Ssangyong, Nebraska, and Flying Pigs

[MahindraPlanet]

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Ssangyong MotorsRumor is that Mahindra is prepared to bid $400 million on the barely breathing South Korean automaker, Ssangyong Motors. MP has detailed some of Mahindra’s justification for...

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[Hughlysses]

Do you just get the idea that maybe bringing trucks to the U.S. is not high on their list of priorities right now?

[pee wee]

I'd say that's definitely the feeling that GV was getting. Throwing $30 million to GV may be worth it to M&M if it leaves them free to play around with all these other deals. They're probably figuring to operate at a loss here for a couple of years, anyway.

[ToxicSludge]

Originally Posted by Hughlysses

Do you just get the idea that maybe bringing trucks to the U.S. is not high on their list of priorities right now?

It appears we are nothing more then an annoying afterthought.

[blue7.3]

Originally Posted by ToxicSludge

It appears we are nothing more then an annoying afterthought.

HEY! I resemble that remark...

-pete

[blue7.3]

I reckon no one told Nebraska that there AREN'T any Mahindra pickups to sell...

-pete

[ToxicSludge]

Originally Posted by blue7.3

I reckon no one told Nebraska that there AREN'T any Mahindra pickups to sell...

-pete

Hmmmm......that hasn't stopped m&m from wanting more dealers.Real dealers for phantom (vaporware) trucks.......BRILLIANT!!!

[Hughlysses]

Like I said before, the ICC put Preston Tucker out of business and tried to send him to jail for FAR less than this. Tucker had sort of a similar business model- they got a bunch of dealers lined up for his car, even went as far as to start selling accessories for these cars before they went into production (luggage, radios, etc.). He finally got the cars into production and the ICC closed him down and arrested him claiming fraud (i.e.- that he had no plans to build cars), even though he WAS building cars. He was finally found innocent, but it took 3 years to do it by which time all the dealers had bailed which was the end of the Tucker automobile.

It seems like M&M is in a similar position, except it'd be hard to prove that they've made any effort to build trucks for the U.S. yet. Where's the ICC when we need them?!!!

[wngovr]

Speaking of flying pigs, I did a search for the truck that most suited me and I just can't buy it. Is's even uglier than the Mahindra. With a pig nose looking front end and looks like it has wings on the side of the cargo bed, the toyota tacoma looks like a flying pig. toyota used to be the coolest looking small truck out there.

[MahindraPlanet]

News this morning suggests that Mahindra could be the top bidder for Ssangyong after Renault-Nissan dropped out. If Mahindra lands Ssagyong, it will significantly extend their global technical, marketing, and manufacturing reach (particularly in Asia) and give them an extended product line. Race for Ssangyong: Advantage M&M after Renault drops out? - NDTV Profit

So yeah, the US market is probably on the back burner.