rust proofing is something I'd settle for.- for 4-5 lakhs
2.Bonus- 5th gear overdrive and ability to cruise at 100kmph rather than the standard 80-90. for 5.5lakhs or less
3.Dream machine-All of the above plus 2.6 or 2.2 Crdi -6.5 lakhs or less

PS- I really liked Samurai's list.
@DB- Please get M&M to re launch the 540. I was too young to buy one when it was in production.

[headers]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

The rumor is that the current General Manager and Head of Vehicle Development at M&M is a disgruntled old spinster woman who has never been...who has no real experience with men and what they want in terms of performance. Behram, ..

@ DD, you are a naughty old man:

Ok, here my wish list

1. A built in GPS - basic nothing complicated
2. Front and Rear Full Diff Locks - No free wheel hubs etc. One should not get out of the vehicle to change from 2wd to 4wd etc.
3. Any CRDe [preferably the 2.2] with full synchormesh 5 speed gearbox and 4wd with 2 speed transfer case. Even a close ratio six speed is fine. [Whisper whisper .. the scorpio automatic has a six speed auto box right?]
4. Inbuilt six point roll cage and seat belts for all passengers!
5. Adjustable Shock Absorber settings to set the ride to smooth or hard! A closed loop hydraulic system is great!
6. The ability to do 140 kph as well as crawl down a 70 degree incline with engine braking.
7. Adjustable headlamps for specific spread [width] adjustment especially for low beam for OTR uses.
8. I'm fine with Leaf spring setup if we can get point 5. Leaf spring makes the construction simple, withstands more abuse and keeps the costs down!
9. PS, AC, TC, EBD all can be given as options. I wonder what TC will do if two wheels are up in the air though!
10. Ability to ford upto 3 feet of water.
11. Front and rear Hooks and a 12000 pound winch [optional]
12. Mandatory tow cables along with the tool kits.
13. Good NVH - One should not hear the engine noise unless revved above 3000 or 4000 rpm
14. Maybe a Music System [7 speaker], Fridge, etc etc as options for the feathered kind!
15. Good AT tyres to complement this dream vehicle

Ok Dhabar Behram, now when is this dream vehicle due?

Ofcourse, lastly, the same 540/550 body shell with a hardtop convertible option which flicks down at the touch of a switch! and becomes a macho open jeep!

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by headers

@ DD, you are a naughty old man:

Uh...yeah, that's true. But holey bovines, man, you trying to turn this mm540 into a luxury SUV? Auto tranny??? I believe you have turned and are now working for the enemy.

[SirAlec]

Sorry Behramjii! But i hate Mahindra but if you were to redo it please do the following. Will definitely buy one. ANd I really like to see Mahindra in the Land Rover's shoes. which states, "75% still on road alive and first vehicle to be seen by 75% of world population." First one still possible second one already acheived hence cannot be.

Take the shell of the Army design, the one with large plastic cladding, but please use better quality plastic. Cheaper to replace, I still remember arguing, nearly beating the crap out of a Mahindra dealer for the astounding cost of front plastic/fibre grill of a friends Armada.
Put a modern engine, a CRDI, a VGT maybe (so can be used on and off highway). Better suspension system, little bit less cabin height still so that GC not changed (low stance, like american jeep). Definitely better cut hood with better fabric in soft top version, Mahindra has ignored this since long.
a difflock will help. A better paint job and definitely something for rust. As I have seen Mahindra rusting in less than a year.

All this in a package under 5.5 to 6 lac.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

An overall quieter vehicle. PS and a steering wheel that doesn't shake too violently at higher speeds. A gear shift lever that looks and feels a bit more sophisticated and engages without a fuss every time. A more aerodynamic windscreen. The original seven pillar front grill. Perhaps this will require some royalty payment issue with Jeep but I guess it's worth it unless it means a substantial jump in unit price of each vehicle. Price around Rs 6 lakh.

[mmmjgm]

I am not too much in to jeeps, yes if you ask me for a wishlist, here's what I want and like.

