New York City picks its taxi of tomorrow. And its a Nissan.

[techs]

Fuel economy on the Ford is very meh -> EPA-Estimated 21 City/ 26 Highway/ 23 Combined

Hopefully, the Nissan will end up close to or over 30 Combined.

The Transit Connect may be more geared towards hauling heavy loads than the Nissan since it seems to be designed more like a small truck.
Just a guess.

 

[EvilYoda]

I haven't followed the story too closely, but I have to wonder what made them choose the Nissan over the Turkish company (Karsan) that pledged to manufacturer their vehicles in Brooklyn.

 

[Svnla]

I haven't followed the story too closely, but I have to wonder what made them choose the Nissan over the Turkish company (Karsan) that pledged to manufacturer their vehicles in Brooklyn.

Because...

Some local officials said they were unhappy with the final selection and questioned why the Karsan model wasn't chosen after the automaker pledged to build the vehicles in Brooklyn. Bloomberg said that getting approval for an automotive plant in the city and building such a facility within the two-year limit wasn't feasible, and he said Karsan didn't have enough U.S. experience to satisfy the city that it could follow through on its plans.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110503/ap_on_re_us/us_nyc_s_new_taxi

 

[SandEagle]

Nobody wonders this

i wondered this, noob.

made in mexico. stay classy, nyc. i love nissans, but damn......

 

[JulesMaximus]

i wondered this, noob.

made in mexico. stay classy, nyc. i love nissans, but damn......

There are many American cars that are made in Mexico too...what's your point?

 

[ShawnD1]

Ok so you guys dont want a prius because you cant fit 4 people in the back seat. I understand that. But when has anyone been able to fit 4 people in the back of a crown vic? It is a car, not a van.

Cabs around here are often toyota camrys

 

[erikistired]

Ok so you guys dont want a prius because you cant fit 4 people in the back seat. I understand that. But when has anyone been able to fit 4 people in the back of a crown vic? It is a car, not a van.

Cabs around here are often toyota camrys

you can fit 3 across the back and 1 in the front. a crown vic is about twice the size of a prius. heck we fit four across the back once, but that was a desperation move.

what taxi company uses a camry? that sounds like something you'd find in a third world country. "jump in the back of my datsun pickup, i will drive you!"

 

[SandEagle]

There are many American cars that are made in Mexico too...what's your point?

dammit jules i have to explain everything to u? listen closely, my simple-minded friend. if those cars were made in America, it would have saved or created jobs for.........AMERICANS!!

 

[erikistired]

dammit jules i have to explain everything to u? listen closely, my simple-minded friend. if those cars were made in America, it would have saved or created jobs for.........AMERICANS!!

did you not see his point? just because it's an american company doesn't mean the cars are made in america, therefore there are still no more jobs being saved or created.

 

[EvilYoda]

you can fit 3 across the back and 1 in the front. a crown vic is about twice the size of a prius. heck we fit four across the back once, but that was a desperation move.

what taxi company uses a camry? that sounds like something you'd find in a third world country. "jump in the back of my datsun pickup, i will drive you!"

4 in the back all time if you can find a cabbie that'll let you. One of the girls sits on a guy's lap, no big deal. Or, because of all the legroom in the back, you do the weird seating situation where someone sits at the edge of the seat while the two around him/her angle their legs away. Fourth passenger just squishes against the door.

 

[erikistired]

4 in the back all time if you can find a cabbie that'll let you. One of the girls sits on a guy's lap, no big deal. Or, because of all the legroom in the back, you do the weird seating situation where someone sits at the edge of the seat while the two around him/her angle their legs away. Fourth passenger just squishes against the door.

in that case i'm happy about the new taxis, should i ever visit new york.

 

[techs]

I haven't followed the story too closely, but I have to wonder what made them choose the Nissan over the Turkish company (Karsan) that pledged to manufacturer their vehicles in Brooklyn.

Turkish cars?
Seriously? Turkey makes cars?

Edit: I looked them up. Founded in 1996 with a revenue of 800 million last year.
800 million? I think Ford and Toyota grossed that much while I was typing this edit.

 

[techs]

dammit jules i have to explain everything to u? listen closely, my simple-minded friend. if those cars were made in America, it would have saved or created jobs for.........AMERICANS!!

