Americas US Quartermaster Configurator and Ordering is Now Live....

[LeeroyJ]

Agree with everyone else, I don’t see this doing well. For those of you unfamiliar, or who didn’t read prev posts, the “chicken tax” is USAs way of protecting North American pickup truck manufacturers. And why Toyota, Nissan, etc build their pickup trucks here.

I can’t see anyone choosing this over a F150 King Ranch/Raptor or GM AT4X/AEV versions, or Power Wagon/TRX. They are all bigger, more powerful, and cheaper.

And if you want smaller, the mid size pickup market is even a bigger discount of cost.

I suspect Ineos knows that, but it really doesn't hurt them to offer it here. I suspect the additional costs to them to get it certified to sell in the US was minimal given the Grenadier, and this allows them to have another offering here. I know there have been many times in my life where I lamented the fact that a manufacturer has a certain spec that they don't let Americans buy, so I appreciate Ineos at least giving that option. (For example, the manual transmission Land Cruisers, cloth seat Land Cruisers, lots of sports car specs, etc.)

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

Starting at $87k! TM/FMs start at $97k!!!

Going to be interesting to see how the QM will fare in a very crowded, dynamic, and diverse NA truck market.

Yup, prices are out in Canada too; slightly more than the Gren:

Grenadier: $91,929
Quartermaster: $96,695
Gren Trialmaster: $101,219
QM Trialmaster: $105,995

For comparison:

Silverado HD Starting: $61,831 CDN
Silverado HD Fancy: $109,328
Ford HD Starting: $66,424
Ford HD Fancy: $103,254
Ram HD Starting: $67,510
Ram HD Fancy: $95,665

The "Fancy" quotes from above are me picking the priciest package in 4x4 crew cab, but there's probably variance and at the top end. Still, the Quartermaster will be closer to the "starting" HD Pickups in terms of luxury features. The challenge for cross-shopping is that the closest apples-to-apples options are the Chevy ZR2HD/GM Denali AT4, the Ford Tremor, or the Ram Power Wagon - these are where the HD trucks are closest to the QM because these packages come with lockers, off road suspension, etc. However, these packages seem to only be available on the higher-trim trucks, and those higher-trim trucks come with a lot of luxury bloat that the QM shouldn't have -- things like heated and cooled seats, fancy camera systems, and that kind of "modern" affectation are included on the trucks below for these prices, and not included in the price of the QM AFAIK. For comparison:

Silverado HD ZR2: $96,933
Ford F-250 Tremor: $108,754
Ram HD Powerwagon: $83,215


So, this truck is an odd one. Dollar for dollar it's not too far off other off-road focused HD 4x4s with commercial grade construction BUT you get a lot more truck for your money with the Domestic HD offerings in terms of features. And, a bare-bones HD truck that is closer to the QM in terms of features comes in at $25-$30k+ cheaper than the QM - you can buy a lot of lifts, lockers, and winches with that kind of savings.

But from another lens: if you want a commercial grade, mid-sized Ute, that is built to the same specs as an HD truck, there's no other option and this will be the most robust "Dual Cab" or "mid-sized truck" on the North American market -- by a really, really long shot I think.

 

[LC0013]

If you can stretch the chassis you can also shorten it.

• 2 door equivalent to the Landrover 90 in wagon and ute.
• 4 cylinder engine option

4 cylinder- UGH!

 

[DaveB]

4 cylinder- UGH!

I agree, but needed for Europe.
Some kind of mild hybrid with turbos' or BMW B48 seems a likely choice.

 

[LeeroyJ]

I can't think of another truck available on the market in the USA right now (to consumers) that is subject to the chicken tax (i.e. not made in the USA), am I missing one?

 

[Reducs]

I hope they sell all they build, but I don't get the thinking here in the states.

Also... the Grenadier and the Quartermaster are pretty much identical from the bumper to the front doors, right? So why are the checker plates $90 for the QM vs $330 for the Gren? Big discrepancies in the pricing for the steps and sliders too. Shouldn't those items for the QM be more since the wheelbase is longer?

 

[DaveB]

I can't think of another truck available on the market in the USA right now (to consumers) that is subject to the chicken tax (i.e. not made in the USA), am I missing one?

You also have to keep in mind that while pickups or as we call them utes are popular in Africa, Australia and North America but not very common in Europe, UK or Asia.
So there really aren't a lot of options that can be imported into the US that aren't already available as a US built product.
Plus the US market in general has always liked larger, more comfort oriented and feature rich vehicles.
Outside of that there is a huge modification/customisation market in the US for existing vehicles.

 

[ADVAW8S]

Well call me stupid, crazy or just straight up risk taker.

I just put down 1k deposit for my quartermaster. Smidgen over 100k but I will sell my defender, have cash for deposit so I feel comfortable. I said F it. Going back to the prototype tour, I said if you build it, I will buy it. If I was being practical I would have bought a 4runner. But I bought a Land Rover L663. Why stop now.

 

[anand]

I hope they sell all they build, but I don't get the thinking here in the states.

Also... the Grenadier and the Quartermaster are pretty much identical from the bumper to the front doors, right? So why are the checker plates $90 for the QM vs $330 for the Gren? Big discrepancies in the pricing for the steps and sliders too. Shouldn't those items for the QM be more since the wheelbase is longer?

Sliders/steps are also half the price on the QM.... I wonder if those are typos honestly

 

[Psignore00]

Maybe the lower dealer installed accessory prices are because they realized dealers will charge to install now.

If any vehicle was going to be successful with the chicken tax, it would have been the Mercedes X class pickup. But they were smart enough to know it becomes too expensive and has too much competition they never brought it to the US (that X class pickup was only built in Spain and like the grenadier, not enough volume like the big boys to justify a plant in the US.)

 

[Krabby]

Maybe the lower dealer installed accessory prices are because they realized dealers will charge to install now.

If any vehicle was going to be successful with the chicken tax, it would have been the Mercedes X class pickup. But they were smart enough to know it becomes too expensive and has too much competition they never brought it to the US (that X class pickup was only built in Spain and like the grenadier, not enough volume like the big boys to justify a plant in the US.)

Wasn't the MB just a gussied-up Nissan?

 

[DaveB]

Maybe the lower dealer installed accessory prices are because they realized dealers will charge to install now.

If any vehicle was going to be successful with the chicken tax, it would have been the Mercedes X class pickup. But they were smart enough to know it becomes too expensive and has too much competition they never brought it to the US (that X class pickup was only built in Spain and like the grenadier, not enough volume like the big boys to justify a plant in the US.)

The Mercedes even failed in Australia.
Once everyone realised it was a Nissan in fancy clothes.

 

[anand]

Wasn't the MB just a gussied-up Nissan?

Correct Nissan Navarra/Frontier

 

[Zimm]

My configuration was $101,078. Thanks US Chicken Tax!

The tax makes a truck that is overly expensive for what it is, just more overly expensive. Its odd to say but, deducting 20,000 still doesn't fix the issue. even at 65k, they are dealing withe the capability and power of an xlt f250.

What is the point of this truck????? Can someone tell me what the target market is?

 

[dreamalaska]

4 cylinder- UGH!

This 4 cylinder Cummins crate engine would be an exception imo:

https://www.cummins.com/engines/repower

It’s already being retrofitted into several older vehicles, including Land Rovers. 160bhp is it’s stock configuration before mods…

 

[ADVAW8S]

The tax makes a truck that is overly expensive for what it is, just more overly expensive. Its odd to say but, deducting 20,000 still doesn't fix the issue. even at 65k, they are dealing withe the capability and power of an xlt f250.

What is the point of this truck????? Can someone tell me what the target market is?

There is no point to it here in Ameica unless you are looking for something that is not like everything else. We all can agree that the big 3 dominate the pick up truck space. Toyota wins the mid size space because of the Fanboys. Nissan has struggled to take market share from Toyota.

The QM is for the world not just for the USA. In reality it costs Ineos nothing to bring it here. They are built to order. For me I wanted it before they even officially announced a pick up variant. Someone posted ,and think it was chasingourtrunks, that said if you want a commercial size mid size, thr QM fits perfectly.

 

[LC0013]

The tax makes a truck that is overly expensive for what it is, just more overly expensive. Its odd to say but, deducting 20,000 still doesn't fix the issue. even at 65k, they are dealing withe the capability and power of an xlt f250.

True, but if it was just priced at $65k I would have more interest than it being priced at $100k plus. At least the Quartermaster is decent looking rig and not overly huge like a Chevy Silverado or Ford Raptor and Ford F250. Geez the Dodge Ram is quite large too.
My build, for the Quartermaster was $101,078 less the chicken tax makes it $86,391 and I would not contemplate it at $86,391.

 

[Zimm]

There is no point to it here in Ameica unless you are looking for something that is not like everything else. We all can agree that the big 3 dominate the pick up truck space. Toyota wins the mid size space because of the Fanboys. Nissan has struggled to take market share from Toyota.

The QM is for the world not just for the USA. In reality it costs Ineos nothing to bring it here. They are built to order. For me I wanted it before they even officially announced a pick up variant. Someone posted ,and think it was chasing trucks, that said if you want a commercial size mid size, thr QM fits perfectly.

If Ineos needs the US market for the volume to be viable as a corporate entity, I would disagree. It HAS to be both, and the only market a truck this heavy with a light duty truck payload can find a market in the US, is if its super luxurious. Mere looks won't cut it long term. Loaded f150's and Silverados do sell.

But even if I give you that, It has the LC 79 as its competition. The interior of it is on par, it has a 2400lb payload, and it starts at 83k AUD (54kusd). AND it has a service network. That USA 101k usd build in Australia is 124k aud... (chicken tax deducted) So, what target market is this hitting anywhere? If I'm in Australia, why would I spend 2x on this than a Ranger/Hilux/LC79, if there's no bling?

The reason the 79 never came to the US, was Toyota ascertained it would never have enough volume to justify the costs of incorporating into to Toyota USA's service network. They would have to price it right out of the target market. Toyota doesn't do loss leader marketing.

I don't see it, but I really want Ineos to do well so I hope my confusion is way off.

 

[ADVAW8S]

I used ChatGPT and had it pull me data comparing the QM versus the Gren, Gladiator, F150, Tacoma, LC70 series pickup and the 4 runner. I just was testing out Chat GPT capabilities for search and man I wish I had this in college.

 

[Krabby]

I used ChatGPT and had it pull me data comparing the QM versus the Gren, Gladiator, F150, Tacoma, LC70 series pickup and the 4 runner. I just was testing out Chat GPT capabilities for search and man I wish I had this in college.

Wow - comparitively, the Gladiator is really narrow. I wonder if one of those figures includes the mirrors and the other not?