rowland2110
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Automatic... mainly becausei fiddle with the EQ in my Cd player alot.
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Life Advice & Visual Arts
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Manual or Automatic?
- Thread starter TheodoreRoosevelt
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dwfan
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^ It was done because the V8 engines used are heavy duty engines. They have known reliability, and are easily modified for the grueling work they have to perform (transmission coolers, oil coolers, blasting cold a/c at idle, etc) Plus the body on frame design of the Crown Vic makes it withstand the rough road conditions. Theres a reason why just about every cab company, police department, gov't agency fleets use them. plus the parts are cheap and they are easy to repair.
They have Toyota minivans now, a few Toyota Priuses, 2 Lexus SUV's (believe it or not), and Ford Escape hybrid SUV's. As far as for taxi use goes, the Toyotas, etc don't hold up well at all. The mechanical breakdown rate is real high for them, and the toyota minivan chassis doesn't fare well at all on the NYC streets. The majority of failures at the T&LC inspection facility now are chassis issues with the Toyotas.
As for the London cabs.....there is a company that is starting to sell them here now. I *think* that one is being tested by the NYC Taxi and Limousine Comission to see how it fares. But after import duties, etc, they cost over $40,000 USD.
NYC taxis have to be retired after a number of years. A privately owned cab has to be retired after 5 years--a fleet owned after 3. Crown Vic taxi's cost around $22,000. So even though its still a financial burden to pay that, imagine having to pay over $40,000. Plus don't forget the other mandatory crap as well--meter installation/calibration, Roof light, partition, required decals, etc. And to top it off, credit card readers and GPS are going to become mandatory within a few years. So that's a couple of thousand dollars out of the owners pocket.
Me-I just plan on keeping the cab till it has to be retired. Then I'm going to lease the medallion out. The current rate is around $2,000 a month from a broker. Theres no way in hell I'm going to sell it. When my uncle had bought it in the '70's, he pais around $15,000 for it. At the last auction, they went for $360,000..............
Now if they would only bring the old Checkers back................Last one was built in 1981 and retired in the late 1990's. Now THAT was a workhorse that was built to take it.
They have Toyota minivans now, a few Toyota Priuses, 2 Lexus SUV's (believe it or not), and Ford Escape hybrid SUV's. As far as for taxi use goes, the Toyotas, etc don't hold up well at all. The mechanical breakdown rate is real high for them, and the toyota minivan chassis doesn't fare well at all on the NYC streets. The majority of failures at the T&LC inspection facility now are chassis issues with the Toyotas.
As for the London cabs.....there is a company that is starting to sell them here now. I *think* that one is being tested by the NYC Taxi and Limousine Comission to see how it fares. But after import duties, etc, they cost over $40,000 USD.
NYC taxis have to be retired after a number of years. A privately owned cab has to be retired after 5 years--a fleet owned after 3. Crown Vic taxi's cost around $22,000. So even though its still a financial burden to pay that, imagine having to pay over $40,000. Plus don't forget the other mandatory crap as well--meter installation/calibration, Roof light, partition, required decals, etc. And to top it off, credit card readers and GPS are going to become mandatory within a few years. So that's a couple of thousand dollars out of the owners pocket.
Me-I just plan on keeping the cab till it has to be retired. Then I'm going to lease the medallion out. The current rate is around $2,000 a month from a broker. Theres no way in hell I'm going to sell it. When my uncle had bought it in the '70's, he pais around $15,000 for it. At the last auction, they went for $360,000..............
Now if they would only bring the old Checkers back................Last one was built in 1981 and retired in the late 1990's. Now THAT was a workhorse that was built to take it.
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forgotten
Bluelight Crew
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edit : ^ wow, that was quick 
It's painfully obvious that you have never driven a Crown Vic The reason they are used almost exclusively for fleet vehicles (taxi/police) is because they are so damn tough. It's one of the few cars still produced that uses body on frame construction. Another reason, is the parts are cheap, and there is no shortage of mechanics able to repair them. My current taxi is a 2001 crown vic, with 389,000 miles on it, and it runs just as well as it did off the showroom floor.
