So starting from 2013, this will be the new kind of taxi in NYC? I guess this makes sense. Easy to get in and out, easy to clean, etc. I’m a bit surprised they didn’t go with some kind of hybrid vehicle though - gas savings and what not.
They are getting uglier and uglier all the time (though I guess it is “practical”).
Looks like it should be a Johnny Cab.
anything is better than the crown vic… well almost
I like the Crown Vic, plenty of leg space. Was in an Explorer taxi the other day and it was really tight. I won’t even bother hailing an Altima.
I spoke with a NYC cabbie once and he told me that he dropped about a $100 a day gassing up the Crown Vic (6 days a week) vrs $100 for the whole week for the Escape Hybrid. The crown vic is a luxory car with an V8, never understood why it was chosen for driving around the city in stop and go traffic in 12 hours shifts?
Probably was some bulk deal with Ford. I never really understood why NY taxis need so much engine. It might make sense for police cruisers, which need to chase speeding drivers. But for city taxis, the main goal should be to minimize running costs and to maximize space.
That is quite ugly. Fuel efficiency sounds right to me
it’s a huge van and there’s only 3 seats in the back. Why couldn’t they make it like the London cabs which fold away seats facing the back seats. Always annoying when you have to take 2 cabs for 4 people.
All the cabs (and a lot of private cars) in Australia run on LPG. I can’t recall ever seen LPG in other countries. Is there a reason for this or is my assessment just wrong?
The shoe box obviously won because it will be way easier to bang a chick balls-deep and singing while touring NYC.
singing!: "Start spreading the news" … uh! uh! uh! … “I’m leaving today” … uh! uh! uh!
Actually, there is space for four if you count the front passenger seat. The vehicle is also pretty small. It’s 173 inches long. For comparison, a Honda Civic is 177 inches long. It just looks big because it’s shaped like a van.
Two thumbs up for that humor! 
I thought it looked pretty tiny. Doesn’t look like there is any space behind the seat for luggage. I guess you have to take 2 cars if you have bags. Good point about the fuel economy of the Escape vs. the CV, but I still want to be comfortable.
The trunk is quite big actually. Although the vehicle is short, it’s very tall and you can stack luggage from floor to ceiling. I’m pretty sure NY thought about things like this when they chose this particular model.
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/images/images_2/2011/jenny/taxioftomorrow/taxioftomorrow04.jpg
I think another important consideration is that the new taxi is more than three feet shorter than the old taxis. This means more taxis can fit into the same length of road. So congestion will decrease a bit.
Cool. Other pictures I’ve seen made it look like the seats were right up against the back windows. I also read that they have 10 inches more legroom than the CV, so it get’s my preliminary thumbs-up.