A Mahindra Axe in Diesel - make that a Detroit Diesel,

A/C and P/S

Thank you, pricing your choice Dhabar Saheb.

Cheers
M M

[amit V8]

if my wallet remains thin, i'll keep it as stock.
but, if it becomes fatter & fatter i'll transform it into a CJ7 LAREDO. its a dream.
here's some pictures-Jeep CJ7 Jeeps for sale CJ5 at AUSTINJEEPS.COM.

[RedMM340]

If you simply put all the upgrades that have been incorporated into the Bolero platform, that would be great. M&M basically has all the components to make a much more refined MM540 with the latest Bolero parts bin. Just make sure you have the 2.6 crde motor along with 4x4.

[IronWolf]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Rear Diff - LSD and manual lock
Front Diff - Manual lock
Disc Brakes
Full floating rear axle
Skid plates to protect all vulnerable underbody parts.
Rust proof body

All the above for 5L ex-showroom.

Samurai, these splits are so practical a value for money trueblood off-roader. To add on to this the 2.5L XDP engine needs to be in the bay of this baby.

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Hey arka,
That was pretty specific. You forgot power steering??

I dont think Arka would forget something like that esp after everything else was very specific baring the SKU number.

Note point 6
6) Power Assisted Re-Circulating Ball Steering.

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Dhabarji,

In Malayalam there is a saying which roughly translated to English says "Even if you promise an elephant, never promise hope" :-)..

I agree, after initializing this Dhabarji is missing. was this a teaser?

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

General Manager and Head of Vehicle Development at M&M is a disgruntled old spinster woman who has never been...who has no real experience with men and what they want in terms of performance. Behram, if you or your friends have any influence with her maybe you can woo her into giving us a mm550 with some big spheroids.

Hope shes not reading this thread, if not we can forget seeing the MM550 in production again.

Originally Posted by rippergeo

1.The standard MM540 4WD with better braking/disc brakes and better rust proofing is something I'd settle for.- for 4-5 lakhs
2.Bonus- 5th gear overdrive and ability to cruise at 100kmph rather than the standard 80-90. for 5.5lakhs or less
3.Dream machine-All of the above plus 2.6 or 2.2 Crdi -6.5 lakhs or less

PS- I really liked Samurai's list.
@DB- Please get M&M to re launch the 540. I was too young to buy one when it was in production.

I think this is the perfect split.

[Roshun]

My wishlist for the MM550:

Standard features:
Scorpio 2.6 CRDe (115bhp) engine & gearbox or 2.5L 97bhp Bolero CRDe engine.
Manual 4wd transfercase (not electronic)
Manual free-wheeling hubs
Front & rear differential locks
Limited slip differential as standard
Front ventillated disc brakes, rear drum ok
Power-steering
Functional handbrake
Better stylised soft top option with roll cage (like was done with the Classic)
Fully adjustable bucket seats (front). Rear - single front facing bench (total 5-seater) with belts for all seats.
Same body style - no dangling plastic bits.
Leaf-spring rear suspension set up is simpler and will keep costs down. It's also much better off-road.
Front - can try a variant of the 4x4 Scorpio's torsion bar independent front suspension. If too complicated to execute, stick to leaf-spring set up.
Slightly wider track to lower centre of gravity. Keep ground clearance at 220mm at lowest point. 300 mm for body.
Skid plates for engine sump, gearbox & transfer case
255/65 R 16 radials - all terrain tyres as standard.
Engine immobilizer equipped security system

Factory options on higher variants (no 2wd option at all please):
Air conditioning
Front power windows
Smart, lockable hard top (like the Wrangler/Rubicon)
Electric winch
Bull bar/nudge bar
Alloy wheels
Optional driving lamps/spot lamp kit
Jerry can rack, spade etc + off road kit
Fording kit (snorkel provision + diff breather tubes etc)

Ok, enough day dreaming
Cheers,

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Ironwolf - I have not disappeared.

Dear Dirty Dan - who is this dirty old spinster? Good one I say!

Dear all - why all the speculation? I just asked a simple question.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar