For everyone that I offended, I apologize. I snapped and should have found a more productive way to express my frustration with the response that the Grenadier and its engineering partners are receiving and the lack of respect I perceive is being levied to the incredible effort from engineers and financial backers to give this community a brand new, body on frame, hypoid axle, heavy duty wagon available in the North American market despite the unbelievable regulatory hurdles posed in 2024. The fact that it happened is nothing short of a miracle, and I am frustrated that this community, of all communities, does not adequately appreciate the effort that went into making this happen and selecting truly robust parts and partners in my opinion. I do not own a Grenadier or stock in Ineos, but I have brought new products to market and I think this effort is largely under appreciated by a substantial margin.
For me, I don't see how the G wagon, engineered, designed, and constructed by Magna Steyr can be one of the gold standards in overlanding, and at the same time, the Ineos Grenadier, also designed and engineered by Magna Steyr and weighing 500 lbs more than either a G wagon or 76 series Land Cruiser is guilty until proven innocent. To me, both things cannot simultaneously be true. Since the G wagon is clearly proven, particularly the G461 series, the Grenadier being even HEAVIER, is clearly not a light duty toy by any standard of deductive logic.
The new vehicles will prove their worth or fail, though mechanical failure seems to be a very low probabilistic outcome based on the engineering team that brought the vehicle to fruition. If it turns out to be a total dud with wheels falling off, wiring catching fire, thrown con rods through blocks, and snapped frames, then bring me a crow and with enough Sriracha, I'll eat it. But, I'm confident it won't be necessary.
Also, due to improvements in metallurgy, manufacturing, and materials science, the metrics that may have previously been indicative of strength do not linearly translate to today. Everything is far more complicated from heat treating, alloys, machining, materials science, forming, etc. than in days of yore, and I don't think this complexity gets the appreciation it deserves.
There are real issues with the Grenadier such as how exactly service and warranty will work, the cost of a low production 6,000 lb vehicle will inherently be high if for no other reason than the $/lb basis of materials and meeting 2024 regulations, the lack of range for my personal application, etc. However, since there are not millions in use having logged millions of miles, there is no data on the long term dependability so we can only look at probability forecasting. With Magna in the lead supported by Carraro, ZF, etc. the most probabilistic outcome is that the thing is a brick lavatory with a motor that has higher than average maintenance costs, but will not suffer from rotating assembly failures. If that's not good enough, then just wait and see.
In the meantime, I'm off to Mexico to not worry about engineering. Hopefully by the time I get back someone will be offering a fuel tank large enough for a comfortable 450 mile range. Or perhaps I should hope they don't. It would certainly be easier on my cheque book if this thing doesn't meet my range requirements. And, again, I'm not interested in bolting rotopax to every surface to get that range.
