Meet the only Saturn Vue Green Line Taxi in New York
Last Wednesday, the Altman building on west 18th Street in Manhattan was home to a General Motors reception for the New York area media. Autoblog was there, and in addition to the array of 2007 products displayed inside the reception hall, there was a vehicle of particular interest parked outside: a brand new Saturn Vue Green Line taxi. In the sea of Crown Vics, Escape Hybrids, and assorted minivans patrolling the streets of the Big Apple, it stands alone as the only Vue Green Line out there picking up fares. We caught up with the Vue cab's owner, Placida Robinson, who was one of the guests at the reception. She told us that she obtained the medallion at an auction held earlier this year, in which 254 hybrid and 54 handicap accessible vehicle medallions were made available. The medallions fetched record prices -- the average price for each one was in excess of $400,000 -- which probably makes Ms. Robinson's Vue the most expensive one on the road after you add the cost of the medallion to car's purchase price (around $23,000).
There's more. Follow the jump to read the rest.
Of course, the Vue had to undergo some modifications of its own before it could hit the streets looking for riders. Like any other medallion taxi, it had to get a fresh coat of yellow paint, and the interior saw familiar modifications, such as new seats covered in a heavy-duty vinyl that's easy to clean and able to handle the wear and tear of steady everyday use. Naturally, it also had a meter and roof light installed.
Ms. Robinson's cab was otherwise trimmed out to the relatively high level of interior specification that's standard on the Vue Green Line. It's a comfortable and capable city driver, thanks to the added boost the electric motor provides at launch, and the Vue's stop/start system should prove beneficial in this application. In New York, traffic comes to a halt with great frequency, so the car's automatic engine stop feature will surely get a heavy workout, helping with the cab's fuel economy and reducing emissions along the way (remember, an engine that's shut off emits nothing).
Unlike other taxis, which are serviced at fleet garages that are set up all over the city, when the Vue needs service, it "goes home to mother" as Ms. Robinson puts it, and visits a New York Saturn dealer. The Vue Green Line was an attractive fit for Ms. Robinson because it met the hybrid requirement, was competitively priced, and offered excellent cargo capacity. She told us that customer reaction has been very positive so far. Riders apparently like the hybrid and have commented that as taxis go, it's one of the nicer ones they've been in.
New York is obviously moving towards a more hybrid-centric taxi fleet over time, In five years when it's time for this Vue to go into mandatory retirement, it'll likely be sharing the streets with other, new hybrid Saturns -- Vues sporting the just-announced two-mode hybrid system, and possibly even the plug-in option that was also announced at the LA Auto Show. For now, though, if you find yourself riding in a Vue Green Line taxi, know that you've found the proverbial needle in a stack of needles, because in a city whose streets are home to thousands of yellow cabs, there's only one of the Saturns in service.
Note: Autoblog recently had the Vue Green Line pass through the Autoblog Garage. Look for our full review later this week over at Autoblog Green.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
chi2612 10:47AM (12/10/2006)
I am not sure if this is the most expensive NYC taxi, I am pretty sure I saw a Lexus RX 440h the other day @JFK Intl Airport.
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Greg 10:53AM (12/10/2006)
It won't be long before 'Mayor Bloomberg' makes it mandatory for all cabs in NYC to be 'Green'.
Bloomberg has enforced Banning Trans Fats in foods sold in NYC... Enforced Banning Smoking in Bars.... , what's holding him back on Diesel Fuel and Gasoline?
Being a former NYC daily commuter... I'll never forget when the Cabbies went on Strike about 10 years ago... it was the most pleasent day Manhattan has ever seen, Guiliani should have siezed the moment and enforced a one day a week Cab Free Zone for Manhattan, but he punked out and didn't pursue it.
I can't believe that these medallians are now going for $400,000. 20 years ago, I leased a car from a black car radio group for about a year and a half, and back then you could pick one up for about 80k. But now with 400k being the price....unbelievable is all I can say.
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DriftPunch 12:34PM (12/10/2006)
So let me get this straight, NYC sets the amount of licenses far below the demand, then auctions the occasional pool increase units to the highest bidder? WTF???
Even the looniest lefty would agree that the whole point of a license is to regulate, not to create revenue. That is called a tax. I guess corruption is only a problem if it's hidden from public view or the public disapproves. Otherwise, it's considered business as usual.
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Nakagawa 12:06PM (12/10/2006)
Wow. looks like ugly goloom car.
We japanese do not make such a crap design.
Is this american car? LOL
American car too fat and ugly face. i hate it.
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Professor Porsche 12:14PM (12/10/2006)
Besides looking like a yellow appliance, the Vue is not the ideal vehicle for a taxicab, and neither is the Esca[pe, the CRV or the Rav4 in any form.
A taxi needs more space. A hybrid minivan would be ideal as an AIRPORT taxi. Smaller hybrid taxis can easily take a couple out on the town with no major luggage, but the Vue will be ugly and uncomfortable for that too.
Overall, a silly choice.
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dave 12:38PM (12/10/2006)
#3, yuk foo.
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Stphane Dumas 12:43PM (12/10/2006)
It's too bad then Checker motors didn't exist anymore, someone could had modernized their design and do a similar update like London Taxi did with their TX1 and TX4 cabs inspired from the Austin FX4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TX1
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Stphane Dumas 12:50PM (12/10/2006)
I forgot to post a good link about Checker at http://www.checkertaxistand.com/
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Carlos Mencia is Not Funny 1:50PM (12/10/2006)
#2:
I see the hybrid taxi coming, too. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been a disaster for NYC. The whole principle of the Republican Party is "small government." Bloomberg's support of the NYC health board's move to ban trans-fats and indoor smoking is an example of government telling you how to live your life.
I like the idea of hybrids taxis: I just don't want the state telling cab services they HAVE to use hybrids. As for the VUE Green Line, I'd rather have the Escape Hybrid. It's a better SUV in every way.
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chewy 3:29PM (12/10/2006)
A taxicab no matter how green, gets horrible efficiency compared to proper public transportation.
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Andy UK 6:13PM (12/10/2006)
#3
Learn to use English grammar correctly Tojo
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The other Bob 7:00PM (12/10/2006)
At one time I thought a hybrid would make a good taxi. The problem is hyrbids do not get their good city mileage unless they get up to a reasonable speed for some parts of their travels to recharge the batteries.
In essence, a hybrid relies on some highway driving to get good city mileage.
Popular Mechanics ran the last generation Hybrid Civic in (if I remember correctly) NYC in an issues a couple years back. It eventually ran out of batteries and had to run total gas.
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Steve 12:49AM (12/11/2006)
Naka speaks better English than a lot of New Yorkers :P
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Chris 1:05AM (12/11/2006)
This would have been a story if... the Escape Hybrid hadn't done this first!!!
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machine cars 6:47AM (12/11/2006)
I saw in my city an SUV taxi (Hyundai Santa Fe) few days ago and Idon't know why, but I think it is strange
http://www.auto-power-girl.com/
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HotRod 10:09AM (12/11/2006)
Get real, Bloomberg is NO Republican. Sure he CALLS himself a Republican, but he is as left as you get. He just ran as a Republican to pick up enough votes from Republicans who weren't paying attention so he would win.
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CarNut 2:40PM (12/14/2006)
A new purpose-built taxi is being designed to take care of issues such as lack of luggage and passenger space, although there's no knowing whether it will sell well. However, it looks promising, and evidently has been well received among drivers. Here's their site: http://www.standardtaxi.com/home.html
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Chesters Liver 11:51PM (1/01/2007)
Hello only saturn vue hybrid taxi thing.
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