Absolutely.
And, then the Americans who made the cars could afford to vacation.
In New York City.
Win/Win

 

[gevorg]

US auto industry should do what Boeing did to Airbus (tanker fiasco).

 

[EvilYoda]

Turkish cars?
Seriously? Turkey makes cars?

Edit: I looked them up. Founded in 1996 with a revenue of 800 million last year.
800 million? I think Ford and Toyota grossed that much while I was typing this edit.

The Ford Transit Connect is a Turkish vehicle too. (Weird, huh)

 

[techs]

The Ford Transit Connect is a Turkish vehicle too. (Weird, huh)

wtfbbq?

 

[techs]

US auto industry should do what Boeing did to Airbus (tanker fiasco).

You mean pay off, err persuade, New York to pick the US company?
Are you crazy? That would make us like all the other countries that actually protect their home grown jobs.


wait, what?

 

[ShawnD1]

you can fit 3 across the back and 1 in the front. a crown vic is about twice the size of a prius. heck we fit four across the back once, but that was a desperation move.

what taxi company uses a camry? that sounds like something you'd find in a third world country. "jump in the back of my datsun pickup, i will drive you!"

Apparently New York City does.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/safety_emissions/taxicab_logo_vehicles.shtml

 

[coldmeat]

Crown Vic cabs are rare around here. They are usually just a mix of a bunch of random cars. All the cabs in my home town are vans.

 

[jchu14]

I do not understand why their not putting solar panels on top of those vans?

The extra cost of the panels would offset the cost of fuel over the long run.

Solar cell technology is just not ready for prime time yet. The amount of energy gathered is just too small to make financial sense.

Let's say the roof of the car can fit about 5 m^2 worth of solar panels. Solar panels can generate about 200 watt/meter^2 in full sunlight. So if you have 10 hours of full sun (not likely in NYC with smog, snow), that's 2 kwh / day. In comparison, each gallon of gasoline has 36.6kwh worth of energy. Assume 20% internal combustion engine efficiency, 10 hours of sun converts to about 1/4 gallon worth of gasoline per day or about $360 worth of gasoline/year at $4/gal prices.

From looking at amazon prices of solar panel, 5 m^2 of solar panel will run you about $4000. It'll take a long time to recoup that cost assuming the solar panel works perfectly and did not need repairs.

Also (i think the main reason), is that electricity is actually very difficult to use if the car is not directly driven by electric motors. You'll need to either add tons of complexity/weight/cost to incorporate a hybrid drive-train, or limit solar power use to running the radio, computer, lights etc. The alternator already does a pretty good job of converting engine power to electrical power so I don't know how much fuel you can actually save with solar cells.

I wish it's not the case, but solar cell is just not ready. It's debatable when installed on houses at the right locations, but it just doesn't make sense in cars right now.

 

[shortylickens]

why not get some prius' ? Cheaper, and better MPG I assume.

In my area most all cabs are Prius and a handful are Muranos.

 

[ShawnD1]

In my area most all cabs are Prius and a handful are Muranos.

location: Hell :awe:

 

[techs]

Back in the late 1980's I worked for a private taxi company in New York City. They pioneered the use of the Dodge Caravan as taxis. At the time the Caravan, the first minivan, was only out for a few years.
The owner and Chrysler had struck a deal where he got them dirt cheap, as Chrysler wanted to see if people liked them as taxis, and if they would hold up on NY City streets. They were AWESOME. Customers loved them and they went on average close to 200,000 miles before they were replaced.

Of course, these were 4cylinder jobs with Mitsubishi engines and trannys. A couple of years later Dodge brought out the longer wheelbased Grand Caravan with a Chrysler 6cyl motor and trannny. We tried them and it was a disaster. The engines and trannies failed at a spectacular rate.

 

[Saint Nick]

48mpg for a 1.5-liter turbodiesel. I wonder what engine the US version is going to be getting?

The US version will have a 6.0L V8 and will get approximately 9 MPG.

 

[ShawnD1]

Back in the late 1980's I worked for a private taxi company in New York City

Are you implying that some of the taxis are government owned? :hmm: