Anand Mahindra’s ‘off-road’ metaphor to fight Covid-19 features a 70-yr old Jeep

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra has once again made a splash on social media with a piece of advice on how to ride through the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

Taking to Twitter, Mahindra shared a video of a 70-year old World War II era Jeep off-roader tackling rocks and boulders to drive home his metaphorical advice.

He wrote, “Lost count of the number of people who have forwarded this clip to me. No surprise that they’d think I’d enjoy it. But I also see it as a visual metaphor for how all of us are attempting to negotiate the perils of Covid-19 & its impact on our lives: We need ‘off-road’ skills!"

The post by Anand Mahindra has already garnered more than 1.4 lakh views and several reactions. Some even suggested Mahindra should come up with a similar off-roader, while a few others were confused whether it is an old Mahindra vehicle due to its appearance.

The video shows a man driving across a massive crack - also known as the Golden Crack - in a 70-year-old Jeep. The vehicle is one of the 1948 Willys CJ2A. The tweeted clip of the Jeep is part of a compilation of videos from off-road trails during 2019.

The Jeep with a four cylinder engine dates back to the World War II days when Willys-Overland first thought of producing a civilian version of the militarised vehicle. In 1945, Willys-Overland began producing CJ2A for the first time.

Interestingly, Willys-Overland had thought of marketing the vehicle for farming, ranching, and other industrial and agriculturalpurposes. But it turned out to be a different story down the years. With large and round headlights and the iconic seven-slat grille, it gained popularity through the 50s and 60s, and later paved way for the more modern Jeep Wranglers today as well as other popular off-road vehicles.