[JayD]

While the Thar 700 is a sales gimmick at best, it is heartening to see an Indian company actually make a run out edition which is more loaded (like the Grand edition mercs etc) and letting the customer make an informed choice w.r.t the future of the car. It is a welcome change from abruptly stopping a car, resorting to deep discounting, and leaving the people who bough them without knowing the future of the product feeling bad.

The promo video is nice, but they should have emphasised ABS rather than the signature plaque on this model i feel.

[Kosfactor]

Perhaps one of the best ads ever for an outgoing generation of vehicle, its such an emotional ad. Last Sunday I was bombing around all over a farmland in Bandipur forest in a Thar, such a happy piece of a machine.

It is certainly a piece of history and one that Team-BHP & BHPians had a significant role in making.

BD Sir should be happy, long live Thar.

[KkVaidya]

Only legends die this way. How many cars were phased out by dishing out limited editions? Very few.
Mr Behram lived his dream by creating a fantastic product. Hope Mahindra re-ignites it with the new generation Thar.

The only problem I foresee is parts availability. With the current generation Bolero and Scorpio also being phased out, parts will become scarce 2 years down the line.

[navpreet318]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

..............

The only problem I foresee is parts availability. With the current generation Bolero and Scorpio also being phased out, parts will become scarce 2 years down the line.

I don't see parts as a problem. Remember that service is the single biggest revenue generation unit in a dealership and with thousands of boleros and scorpios in the market, I don't see parts as a problem. Moreover with fixed costs for production of these parts mostly recovered, company and ancillaries are more than happy supply these parts and earn greater profits.

The only problem I see is that plaque once taken off by hooligans will be nearly impossible to source. Limited editions have this issue. the special parts are nearly impossible to source. Other items are easily available always.

That is a very nice advertisement that have made for the outgoing Thar. I'm 100% sure these vehicles will be lapped up in days if not a single day. Though the owners would be sad to see that in an years time another more capable thar would be faster on the highway, would be more comfy with a factory hard top and would overtake them on offroad tracks being more capable off the road too.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Attachment 1885800

Special badge with Mr. Anand Mahindra's signature

Was just wondering, few automotive leaders have the personality of Anand Mahindra or Ratan Tata. Seriously, would anyone even care about a Maruti limited edition with Kenichi Ayukawa's signature, or a Hyundai with Seon Seob Kim's?

P.S. Not to take anything away from Mr. Mahindra, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Tata would never allow his signature to be printed like this on any Tata car. Not even a limited edition of his beloved Nano.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

1) more capable thar
2) faster on the highway
3) more comfy
4) factory hard top
5) more capable off the road too

If wishes were horses... if wishes were horses

Improved on-road manners will take a toll on off-road manners, unless there is a significant increase in price.

If Mahindra decides to offer all of the above, I'm sure the price will easily shoot past 13-14 lakhs ex-showroom if not more.

In a highly unlikely event that Mahindra manages to keep the price in check while offering all of the above, the vehicle will be lapped up in such big numbers that the exclusivity factor will vanish. It will become too common; more like a mainstream product than a lifestyle vehicle.

What we'll get with the new Thar is a compromise; more on-road oriented but expensive package which will be loved by new audience but won't be appreciated by purists.

Sorry for going OT.

[navpreet318]

Well the same purists who went all out against the Thar when it was launched citing that the IFS was an unholy thing to accept in the offroading world.

Now the same purists have come to support the current Thar.

I am 100% sure they will support the 2020 Thar when it gets phased out in 2025 or 2027 and is replaced by an electric thar running on lithium ion batteries saying that purists won't appreciate it.



Sorry not pointing fingers at anyone buy fact is we all humans are like this. We don't like a design initially and then slowly fall in love with it.


We have a tendency to resist change. That's what it is.


Major OT.



Have these Thars started to trickle down to the showrooms yet?

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

A tribute to the outgoing Thar...

