Never before has such a little truck had to haul so much baggage. It’s been years that we’ve waited for Mahindra’s T20 and T40 pickups to finally make it to America, and with a dispute between Mahindra & Mahindra’s erstwhile U.S. Importer, GV USA, taking a long time to be settled by arbitrators in London, anddealers filing suits against both Mahindra and GV USA. With GV USA having gone out of business in September, it might be years before we ever see the T20 and T40.

Unless you believe the chaps at Mahindra Planet, “The Unofficial Mahindra U.S. News Source,” who seem certain that Mahindra will be manufacturing trucks in the U.S. as of 2012. That’s right, not just selling them here, but building them here. Their sources are unnamed, but the prediction relies on Mahindra’s connection to Navistar, the international truck and bus maker that recently leased a massive factory complex in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

The dust-up between Indian automaker Mahindra and its jilted would-be American dealers is set to get a little nastier. According to Automotive News, several dealers have joined a lawsuit against their former partner that seeks both a refund for any fees paid to the truckmaker as well as punitive damages. One Jerry Ackerman is at the center of the suit. He paid $450,000 for three Mahindra franchises and now alleges that both Mahindra & Mahindra and Global Vehicles U.S.A. are in breach of contract. Ackerman’s lawsuit is now seeking class action status.

Automotive News reports that the lawsuit could eventually represent as many as 350 dealers who signed up for franchises in the States. So far, around 45 dealers have shown interest in joining Ackerman’s effort. Meanwhile, another 70 dealers recently met in Atlanta to discuss potential legal action against Mahindra. That lot has decided to file grievances against Mahindra with individual state motor vehicle agencies.

As you may recall, Mahindra originally contracted with Atlanta-based Global Vehicles U.S.A. to distribute its pickups in America, but later backed out of the deal. That left Global Vehicles U.S.A. and its dealers in a lurch. Global Vehicles U.S.A. initially filed suit against Mahindra but later dropped the effort.

It’s hard to understand how Indian truck/SUV maker Mahindra could miss its fuel economy goal by one-third. Mahindra’s supposed U.S. distributor, Global Vehicles of Marietta, Ga. (which has been embroiled in an opera of lawsuits, name-calling and musical chairs management concerning its deal with the Indian manufacturer), has had an oft-stated goal of 30 mpg highway fuel economy for the clean diesel truck.

According to FuelEconomy.gov, however, the four-wheel-drive Mahindra TR40 crew-cab pickup with a four-cylinder diesel engine and automatic transmission has been rated by the EPA at only 19 mpg city/21 mpg highway. By comparison, the 4×4 2011 Dodge Dakota with a 3.7 liter V6 engine is rated at 14/18. The TR40′s miserable highway mileage doesn’t even match the Ford F-150 3.7 liter 4×2, which is rated at 16 city/23 highway. The 4×4 Ford Ranger, like the aforementioned Dodge, is rated at 14 city/18 highway. Mahindra’s compact pickup truck offers a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds and a payload of 2,765 pounds.

Mahindra and GV had been counting on the fuel economy angle to get on truck buyers’ radar. But the current differential between the Mahindra TR40 diesel truck’s mileage and that of the gas-powered competition is unlikely to turn heads or create headlines. Global Vehicles told PickupTrucks.com: “Good fuel economy will be an important part of the truck’s appeal, and we’re eager to see the fuel economy for all of the models, especially the two-door, two-wheel-drive model, which Mahindra told us to expect would achieve close to 30 mpg.”

We apparently won’t be seeing any Mahindra trucks on U.S. roads any time soon. The company has announced that it has no date in mind for its American introduction, and that as of right now, its progress into this market is indefinitely delayed. The hangup resides in an ever-growing legal battle between the Indian company and its almost-was importer here in the States, Global Vehicles USA. As you’ll likely recall, GV USA claims that Mahindra improperly terminated its contract with them earlier this year, noting that the automaker now wants to sell vehicles directly to U.S. customers instead of going through a middle man.

Mahindra, meanwhile, says that it doesn’t want to get into a “war of words” with its former importer. Also, the company has made it clear that it still wants to break into the American market. How exactly it plans to do so is still somewhat murky, however.

In the meantime, Global Vehicles USA has filed an injunction in federal court claiming breach of contract and urging the court to bar Mahindra vehicles from entering the states in the future.

It’s been 10 years since Mahindra & Mahindra reworked its Armada SUV into a more civil machine. The company renamed its off-road machine the Bolero at that time, and since then, the beast has found favor with the police, military and regular citizens who need a little off-road prowess in their daily commute. To celebrate the nameplate’s 10-year anniversary, Mahindra has rolled out a new 2011 version of the truck, complete with one very interesting exterior design. From the looks of things, the truck has all of the necessary goodies for tackling the trails of India, including a wicked light bar, a Mahindra logo-shaped snorkel, tow loops and yes, even a pick-axe.

According to Mahindra, the Bolero is the best-selling SUV in India. The truck sold 70,554 units last year, becoming the first SUV to break the 70,000 barrier in India in the process. It’s easy to see why. We love this thing almost in spite of ourselves. It looks like a mad scientist somewhere cooked up the DNA of a Hummer H2, Jeep Wrangler and a Land Rover Defender only to come out with this Tonka truck. Hit the jump for one very entertaining press release.