London Black Cabs Arrive in Aus

[Spammy]

Originally Posted by 4VCLEVO

image

Those fold down seats look comfy.

They are better than you think and great when 5 of you have to go 3 miles to a meeting and its raining.

Everyone needs to get over the fact that they are 1 gazzilion times more pratical as a taxi than a Family Sedan (which is no longler bought by families)

[Spammy]

Originally Posted by swanee

Wont see to many of them around international airports. Unless they are good at towing a trailer for luggage.

Every been to a small airport in the UK called "Heathrow"?

As for carrying luggage - much better than a falcon taxi with a LPG gas tank taking up 50% of the boot space.

[Vesper Martini]

[QUOTE=Kayos;4884584]Thats a joke to say the least, why would you import these boxes with all our options. bet they wouldn't handle the aussie conditions like the Fords!

QUOTE]

You make me laugh! anybody that uses the Australian conditions argument most likley hasnt been out of the country. Tell me how does driving in Melbourne or Sydney Traffic differ from London? they wont be used in the red centre FFS.
These things are comfy and have a plentyful supply of parts. the only negative. They cost more than a second hand Falcon, but so does a Prius

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Spammy

They are better than you think and great when 5 of you have to go 3 miles to a meeting and its raining.

Everyone needs to get over the fact that they are 1 gazzilion times more pratical as a taxi than a Family Sedan (which is no longler bought by families)

The question is will it fit 5 fat bastards like me in the back comfortably?

Me and the rest of the fatties are taking over, this is our country now.

[strobe]

You'd get in there better than in the back of a Prius Damo.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by strobe

You'd get in there better than in the back of a Prius Damo.

Most likely, though it seems still in Victoria there are a lot of Falcon taxi's out here, cruise along the Tullamarine Freeway at 6AM in the morning and its a big sea of yellow Falcons coming and going from the airport.

Our local guy has a Falcon taxi too, but he maintains his, its always clean and he wears uniform and doesn't stink of kebabs.

[Road_Warrior]

I'm seeing a lot more Camry Hybrid taxis in Perth.

[jpblue1000]

Having lived in London for 6 years and frequented the back of many taxis, I believe given appropriate dealer/spares support these things will eat the local product for lunch as a taxi.
You can roll a wheelchair into one without the owner getting out of it you can almost walk through them too. You can pack significantly more luggage into them and being designed as taxis rather than joe publics daily hack work so much better in every way you want a taxi to work.
The driver has better personal protection and based on a light truck rather than car affords them space. Despite 2 fold down seats will comfortable seat 5 passengers with plenty of legroom, If you want to taxi from melbourne to sydney perhaps use the main seats but a quick jaunt home post friday drinks...perfect. Im sure they don't handle as well as a falcon on truck tyres, but I also don't want a taxi driver needing to rely on the cars handling to keep me alive.
Plus they have a turning circle of circa 7-8 meters vs the falcon at 11m a lot less congestion avoiding a lost 3 point turning Australian taxi driver!

JP

[Spammy]

Arnie, Stanley Kubric, Prince Phillip, Stephen Fry and Kate Moss all have them as personal cars.

[flooded one]

Originally Posted by GTPete

Black, that's a smart colour for the Australian summer.

wanna hope the air cons good. don't get me wrong. I love black cars. I own one, I'm thankful my air con is nice and cold

[Kayos]

Don't see why ford aus couldn't build something similar, using a better platform, with their eyes closed... but then again why would the parents let that happen.

[Spammy]

Originally Posted by Kayos

Don't see why ford aus couldn't build something similar, using a better platform, with their eyes closed... but then again why would the parents let that happen.

Don't lose sight of the fact the manufacturer went broke late last year as the market for them is too small ...a bit like another car I know.

[Kayos]

[QUOTE=Bevsta007;4885544]

Originally Posted by Kayos

Thats a joke to say the least, why would you import these boxes with all our options. bet they wouldn't handle the aussie conditions like the Fords!

QUOTE]

You make me laugh! anybody that uses the Australian conditions argument most likley hasnt been out of the country. Tell me how does driving in Melbourne or Sydney Traffic differ from London? they wont be used in the red centre FFS.
These things are comfy and have a plentyful supply of parts. the only negative. They cost more than a second hand Falcon, but so does a Prius

Assumptions again from another keyboard wizard, I was born here but my tree has worldly roots.. simply yes
Own taxis do you? compare costs will you? import parts for these will you? Serviced, owned, worked on the panels, have any real comparison on how many klms before you need to do bushes, head, ball joints, pads??? They run in an average of what weather conditions, cold to cold..
I had a house in Frankston so can give a well infomative opinion on the area, and why I sold it..
Ever driven in europe, can't say I've been to dreary london and don't want to, because of these taxis...

[Vesper Martini]

Not sure what that all means but further endorses my point,

Yes I have lived and drove a courier van in London CBD. and ill let you know conditions go from snow and dark at 3pm in winter to high 30's in the summer with daylight hours to 11pm
They will handle our conditons fine, and PS they dont have to be black we can paint them..
I make no assumptions

[strobe]

I think the average lifespan of black cabs is something like 12 years and 1000000 miles. At least that's what I think a cabbie told me. Doesn't sound too rough.

