Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[AM General to produce Standard Taxi cabs?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/14/am-general-to-produce-standard-taxi-cabs/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/14/am-general-to-produce-standard-taxi-cabs/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/14/am-general-to-produce-standard-taxi-cabs/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Standard taxi

It sure ain't pretty, though beauty, in this case, is likely in the eye of the beholder. A few years back, a new take on the taxi was provided by Standard Taxi, a company based in Troy, Michigan. The design for the purpose-built people hauler uses GM running gear and is able to haul four passengers in relative comfort. We hadn't heard a peep from the company until today when we learned that Standard is now working on negotiations with AM General to build the vehicle in its plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, where AM General builds the Hummer H2 SUV and SUT. So far, no announcements have been made regarding whether or not the plant would continue working full-time in the face of lagging Hummer sales, though we imagine that plenty of excess capacity is available. According to AM General, the deal would in no way impact the assembly of military Hummer models.

We can't say whether a production version of the Standard Taxi would feature the pushrod 4.3-liter V6 that the concept had underhood, though there are plenty of options from the GM parts-bin from which to pilfer. A Standard Taxi equipped with GM's 2-Mode hybrid system could prove to be extremely well-suited for taxi duty in some of the world's toughest environments.

[Source: Hummer Guy]

AM General to produce Standard Taxi cabs? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>am generalam general humveeam general productionAmGeneralAmGeneralHumveeAmGeneralProductionhummerhummer h2HummerH2mishawakamishawaka indianaMishawakaIndianastandard taxiStandardTaxitaxitaxi cabtaxi cabsTaxiCabTaxiCabstaxisMon, 14 Jul 2008 19:06:00 EST<![CDATA[New low-emissions London Black Cab to be based on Mercedes-Benz Vito Traveliner]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/19/new-low-emissions-london-black-cab-to-be-based-on-mercedes-benz/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/19/new-low-emissions-london-black-cab-to-be-based-on-mercedes-benz/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/06/19/new-low-emissions-london-black-cab-to-be-based-on-mercedes-benz/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Londoners could be swapping out black cabs for black vans pretty soon. EcoCity vehicles, through its subsidiary KPM-UK, has worked with LTI, the maker of the famous black cab, for almost 20 years. Now EcoCity has signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz to produce cabs out of Vito Traveliner vans, which produce lower emissions than the LTI offering.

With 93-percent of the London taxi market owned by black cabs, we wouldn't expect to see Traveliners dominating The City any time soon. For EcoCity, it was more about offering a more environmental choice for drivers and customers. Former mayor Ken Livingstone was a big proponent of that, if you'll remember. And for the city of London, it could mean less of the brown stuff in the air. The Traveliner taxi will be launched next week, and go on sale shortly after.

[Source: The Telegraph via Carscoop]

New low-emissions London Black Cab to be based on Mercedes-Benz Vito Traveliner originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click image for photo gallery

Prague has an issue with its taxi drivers. They're notorious ripoff artists, as any number of Prague-related travel sites will tell you. It's gotten to the point where the problem is viewed as being detrimental to overall tourism in the city. In response, a local newspaper has been campaigning against the rampant overcharging, and persuaded the mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem, to don a tourist disguise and see for himself just how bad the situation has become. Bem decided to pose as an Italian, slicking back his hair, putting on a pair of shades, donning fake facial hair, and generally embracing appearance-based stereotypes that would get an American politician in a heap 'o trouble.

With his costume disguise (shown at right) in place, Bem flagged down a cab and was promptly and massively overcharged. A trip that should have cost him around 4 Euros wound up setting him back 26 Euros! In a second cab, the fare jumped 200% when he offered to pay in Euros instead of the local currency. Suffice to say, he was unhappy with what he saw, and will send more city officials out undercover to see if they have similar experiences. Until then, Bem recommended tourists agree on a fare before getting into a cab. Some of the sites we visited also recommended using the city's public transportation system or call-ahead taxi services, which are usually not a problem. As for combating the problem of dishonest cabbies and rigged meters, we have a suggestion: GPS!

[Source: BBC via Gadling]

Prague taxi drivers rip off mayor in disguise originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dishonest taxi driversDishonestTaxiDriversexpire-images:2008-7-29overchargingpavel bernPavelBernpraguetaxi ripoffTaxiRipofftaxisWed, 01 Aug 2007 12:57:00 EST<![CDATA[We experience NYC's in-cab information screens]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/05/nyc-piloting-in-cab-information-screens/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/05/nyc-piloting-in-cab-information-screens/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/05/nyc-piloting-in-cab-information-screens/#commentsFiled under:



While I get into the city on a semi-regular basis, I don't usually take a cab. I prefer to walk or take the subway, as doing so is usually a.) easier and b.) less expensive. Nothing's worse than sitting in the back seat of a cab, stuck in traffic, watching the meter run. Sometimes, however, you can't beat a taxi. Such as when you're running late. And it's rainy. And cold. And one happens to dump a passenger off right next to you, as if God knew you needed to stop hoofing it and get in an automobile for the rest of your journey.

That's what happened last night.

I stood poised to take over a cab as its passengers completed their transaction with a flurry of activity, all of which involved a large LCD screen mounted to the divider (above). When I got in, the screen refreshed, revealing itself to be a touch-activated information center geared towards tourists called eTaxi. It provides the standard stuff like weather and points of interest, and has advertising lined up, web-style. According to a NY Post article on the system published back in January, it uses GPS to display ads based on the cab's location. It also acts as a payment interface for customers who want to use a credit card. My driver, Freddy, explained to me that the system's being piloted in 200 cabs in the city right now, and if deemed successful, it'll see a wide rollout soon thereafter. Cars that run the system appear to have two meters installed (at least that was the case with the one I was in) -- one "traditional," with the familiar red numbers, and another that features a monochrome LCD display that's used for the credit card payments.

Continue reading We experience NYC's in-cab information screens

We experience NYC's in-cab information screens originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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