lol LS460 Taxi
#17
#19
Lexus Fanatic
#20
Lexus Fanatic
#21
#25
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New Lexus Taxicabs Spark Envy
When Samuel Pekoh pulls up to a red light, he always turns heads.
From the windows of their Ford Crown Victorias, cab drivers peer enviously at his Lexus taxicab, "Samantha," as if a supermodel had suddenly entered their homely midst. Pedestrians stop to offer a thumbs-up. "Looking good!" they whistle and catcall.
Eight months ago, Mr. Pekoh, a taxi owner and driver originally from Ghana, and his colleague Clifford Hammon-Adler made a trip to a Lexus dealership on Lexington Avenue and came away with a brand-new pair of hybrid RX400hs, costing them each $52,000 and change. "It's a beautiful drive," Mr. Hammon-Adler said.
"I don't smoke, I don't drink, and when I drove for a company, I didn't like getting complaints about the smell of the car," Mr. Pekoh said. Now, the back seat of "Samantha," which he named after his daughter, smells like new leather.
The Taxi & Limousine Commission approved 10 hybrid-electric car models for use as taxicabs 15 months ago, but the new hybrid cars are only catching on now. "This is the point at which people start seeing numbers," a spokesman for the Taxi & Limousine Commission, Alan Fromberg, said.
#27
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I dunno about anywhere else b/c I grew up in Kobe and Tokyo, but especially in Tokyo, there are a lot of nice taxis. Celsior, Aristo, Majesta, Crown, Alphard, Mercedes, Volvo, etc. Then again, we have cheap 'one-coin' taxi (1coin = 500 yen/$5USD) that uses smaller 5 number plated cars too.
The poles actually are really helpful in Tokyo. If you thought driving in LA was tough, try driving in Tokyo...it's a friggin nightmare.
#29
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Well, there's a reason why we use so many Crown Vic taxis. They are built not only with the durable, truck-type, ladder-frame that all Crown Vics get, but also, in many cases, with the heavy-duty police suspension, brakes, and cooling systems (the police-spec package is not available in ordinary dealer sales.......you have to be ordering the car for taxi or law-enforcement purposes). This package is popular with cab drivers because they they are constantly running the wheels and suspension into curbs, pounding over rough city streets like in D.C and Manhattan, and spend endless hours idling in traffic. The body-on-frame and police-grade suspension is far more resistant to damage from rough roads and curb impacts than what you will find on an ordinary, FWD, unibody car.....one reason why police and taxi firms have been so slow to give the car up.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-20-07 at 06:03 PM.
#30
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But the cabs that replaced the Crown Vics in my city now are more or less stock from the factory. I.e. no special heavy-duty suspension or vinyl seats. If the Camry they bought had fabric, that's what they have (unless they add aftermarket leather). If they bought a Corolla LE with factory leather, then that's what you get to sit on. As you can see, most of our "new" cabs are Toyotas
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we (I'm Japanese) mainly use cab specific cars. It's called a Crown or Cedric/Gloria but it's nothing like its counterpart. They're not nice at all... BUT, Toyota released a TRD version of this with a supercharger (RWD) 3pedals.
I dunno about anywhere else b/c I grew up in Kobe and Tokyo, but especially in Tokyo, there are a lot of nice taxis. Celsior, Aristo, Majesta, Crown, Alphard, Mercedes, Volvo, etc. Then again, we have cheap 'one-coin' taxi (1coin = 500 yen/$5USD) that uses smaller 5 number plated cars too.
The poles actually are really helpful in Tokyo. If you thought driving in LA was tough, try driving in Tokyo...it's a friggin nightmare.
I dunno about anywhere else b/c I grew up in Kobe and Tokyo, but especially in Tokyo, there are a lot of nice taxis. Celsior, Aristo, Majesta, Crown, Alphard, Mercedes, Volvo, etc. Then again, we have cheap 'one-coin' taxi (1coin = 500 yen/$5USD) that uses smaller 5 number plated cars too.
The poles actually are really helpful in Tokyo. If you thought driving in LA was tough, try driving in Tokyo...it's a friggin nightmare.
heh. Come up to here. You'll see plenty of Prius cabs and TCH cabs. If not a hybrid, it'll be a regular Corollas (no idea why since it's still small for rear passengers) and Camrys as replacements for the Crown Vics and Luminas and Centurys.. oh and the Malibus too.