No, that’s not a typo – Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian truck manufacturer famed for its Jeep replicas, is still on track to bring their “Pik-Up” stateside by the end of the year. You may remember it as the rather homely pickup formerly known as the “Appalachian,” whose moonshine-y sounding name must have been a casualty of the Hindi-to-English translation game. However, even the Pik-Up name might fall by the wayside as Mahindra’s American distribution partner, Global Vehicles USA of Atlanta, wants to use alphanumerics to designate North American trucks. In any event, why consider a Mahindra truck? A powerful and frugal 2.2L turbodiesel making 140 HP and 236 ft-lbs of torque will make it the only compact pickup in the US to offer a diesel, a fuel economy of more than 30 MPG on the freeway, and its mid-$20,000 price range should make it appeal to a wide variety of tradespeople.

It boils down to this: this Ford RS200 is a rally car you can drive on the street. Plus, it’s not in some dirty European country, it’s in California! If that description doesn’t make your naughty bits tickle, well, we don’t know how to help you. If it does, then click over to Ebay for the ad in question.

Loeb's Citroen C4 WRC

Sebastien Loeb, that crazy Frenchman with a penchant for winning (nay, dominating) WRC of late had a spectacular off-road excursion in the Acropolis Rally on Saturday during the first stage. Apparently he and his navigator are ok, but the Citroen C4 he was driving wasn’t so lucky – it’s heavily damaged, for reasons that will become evident after the jump.

Hide the children!

Add this monstrosity to the endless parade of high-dollar customs showing up in the news these days. Packed full of bad taste and frosted with excess, the Christian Audigier VIF 1 SUV is the perfect vehicle to show up to your frat’s alumni party. You’ll be the only one in attendance with 24k gold-plated exhaust! And check out that schnoz!

Honda Crossover May Mimic Accord

The latest move by Honda to keep Toyota’s dominance in all market segments in check takes the form of a new crossover. This new vehicle (don’t call it a wagon) borrows heavily from the Accord while taking aim at the Toyota Venza.

AEV J8 MILSPEC

American Expedition Vehicles (AEV), the company that previously made Jeep enthusiasts salivate with their Brute truck conversion kit, is making a limited number of 2010 AEV J8 military vehicles available to the public.

Possible Volkswagen Pickup Styling

Further solidifying their hold as Europe’s largest automaker, Volkswagen is expanding their lineup to include a mid-size pickup in 2010.  If pre-production photos are any indication the new vehicle will adopt a  Ridgeline-like profile.  The pickup will be named the “Amarok,” and therefore also continue VW’s recent use of hard-to-pronounce, nonsensical model names.

It’s hard to know where to start. World class rally driving by a Finn, a Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 GR hatchback, all-wheel-steering, a big mountain, and lots of award-winning footage. Climb Dance has it all. Make the jump for 5 minutes of possibly the best rally footage ever shot as Ari Vatanen charges up Pikes Peak in 1990 to break the world record.

Though this may look like something we’d do, I’m 99.9 percent sure this guy isn’t a Ride Lust staffer. BMW 325ix vs. Leopard tank. I mean, it only makes sense. The 1980’s, a time of real BMW’s, real sweaters and real muzak.

Here’s your YouTube car-weird of the day. Video after the jump.

2009 Mazda B4000

Mazda’s fate in producing a competitive compact truck is, and has been for better or worse inextricably tied to the Ford Ranger. For the better part of 15 years, and even longer with pre-Ranger models, the two companies have collaborated in a series of Mazda pickups baring a variety of “B-designated” badges. Now that the current pickup for both automakers seems to be coming to an end, Mazda makes one last appeal for buyers with the 2009 B-Series Truck.