No sooner has Indian automotive giant Mahindra set up shop in the US, then its in trouble. No, not with the City of Detroit, who will be loving the fact the car, bus and tractor-maker has established its American base in the former epicentre of the American car industry. Rather, it’s Mahindra’s near-neighbours Chrysler who aren’t so keen on the new arrival.
More specifically, it’s Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA) which is ticked off with Mahindra. So much so, this week FCA sought to ban from sale Mahindra’s back-to-basics Roxor 4x4. Why? Er ... if you haven’t clocked the image alongside this yet, take another look.
Yeah. That’s no old-school Jeep. That’s Mahindra’s Roxor.
But this isn’t a case of the sort of dodgy copyright law infringement that has motoring writers doubled-over laughing with surprise and delight at Chinese car shows, as yet another janky Land Rover or Lexus gets “reimagined” by an unknown local manufacturer.
Mahindra actually has a long history of assembling Willys-era Jeeps in India under licence, going back to the 1940s. In fact, Mahindra is proud of its Jeep-shaped heritage. It even re-inked the agreement when Chrysler was bedmate with Daimler, back in 2009.
Thing is though, until now Mahindra has never sold its vehicles — the Roxor 4x4 included — in the United States.
According to Bloomberg, FCA has stated in a complaint lodged with the US International Trade Commission that the Mahindra Roxor infringes Jeep’s signature design.
“[The Roxor’s] boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about the same height as the hood” is evidence it is “a nearly identical copy of the iconic Jeep design; in fact, the accused product was ‘modelled after the original Willys Jeep’,” the statement reads.
The statement also suggests FCA believes Mahindra is trading on the goodwill of Jeep in order to get ahead in the American market.
However, the Roxor can’t be road-registered in the US. So the idea that Fiat Chrysler’s customers are going to flee their Renegades in favour of the retro Roxor is stretching reality a tad.
Also, one of the man reasons Mahindra is making such a play of its Roxor in the US market, is that it’s hoping to snare the contract to provide the US Postal Service with the next-generation of minuscule mail cars.
A Roxor with airbags and stability control would be perfect for your average postie. And a perfect nightmare for FCA.
Baby Bronco? Worth a shot
Ford has been teasing brand fans for a couple of years now with news of an impending rebirth of the tough-as-nails Bronco. It’s definitely coming, says the FoMoCo, but exactly when? Maybe 2019, maybe 2020 ...
Now though, Ford has added a little spice to the pot in the form of a “baby Bronco”. It’ll be around the same dimensions as a Jeep Renegade and will essentially be a pared-down Bronco — a little brother to the bigger off-roader which will aim its low-range transfer case directly at the Jeep Wrangler.
It’s all good news for fans of heritage nameplates, then.
And Ford has to do something. Between Escape, Endura and EcoSport, there’s little to get hot under the blue collar about in Ford’s current line-up. Everest remains an interesting truck, but its sheer size means it’s not for everyone.
Now Ford has decided it will no longer build sedans, its roll-call of SUV products will need to become aspirational heroes in the showroom. Not one but two Broncos could definitely help. You can only sell so many Mustangs after all ...
Niki Lauda under the knife
Poor Niki Lauda; a holiday in Ibiza for the F1 legend has ended rather suddenly with a lung transplant.
Putting to one side the rather uncomfortable image of the grizzled veteran grinding away in a sweaty Ibiza nightclub while a Calvin Harris banger thumps out of the PA, the three-time F1 world champion had to be rushed back to Austria for emergency surgery last weekend.
According to some sources, doctors allegedly gave him a week to live had he not gone through with the surgery.
Little has been heard from his camp or the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 team since, aside from a family-issued statement requesting privacy.
The 69-year old has remained active in motorsport; he’s the non-executive chairman of the Mercedes team and owns a slice of it, too. In the past, he’s headed his own airline, managed the Jaguar racing team for a short while and has written five autobiographical books.
He has obviously faced bigger and more dramatic brushes with mortality in the past too; significantly the fiery crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix which left him with permanent scarring and internal injuries after inhaling toxic burning gases. He has also endured a kidney transplant.
We wish him a speedy recovery from this latest medical malady.