Autoblog

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).

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