London cabs are becoming more popular (especially in SF), but there is still the parts issue, as well as a shortage of mechanics able to repair them. In the taxi/livery business, it is important to have as many vehicles on the road as possible, or else you're not making any money.
It's painfully obvious that you have never driven a Crown Vic
The reason they are used almost exclusively for fleet vehicles (taxi/police) is because they are so damn tough. It's one of the few cars still produced that uses body on frame construction. Another reason, is the parts are cheap, and there is no shortage of mechanics able to repair them. My current taxi is a 2001 crown vic, with 389,000 miles on it, and it runs just as well as it did off the showroom floor.London cabs are becoming more popular (especially in SF), but there is still the parts issue, as well as a shortage of mechanics able to repair them. In the taxi/livery business, it is important to have as many vehicles on the road as possible, or else you're not making any money.
dwfan
Bluelighter
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^ Exactly. Have to be able to be fixed fast, right, and cheap. No time at a taxi garage to be fumbling through shop manuals for specs on this or that.
Also forgot to mention that NYC also mandated a 6 inch stretch to the Crown Vic after partition installation became mandatory. The customers were complaining about lack of legroom....so the NYC T&LC convinced Ford to stretch the taxi package 6 inches.
But to show typical hypocracy....the made the partitions mandatory for the 'safety of the driver' The new hybrids are exempt from this rule. So much for the concern about the driver. Not that the partitions are good for shit anyway.....they basically just save you from getting shanked in the back.
"safety of thh driver"...........the Crown Vic is considered to be a 4 passenger taxi. 3 passengers in the rear......where does the 4th one go???.....so much for 'safety'
Anyway thats getting off topic.
Also forgot to mention that NYC also mandated a 6 inch stretch to the Crown Vic after partition installation became mandatory. The customers were complaining about lack of legroom....so the NYC T&LC convinced Ford to stretch the taxi package 6 inches.
But to show typical hypocracy....the made the partitions mandatory for the 'safety of the driver' The new hybrids are exempt from this rule. So much for the concern about the driver. Not that the partitions are good for shit anyway.....they basically just save you from getting shanked in the back.
"safety of thh driver"...........the Crown Vic is considered to be a 4 passenger taxi. 3 passengers in the rear......where does the 4th one go???.....so much for 'safety'
Anyway thats getting off topic.
TheodoreRoosevelt
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A little off topic, but since you guys mentioned fuel economy...
If the government really cared about the environment and fuel usage and all that stuff, they would fix the roads. It doesn't matter if your driving a Hybrid or E95 gas car if your stuck in traffic jams, as you'll still make shit mileage. The worst thing for the environment, your car, and gas usage is sitting in traffic.
Places such as LA have such big environmental problems not necessarily because so much traffic is there, but because there are so many traffic jams. Fix the damn roads! Plus there is the whole productivity increase from people spending less time in jams.
If the government really cared about the environment and fuel usage and all that stuff, they would fix the roads. It doesn't matter if your driving a Hybrid or E95 gas car if your stuck in traffic jams, as you'll still make shit mileage. The worst thing for the environment, your car, and gas usage is sitting in traffic.
Places such as LA have such big environmental problems not necessarily because so much traffic is there, but because there are so many traffic jams. Fix the damn roads! Plus there is the whole productivity increase from people spending less time in jams.
TheodoreRoosevelt
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Does anyone drift?
I was wondering if you can screw up your e-brakes if you use them too much... one reason why I've used non e-brake drifting techniques.
Unfortunately I can only drift 50% of the time, as when doing delivery with pizzas drifting will also cause the cheese to drift.
I was wondering if you can screw up your e-brakes if you use them too much... one reason why I've used non e-brake drifting techniques.
Unfortunately I can only drift 50% of the time, as when doing delivery with pizzas drifting will also cause the cheese to drift.
mariacallas
Bluelight Crew
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alasdairm said:why? it would make me a lot more nervous to roll backwards, downhill into another car
alasdair
Man me too. Especially when im inside those indoor parking places where there are several cars behind you when you're on first gear going up a ramp