London Black Cabs Arrive in Aus

[monte.b]

We have lots of van type taxies here,toyoto i guess ,i hate the bloody things ,cattle trucks i call them ,not fit for people ,they ride so hard on our **** roads here it nearly breaks your back over every bump ,but the cabies like them cause they are cheaper to rego ,go figure

[wrongwaynorris]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

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.

They are an Austin FX4 .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_FX4

[2011G6E]

It's interesting when you read of all the requirements that are mandatory on those cabs...wheelchair accessible, mandatory turning circle size (only 7.6mtr), and other things like passenger room and luggage space.

All of that is just another point as to why it's sometimes a good idea to look to a specialty vehicle that's designed specifically to do a job rather than just use whatever is sitting around the used car lots.

If taxi companies here had any sense, they'd start buying these things instead of putting up with the various compromises involved in using normal sedans.

[Road_Warrior]

IIRC, the actual London cabs used the Ford Duratorq engine family of diesels and this new one uses a VM Motori diesel - tax incentives and discounts for taxi fleet users for diesel "over there" might be relevant, but over here, no such thing exists and running costs will be huge.

The only petrol engine in the range is only available with a manual transmission - can you see any Australian cabbies using a manual?

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

The only petrol engine in the range is only available with a manual transmission - can you see any Australian cabbies using a manual?

Shifting cogs AND trying to figure out where they are going, all at the same time......

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

If taxi companies here had any sense, they'd start buying these things instead of putting up with the various compromises involved in using normal sedans.

Normal like the one we caught from Cairns Airport to the city (Prius, I think), 2 adults and 1 10yo granddaughter who had to nurse a case beside her, and we only had I suitcase each !!

Oh and he must have been the only Cabbie in Cairns who not only didn't know where the Europcar city office was, he'd never even heard of Eurpocar

[mcnamg]

Why doesnt Ford try selling these?



http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/23/2...-connect-taxi/

[Jastel]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Normal like the one we caught from Cairns Airport to the city (Prius, I think), 2 adults and 1 10yo granddaughter who had to nurse a case beside her, and we only had I suitcase each !!

Oh and he must have been the only Cabbie in Cairns who not only didn't know where the Europcar city office was, he'd never even heard of Eurpocar

The reason there are so many Prius Hybrids and vans up north is the price of LPG is nearly $1 a litre and has been 30c above capital cities for ages. Not many comfy Falcons up that way. Or anywhere that's not a capital city really...

[burnz]

Originally Posted by Road_Warrior

IIRC, the actual London cabs used the Ford Duratorq engine family of diesels and this new one uses a VM Motori diesel - tax incentives and discounts for taxi fleet users for diesel "over there" might be relevant, but over here, no such thing exists and running costs will be huge.

The only petrol engine in the range is only available with a manual transmission - can you see any Australian cabbies using a manual?

diesel is subsidised for transport ABN.

[RSgerry]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Normal like the one we caught from Cairns Airport to the city (Prius, I think), 2 adults and 1 10yo granddaughter who had to nurse a case beside her, and we only had I suitcase each !!

Oh and he must have been the only Cabbie in Cairns who not only didn't know where the Europcar city office was, he'd never even heard of Eurpocar

I once caught a taxi in Perth and asked him to take me to St Georges in the city. He didn't know where it was...turns out he had been in the country 2 weeks.