Why is it that I get the feeling that the agency/team that made this ad also worked on the "reclaim your life" Safari ads.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by GTO

Was just wondering, few automotive leaders have the personality of Anand Mahindra or Ratan Tata. Seriously, would anyone even care about a Maruti limited edition with Kenichi Ayukawa's signature, or a Hyundai with Seon Seob Kim's?

P.S. Not to take anything away from Mr. Mahindra, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Tata would never allow his signature to be printed like this on any Tata car. Not even a limited edition of his beloved Nano.

Well put indeed GTO! "Would anyone even care about a Maruti limited edition......". Definitely not. About the the suitability of Mr. Tata allowing his signature on any of his cars - one can only say in Mr. Mahindra's defense, that perhaps in the public psyche, M&M are more synonymous with off-roaders and hence....

Originally Posted by self_driven

...........What we'll get with the new Thar is a compromise; more on-road oriented but expensive package which will be loved by new audience but won't be appreciated by purists....

What I don't get is this bandying about with off-road "purists". I'm hung-up on RWD & AWD, but does that make me a purist. Not at all - it just makes my position clear about a particular type of drive-train, with reason to back up my position. For my money, the only off-road "purists" are there in the following links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNVzFX9MkIU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQZMmCvTEg

There are other links too, but these will serve to give the picture.

[ramnaresh_2000]

Heart broken. Thar was my first love, wanted to buy one 2 years back. However, due to safety constraints went ahead with TUV. It is really sad to see a legend die this way. I still feel bad when I see a Thar on road and thinking "I should have got one". A lot of people might think this as a gimmick, but great move by Mahindra for giving legendary farewell to Thar.

Other manufacturer might just offer hefty discounts on old stocks and simply get rid of them, but Mahindra took extra effort, time and resources by adding new paint scheme, badging, ABS & Leather seats to it. Great job Mahindra. Hopefully one day I might buy the new facelifted Thar.

[ashishy]

Originally Posted by asingh1977

God bless, BD sir. His signature should have been on this 700 release!

First thing I thought of. This should have been a tribute to BD sir as well.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by self_driven

the vehicle will be lapped up in such big numbers that the exclusivity factor will vanish. It will become too common; more like a mainstream product than a lifestyle vehicle.

That is the whole point. It would become another Royal Enfield - regained glory but without the Novelty. Only way to keep the 'want' factor is to overprice the vehicle or make it a bit unpractical remember the pre-UCE bullets and the current generation Thar.

[Samurai]

Finally Thar gets ABS in it's final breath. That is the best feature they added, and they should really emphasize that over everything else. I think there will be buyers, especially from hilly/plantation areas where Thar is still a practical alternative to sedans. I hope ABS turns off in 4WD mode, otherwise it will be a nuisance in slippery trails.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Happy 70th anniversary to M & M. This Indian success story commenced with two brothers Jagdish Chandra and Kailash Chandra Mahindra joining hands, firstly in 1945, to engage in steel business in Ludhiana and soon after to collaborate with Willys Overland Motors, Ohio, USA, to lay their hands upon assembling the Willys jeeps for the Indian market.

This is not entirely accurate. In 1945, M&M started as Mahindra & Muhammad. After the Indian partition, Muhammad moved to Pakistan. Thus M&M became Mahindra & Mahindra in 1948.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by GTO

P.S. Not to take anything away from Mr. Mahindra, but I'm pretty sure Mr. Tata would never allow his signature to be printed like this on any Tata car. Not even a limited edition of his beloved Nano.

Guess I was wrong! Thanks to Aarjith for the correction:

Tata Motors is offering limited edition offers for Tata employees, along with discounts to lure them. The company recently offered Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employees Rs. 25,000/- discount on the Nano LX. The ten day offer saw exceptional response and the TCS edition Nano had the signature of Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata near the speedometer of the car.

Source

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by Samurai

This is not entirely accurate.

Yes, I have read about it and was avoding greater details. In fact, it was perhaps Mohammed and Mahindra and as is known the former moved to Pakistan and became Pakistan's first Finance Minister. The group remained M & M, but Mohammed was replaced by Mahindra.