goinbroke2 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 My first thoughts are diesel or hybrid or whatever crown vic. I saw the picture of the mini transit and went AHH! Then I got used to it and I think it would be perfect. A car or a minivan for a taxi? EVERYBODY would choose a minivan as a consumer.(more room/more comfortable/bigger payload/etc) So, for a massive fleet? I'd go with something that the consumer won't be bothered by/easy to maintain/economical. Having a fleet of mini's would piss off every person you picked up because they don't care if it's cute they want to load their crap and get to where they're going. Having a 5 ton truck fleet would piss off people because the payload is too big/not comfortable/too high to crawl up into/inconvenient) Having a tall roomy "minivan" like the mini transit would be perfect. Low step in/lots of room/comfortable for the consumer and comfortable/roomy/economical for the cabbie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 couple things... The Mazda5 is being demoed as a dual fuel Gas/Hydrogen by Mazda as we carry on this conversation. Its the next gen version of the Bi-fuel setup in that Experimental RX-8. Its MUCH more powerful and more efficient to boot. May not need hybrid as hydrogen fueling for a base operated cab fleet wouldn't be too terribly difficult. (a tempting terrorist target, maybe). As for random vehicles as cabs, we've got everything in New Orleans. Seems old suburbans are very popular, as are Chevy Astros and other modern minivans. There is at least one V-10 excursion cab around here too, if you can believe they make any money at all with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang_sallad Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I drive a Transit Connect at work since I moved to London from Canada a few months ago. Its a sweet little truck. Very space efficient. Handles well and has a nice drive train, I've driven both diesel and gas versions. These of course are the panel truck versions, so i dunno how the passenger section would be in terms of space. I'm pretty sure its based on the focus platform to give you an idea. All that said, i'm a big fan of the CV, and i'd like to see it updated into something designed specifically for the taxi role, and maybe a slightly different version of that for cops. And the design should definitely take into account the typical drive cycle of a cab or cop car, lots of stop/starting and sitting around idling... ie make it a hybrid!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman100 Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 SysEng's 'perfect car' is fading fast. Today, Mulally said he would make further cuts if needed. Panther will probably end up a fleet only product. Town Cars for livery, PI's for police, and maybe some Grand Marqs for the dying off old farts. As long as I can still order my next Grand Marquis from the factory, I don't care if I'm the last one in line to buy one. I figure I have about 40 years of driving left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkarlo Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Ballyhooing for Volvo is a 'Ford' thing? Personally I think all Volvos are absolute garbage based on years of experience with many a used nightmare. SAAB's too for that matter. You have to be an idiot to buy from either brand. Wow. I had a 1990 240 till 2001 when it was totaled. Same with my 94 850, it was totaled in 2003. No problems with either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 It's a recent thing for both marques, as well as the Germans. Let's say their advanced electronics are not very ==robust== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
156n3rd Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) My wife and I just visited Manhattan this past weekend and saw many vans, but lots of other junk too. TIt wouldn't matter what any vehilce looked like in NYC. If people whistle for or flag down a cab, they just want one when they want it. The Ford Euro style van would work fine. We rode in a Transit on the way to the Edinburgh airport and they are very comfortable and capable. Open your minds and the see the future. It's not all or any of what you see in front of you. Edited January 30, 2008 by 156n3rd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) Yeah, dumping ~30% of production to fleets to keep the plant at capacity must be the newest sign of a succesful product. ...and hiring overtime just to dump 30% of production to fleet?? That makes no sense Edited January 31, 2008 by twintornados Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
156n3rd Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 How's this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyMustang Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furious1Auto Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Now thats ugly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
156n3rd Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 It is not ugly. It is utilitarian, meaning it can handle many different jobs. Besides, it has a Blue Oval on it. Wouldn't you rather see these than imports? Open your eyes. and your mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furious1Auto Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 It is not ugly. It is utilitarian, meaning it can handle many different jobs. Besides, it has a Blue Oval on it. Wouldn't you rather see these than imports? Open your eyes. and your mind. I'm afraid to open my eyes, that thing is ugly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
156n3rd Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 It is intended to be useful, not pretty. Would you have preferred the Windstar/Freestar instead? It still boils down to what is required of a taxi cab, it's to move people/cargo efficiently. It is a Ford in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 New York's next cab? : seats 5, durable like a truck, easy entry, and get 19/24 mileage Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
156n3rd Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Over in Europe, the United Kingdom and the rest of the planet, shapes like this are all over the road. From vans to people movers (as mini-vans are called), the shapes are new to us. Sometimes, they may seem totally foreign to us, but this is where their marketing has gone. The U.S. is like meat & potato consumers such as pick-ups, suv's and sedans. Overseas they have many more models available and many more manufacturers to choose from, we are being short-changed. Take what Chrysler has done. They have over-built the Jeep line, and under built cars as are needed here. Gasoline is still unstable worldwide. There is too much competition for the product that's there, and it is there. Oil companies have made so much profit from us, they could send their office staffs home for a long, long vacation! The U.S. of A. needs better engineered, smaller and much more efficient vehicles that will include common rail and direct injection systems for gas and diesel. They need to be in new shapes to accomdate the needed ergonomics sadly missing in some of our cars. Again, I'll mention Chrysler. The Dodge Avenger is the most uncomfortable car I've ever been in. It even surpasses my wife's 1992 Saturn SL2, which is too low, too narrow and just plain uncomfortable. Just go on line and look at any European car maker and see what they get to drive. Small, fast, powerful and excellent on fuel economy. Yeeesh! :gang: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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