more about the truck, pictures at the link:
http://www.leftlanenews.com/detroit-...s-testing.html
Detroit automaker imports Indian pickup truck for U.S. testing
June13
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If you’ve ever wondered what an Indian-built diesel pickup would look like on American highways, here’s the answer to that (oil)-burning question. You wouldn’t be the only one wondering, either. At least one domestic manufacturer wants to know how it drives too, so they bought this overseas version of Mahindra’s upcoming U.S. pickup to try Michigan roadways.
Originally expected to be sold as the Appalachian in America, Mahindra’s unnamed truck is expected to go on sale in the U.S. in the summer of 2009. A source at the company says they want to put the focus back on the Mahindra brand rather than a specific model, so an alphanumeric name is likely.
Mahindra’s truck will be powered by the company’s new mHawk 2.2-liter inline-four-cylinder diesel engine. The mHawk was designed in cooperation with diesel engineering firms Bosch and AVL with the American pickup market in mind.
Power ratings are expected to be in the range of 145-150 horsepower and approximately 300 pounds-feet of torque. The engine will be paired with a standard six-speed automatic transmission, a floor-mounted console shifter and steering-wheel-mounted paddles to manually shift the gearbox.
Mahindra promises the truck will be able to carry a sizeable 1.3-ton (2,600-pound) payload in its 7.5-foot cargo box. It will come with a 60,000-mile, four-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. The tall roll bar in back of the truck is for testing only. And we hear that the people at Mahindra were surprised to find this lone truck in Michigan. We can only guess which manufacturer purchased it…