Did you know that Willys Jeep cost around Rs 12,000 in 1960

Mar 11, 2022 admin 256 Views

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Mahindra SUVs have been widely known for their toughness, easy maintenance, and value for money. Currently, Mahindra offers a wide variety of SUVs ranging from sub-4 metre like XUV300 to hardcore off-roading vehicle like Thar. However, there was a time when Willys Jeep manufactured by Mahindra was in high demand across India. Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra group has tweeted about an old advertisement which shows the price of Willys CJ 3B Jeep. The article was published in 1960 in the Times of India.

The 1960’s advertisement in the Times of India showed that the Willys Model CJ 3B Jeep had a price cut of Rs 200. Mahindra and Mahindra, which manufactured the Willys Model CJ 3B Jeep, announced that the final price of the vehicle (after price cut of Rs 200) was Rs 12,421 (ex-factory Bombay, exclusive of all taxes and excise duty). “A good friend, whose family has been distributing our vehicles for decades, fished this out from their archives. Aaah the good old days…when prices headed in the right direction!” said the post on Twitter by Anand Mahindra.

Willys Jeep by Mahindra — Image Credit: Twitter/ Anand Mahindra

For those who are not acquainted with Mahindra Jeep, the company assembled the Civilian Jeep (CJ) 3B under the license from the American carmaker Kaiser Motors. The CJ 3B was powered by 2.2-litre petrol engine which produced a power of 72PS and was coupled with a 3-speed manual transmission. The CJ 3B had all wheel drive or 4×4 drive. If we adjust the inflation, a brand new Willys Jeep would cost around Rs 10 lakh today.

Currently, The Mahindra Thar SUV is the off-roading vehicle offered by the company. The Thar is available in two-new engines namely the 2.0L mStallion TGDi petrol engine, and the 2.2L mHawk diesel engine.

The Thar is offered in a 6-speed manual transmission variant as well as an automatic transmission variant.

In terms of price, the Mahindra Thar ranges between Rs 13.17 Lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) and Rs 15.53 Lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi). The SUV is offered with a convertible top as well as hard top across multiple variants.