[Brazen]

I wonder how much they cost, I know they cost the equivalent of a BMW 530i in the UK.

I think the often forgotten Prius V variant would be a good taxi, a lot more roomy than a normal Prius.

[Kayos]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Not sure what that all means but further endorses my point,

Yes I have lived and drove a courier van in London CBD. and ill let you know conditions go from snow and dark at 3pm in winter to high 30's in the summer with daylight hours to 11pm
They will handle our conditons fine, and PS they dont have to be black we can paint them..
I make no assumptions

I'll make my point straight, you assumed that I never went overseas so you do make assumptions, and if you don't know what they say about people that make assumptions look it up.

I couldn't give a ...... if you drove a jet in london cbd, spare me the dull conversation and I'm done. I didn't ask if it came in other colours buddy, I'd highly doubt they'd hit the streets of melbourne and this thread has become pointless

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Brazen

I wonder how much they cost, I know they cost the equivalent of a BMW 530i in the UK.

I think the often forgotten Prius V variant would be a good taxi, a lot more roomy than a normal Prius.

I dont know how much they are but they have failed here before due to the cost, perhaps now that they are built in China that will change.

there was a media push here in Melbourne last year for the diriver safety aspect.

but I think it comes down to cost, and 2nd hand Falcons are cheap.

[TC200six]

How much are these compared to a small van like a SWB Hiace?

Now that the Falcon days are coming to an end and they want these van looking vehicles to take off in Australia, maybe vans are the future of taxis. I know they use them already, so they might as well make their entire fleet vans.

[RANGEREST]

Originally Posted by Kayos

I'll make my point straight, you assumed that I never went overseas so you do make assumptions, and if you don't know what they say about people that make assumptions look it up.

I couldn't give a ...... if you drove a jet in london cbd, spare me the dull conversation and I'm done. I didn't ask if it came in other colours buddy, I'd highly doubt they'd hit the streets of melbourne and this thread has become pointless

[Jastel]

Originally Posted by TC200six

How much are these compared to a small van like a SWB Hiace?

Now that the Falcon days are coming to an end and they want these van looking vehicles to take off in Australia, maybe vans are the future of taxis. I know they use them already, so they might as well make their entire fleet vans.

Problem with that is old people don't like them...hard to get up into for them, bad hips, backs etc. I personally wont take them if I have a choice either. many drivers will not drive them either.

There needs to be a mixture of vehicles for different people and uses.

[Moby Vic]

Originally Posted by Kayos

Don't see why ford aus couldn't build something similar, using a better platform, with their eyes closed... but then again why would the parents let that happen.

Ford US is trying to get fleets to use the Transit Connect to replace the Crown Victoria as a cab.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

I wonder if the local cabbies driving them will be as 'knowledgeable' as the London ones

Doubt it...I've actually had a driver pull out a Gregory's and look up streets while weaving along. Back in the days before GPS of course.
Look up what cab drivers have to do over there to get "The Knowledge" and your mind will boggle...

Originally Posted by Spammy

They are better than you think and great when 5 of you have to go 3 miles to a meeting and its raining.

Everyone needs to get over the fact that they are 1 gazzilion times more pratical as a taxi than a Family Sedan (which is no longler bought by families)

Many people just don't want to admit that a purpose-built vehicle can actually be better than a normal family car here that's been converted to use as a cab.

Size? They're bigger than you think...if you've only ever seen them on TV or in movies, you'll be surprised at how large they actually are. A vehicle purpose designed to carry passengers efficiently is always going to be better than a normal family car being thrust into service it was never actually designed for.

[flooded one]

Originally Posted by Brazen

I wonder how much they cost, I know they cost the equivalent of a BMW 530i in the UK.

I think the often forgotten Prius V variant would be a good taxi, a lot more roomy than a normal Prius.

yes I haven't heard of them for a while.

[Jastel]

They are having more battery issues with the newer Prius models, people tell me, they are all switching to the Camry Hybrid now.

[gcg2503]

Originally Posted by 4VCLEVO

image

Those fold down seats look comfy.

Having spent 6 years working in London I can attest at how useless those rear facing seats are!

Those cabs have a good turning circle. Thats about it.

give me a falcon or commodore every day of the week over those things.

[wrongwaynorris]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

I wonder if the local cabbies driving them will be as 'knowledgeable' as the London ones

Dream on

[randel]

What safety rating do they have? Those rear facing seats dont look too sturdy?

[Kayos]

Originally Posted by velvet

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by randel

What safety rating do they have? Those rear facing seats dont look too sturdy?

From what I've read, they're specially designed vehicles much like the old Checker Cabs in the USA built on an enormously strong long-lived platform....you could drop the bugger off a building and still drive it away...

I have an English classic car magazine somewhere here that in its monthly "classics and how to buy one and what to look out for" article covered the London Cab...the older black ones but also into the later more modern ones. They said they're built on a hugely strong chassis and suspension, and the whole car is built to be serviced quickly and easily with a minimum of fuss in harsh conditions. Overall they were said to be not the quickest thing in the world, but for long life and masses of carrying capacity, you couldn't get better.