The brand new Mahindra Roxor was introduced to the media and dealers over a 3-day event at the San Antonio AlamoDome, and the Gordinier Group was there to build and operate the off-road course.
If you aren’t familiar with Mahindra, they are an enormous ($19B), Indian company, who produces a large line of vehicles overseas as well as owning a large segment of big agriculture equipment abroad and in the US. The new Roxor will create a segment all its own – something between a side-by-side and a Jeep Wrangler. At first glance, the vehicle obviously has Wrangler visual cues (Mahindra has maintained license from Willy’s since the 1940’s to build this vehicle), but with its 2.5L turbo diesel motor, manual transmission and leaf-sprung suspension (and the fact that it’s not street legal in the US), the similarities end there. What it is, is a super fun and very capable off-road only vehicle that feels very durable, well-made, and appears to be able to chug through the ugliest of trails with ease (as well as being able to tow 3,490 lbs). It seems perfect for ranch or farm use and it would be great fun on difficult off-road trails such as Rubicon and Moab. You can read more about the Roxor below.
Dealers and media outlets converged in San Antonio, eager to learn about the Roxor and excited to get behind the wheel. GG operators built a course in the AlamoDome parking lot that both challenged the vehicle and driver, but was still able to throughput the several hundred amped dealers. As an added challenge for the course design, all Roxor test drive units had manual transmissions (as well as 2-speed transfer cases). This can sometimes be tricky when the public is driving. Luckily, the Roxor had so much low-end torque, it was easy for novice manual drivers to crawl over the boulder pile, log tilt, side hill, and other steep obstacles created for this unique test drive.
February 6-20, 2018
The bar has been raised as the Camp Jeep daily participation record has been toppled once again, as we opened to a huge crowd of guests at the 2018 Chicago Auto Show – Camp Jeep’s Superbowl event. In fact, the previous record was topped 3 times over the 2-week span of the show. This along with the display winning the “Best in Show” award (and the Wrangler winning the most desired new production vehicle), proves that Chicago loves the Jeep brand and Camp Jeep.
To add the icing on the cake, the Camp Jeep auto show model has recently reached a huge milestone as we drove our 2 millionth guest since the program began in 2004. What an amazing statistic!
The Gordinier Group driving team brought their A-game to the windy city this year, knowing that the huge Chicago crowds were going to be eager to experience the newly redesigned 2018 Wrangler Rubicon. The Chicago enthusiasts didn’t disappoint, running to the track each morning and patiently waiting for their trip around arguably the best indoor off-road track in existence.
Thank you Chicago for another great show!
February 13-15, 2018
Ram Trucks had a lot to offer guests of the World’s Largest Agriculture Show, in Tulare, California.
Not only did Ram bring two of the new 2019 1500 DT models for display, but they also offered 2 experiential opportunities – an off-road ride and a towing drive where guests could get behind the wheel to really feel Ram’s towing capabilities. In fact, the headliner of the tow fleet at World Ag Show was a 3500 Limited dually, with the 6.7 Cummins turbo diesel and max tow package. It’s hard to imagine a more capable tow rig. This one was saddled with a Big Tex gooseneck trailer that held a 15,000 lb Case tractor. That sounds like a lot of weight when you factor in the extra weight of the trailer, but with a maximum towing capacity of over 30,000 lbs (and 930 lb. ft. of torque), it was an easy haul. Many guests were shocked at how easily that truck was able to tow that payload and how comfortable it felt doing it.
This year’s show had great weather many interested and enthusiastic farmers, making it a great event for Ram!
January 2018
The Camp Jeep auto show season is off to a hot start and continues to pick up momentum in 2018.
With the turn of the New Year, San Diego AS was the season opener. We had great attendance in SoCal, and nobody complained about the weather, either.
The Houston and Philadelphia shows ran concurrently, and both shows were lucky enough to debut the all-new 2018 Wrangler Rubicon. This was the first time that the public was able to experience the long-awaited new JL platform, and everyone at both locations loved it. From the totally redesigned luxury interior to the many aesthetic and functional improvements on the exterior and powertrain, it was clear that Jeep fans were impressed.
The new beast ate up the extreme off-road course and we look forward to logging many more miles behind the wheel of the new Rubi.
Camp Jeep continues to trend upwards, as we logged yet another record-breaking attendant count in Philadelphia.
These 3 shows were a great warmup for the upcoming Chicago Auto Show – the premier Camp Jeep event of the year. If the first impressions of the new Wrangler were an indication of the excitement that Jeep fans have for this vehicle, Gordinier Group drivers will have their hands full with the huge numbers that we will see in the windy city. We are looking forward to the challenge!
Here is a short video from Philadelphia:
