Posted on 07/24/2023 5:00:53 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
A court has ruled that Jeep's lawsuit against Mahindra over the Roxor UTV has no ground to stand on since the off-roader's substantial redesign. As a result, Mahindra is clear to sell its distant relative to the Wrangler in the United States.
The pair's legal spat began in August 2018 when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now part of Stellantis) complained to authorities of the Mahindra Roxor's visual similarity to the Jeep CJ. Jeep described the Roxor as a "nearly identical copy" as quoted by Automotive News, pointing to its "boxy body shape with flat-appearing vertical sides and rear body ending at about the same height as the hood."
It's not just the Roxor's body that was similar, either. The vehicle is descended from license-built CJs dating back to the late 1940s. In some major mechanical respects, its design is still similar to the CJ, meaning it stands to eat into sales of Jeep's off-road staple the 2024 Wrangler.
In June 2020, the U.S. International Trade Commission initially took FCA's side, stating the Roxor infringed on Jeep's trade dress (its appearance) and recommending a ban on importing and selling Roxor parts. Mahindra responded by aggressively restyling the Roxor for 2020, which satisfied the ITC.
Now, Bloomberg reports the Eastern District Court of Michigan has ruled in favor of Mahindra, re-enabling sale of the Roxor. In a July 19 decision, the court reportedly denied Jeep's request to enforce the "safe distance rule" that would've required a further redesign.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedrive.com ...
The more connections you have the more failure points, the more components the more there is to fail. It is inescapable.
~~~~~
Today’s cars replace cheap reliable mechanical and hydraulic systems with electrical systems. Then they add several layers of intelligent control and error reporting logic circuits. Where there were maybe 5 components to fail now there are at least 100 components to fail..... including the components which exist to detect and report failures.
In the past mechanics were criticized for “unloading the parts canon” to fix a problem. But a few extra parts are cheap compared to a mechanic’s time. The parts were simple, abundant and reliable. That’s all out the proverbial window with today’s cars. If a mechanic can’t zero in on the offending part quickly then the bill becomes outrageous. And that happens regularly with today’s complicated systems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSvpBQwoP5o
Add that cars are made to be driven by humans. Todays cars have no tactile feedback for drivers from thee steering wheel down to the choice of radio stations.
I’m glad you’ve had better luck than my daughter did.
Interesting!
The first "motorcycle" I rode when I was a kid was my friend's 2hp Briggs and Stratton powered motor scooter with a centrifugal clutch. My first pre-teen real motorcycle ride was on the back of my cousin's 500cc BSA. No sissy bar. Let's just say that after the ride with cousin Joe, it's the grace of God that I ever wanted to ride another motorcycle. In the early 80s I rode a Kawasaki 850, not the w850. I've since rode big displacement v-twin metric and HD cruisers. All I will say is that my Kawi 850 would blow off most bikes past and present - on a short run. The thing's acceleration was something else.
With a top speed of 88 kmph and a maximum towing speed of 24 kmph, the Roxor is powered by a 5-speed manual transmission and a 2-speed manual transfer case.
https://econotimes.com/US-Court-Favors-Mahindra-Over-Fiat-Chrysler-Allows-Selling-of-Roxor-1659907
Distant relative?
If I understand it correctly its a previous generation of the Wrangler licensed from Jeep... Jeep was only able to keep it out due to the fact they claimed the front end of their vehicle deserved trademark protection or some such, so they had to redesign the front end to look differently.
Sorry confused this with the Thar.. Wrong vehicle.
My BSA was a 650 Lightning. Beautiful bike. Fun to ride. Lucas electrics......ha ha. I like to say getting it for a first bike was like losing your virginity to a beautify girl who happened to have the clap.
The Indian Scout is a deceptively fast V twin. It is not a low rev torque engine. Once you pass 4,500 rpms it’s starting to get *happy*. Saw a guy on youtube get 4.2 sec 0-60 on a stock Scout Sixty. Mine is a Sixty and I have no doubt it will do that.
Can’t speak for list, but this dealer has an offroad listed at 18,999 asking.
https://www.offroaderie.com/search/inventory/query/roxor
Many Americans are sick and tired of all the bells & whistles on cars today. Me, particularly.
My truck has roll-up windows and a straight stick. I like it.;-)
“Jeeps Wranglers are far too expensive fore what they are.”
Had Wranglers enjoyed them. Now too old for that. Would buy the base model Roxor if it could be street legal in Texas for the $20K plus but I keep looking and that is not possible. Could just buy a cheap golf cart and do the same on 35 mph streets.
We were at a CME a few years ago and the Cat rep was giving a presentation on the new road graders. “Fighter Technology!” he says. Why? That fighter technology means if a mouse chews up part of the wiring harness it is $30,000 to replace and you can’t trace it, don’t even try.
I got in a big hurry a few years ago to buy my retirement tractors well before retirement because they are the last of push pull cables, mechanical injection, hardly any circuit boards and no computer. I can wire around most of the few circuit boards and put in gauges if the printed dash and idiot lights fail. Everything else is just switches and mechanical linkages. I can fix it all.
The can’t find, most wanted John Deere tractors are from the 80s. The new ones are a royal PITA. I ran one of my baler’s tractors last year and would not have it just from the standpoint of it being all plastic and solenoids for actuation. No feel and they jerk. Aside from that was one season old and falling apart, the plastic at least.
After working some bugs out mine are still humming along especially my open station tractors. Hot and dusty but reliable and simple. At least I have good awnings and fans on them.
My JCB TLB has a seven point set of switches and relays that all have to work to start the machine and release the accumulator for the parking brake. Something was not connecting. I wired around the whole mess from the switch to the starter. It is mine alone so nobody can tell me how to use it or what to do with it. Why do I really need a panic button hydraulic accumulator fail safe close hydraulic parking brake on a loader? Just drop the bucket, it’ll stop.
Yeah, complexity makes unreliable.
If Automotive News thought the Roxor was a near copy of the Jeep Wrangler, maybe they better get their glasses checked. It is similar, perhaps in many ways, but a near copy??? That is questionable.
My neighbor has a new one. Got curious when I saw a trail of oil starting to appear on the road I'm on that got more pronounced every day. I decided to follow it on one of my runs and the trail went right up his driveway to underneath where he parks his Fixed Or Repaired Daily. I had to laugh.
Well, oil leaks are at least one thing ford didn’t rip off the Jeep Wrangler on.
I have one hard and fast rule of thumb when it comes to buying a new vehicle.....never buy one that’s been on the market for less than 5 years.
So it’s got a little turbo diesel engine — that’s pretty nifty.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.