MAY 22

NY taxi regs require cars to be replaced every 3 years for fleet cars and every 5 years for driver-owned cars. They're removing non-hybrids from the 'approved' list so that, when replacement time comes, only hybrids can be purchased.

Good, as long as its not a set back to cab drivers who have a hard enough life as it is...

Nano, Short term thinking about our environment comes with long term disaster. It not about us as individuals and our pocket books, but the world at large with out going extinct. Just too many people like you that make implementing changes a real pain in the ass. You understand that??

We also have to think what is the outcome going to be for the US economy Taxi's are part of the mainstay that keeps ford alive. What is going to happen when the taxi capital for the world starts purchasing cars from a foreign company. We have to ask is this going to be benificial to America. I think not.

Green measures will not become widespread until they are as convenient as the current lifestyle. To say otherwise is to deny reality, regardless of what you wish to happen.

Hybrid's aren't green, they might be green-er than non-hybrids, but certainly not green! We could replace every cab in the world with a hybrid and the environment wouldn't improve.

Green measures will not become widespread until they are as convenient as the current lifestyle...

Not sure what you mean. Hybrids are very convenient and require no extra knowledge or skill to drill.

This will increase the number of cars sold by a very small percent...Toyota alone predicts they will sell 250,000 hybrid cars this year. So 13,000 cabs over 5 years is not a lot. I am sure Toyota would love the sales and it is active advertising.

The Crown Vic is mainly chosen for it's extraordinary durability and capacity. It's a stout car that's been revised over time to withstand the abuse that comes in fleet-use scenarios, like taxicabs and police patrol vehicles. This durability makes the car, despite it's poor fuel economy, much less expensive to operate than other alternatives. If Mayor Mike thinks the toy hybrids that are skating around today will withstand that kind abuse without a commensurate spike in maintenance and repair costs (which will be passed on to the fare), he is sadly shortsighted. Best wishes to you all in NYC with your new experiment.

That's ridiculous. Purchasing foreign goods in no way damages our economy as a whole. The absolute worst is some lost American jobs while the price of goods drops. Regardless, where do you think Toyota cars are assembled? Shipping parts to the US is far cheaper than whole cars...

However, Ford will not be hurt by this in the long run. What it might mean, however, is that Ford starts selling some more of the same fuel efficient cars they sell over seas in America so they can gain a place on the NYC approved car for cabs list. Probably we'll see additional Ford hybrids.

The only reason Ford would ever fail is their own short sighted-ness. If they're too big to react to the market then someone should take them over. Even if they're foreign.

Angryoldcoot is spot on.

These cars arent chosen because anyone WANTS them. There chosen due to the fact their the best for the job. Great turning radius, Heavy duty alternators, radiators, suspension and a massive inventory of parts. Whats the legroom going to be like in the back of a prius with a bulletproof window in the middle?

Toyota has proven that the Prius can be used as a Taxi.
There has been more than enough trials with Prius's which have hit will over 300,000km without any discern able wear with very minimal operating costs.

Most taxis in Singapore are Toyota Crown diesel cars. They are old, easily 10+ years old, and only complies to Euro 2 standard.

Recently, many of the fleets have been steadily replaced with brand new Euro 4 diesel cars. We can expect to see them on the roads for the next 10+ years.

NY has done well to:
1) ensure that they have a young fleet of cars, which are less polluting
2) make the jump over to hybrids, and skip diesels.

I guess Singapore has just lost 10 years in this area.

Does he use a hybrid limo? Or is this just a case of him telling others what to do to "save" the planet? Sure this might improve the air quality in NYC, but, if the hybrid was the best ting for the job it would already be used. Let the market decide, not someone far removed from the common person.

I saw a piece on the news about a company that provides Ford Escape hybrids to their best drivers as a bonus for good performance. The better fuel mileage makes a big dent in the driver's expenses so the hybrids make economic sense. The factor of a Hybrid battery replacement has become much less of an issue as rechargeable batteries have become much less expensive in the last few years. Saving a few thousand dollars per year in fuel is more than worth the switch and it's good for the environment.

If you say that going green will ruin this economy, then there is something terribly wrong with the economy! Oh, wait, i see, probably all the oil companies with suffer from a few billion drops in sales ... i guess that's not something this administration wants because thats where their money comes from.

Nuts to the hybrids, they take money from domestic car producers and the oil companies... PROFITS BEFORE PEOPLE

sheesh

With a lack of sarcasm, less profits for the oil companies won't hurt our economy one bit because they don't pay their share of taxes anyway. Sure they pay some, not what they should, considering a lot of it is our own own and that they manipulate oil prices in many ways.
On Topic: I would think that the savings in gas will balance out or overcome any increases in maintenance.

In response to a comment up there about Taxis being a major source of income for Ford and the commenters fear that this is a bad move for the US economy:

Are you kidding? With most of the Japanese automakers well ahead of the curb in terms of commercialized (and developemental) hybrid technologies, hasn't Ford spelled their own demise by sitting on their laurels for so darn long? They have stopped innovating decades ago because the American people were content driving big, clunky cars. Ford only started changing when the Japanese started making a splash on the AMerican market. Too little too late. Maybe if the American automakers weren't so tightly linked with the oil industry, we would have (American-built) electric cars in our driveways by now!

If this hurts American automakers, it is no one's fault but their own. But then again, I'm sure they'll lobby hard to obtain a minimum percentage of US-made vehicles into this NY Taxi renewal plan.

Won't anyone think of the impoverished oil companies and crappy US cars makers that will suffer?
:o

Maybe Ford should make their Crown Vic a hybrid...

And don't complain about buying "foreign" cars. Most of the items in your cart at WalMart are from China...

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ford should have built a hybrid crown-vic long ago, and 14mpg is just proof that the gov, car companies, and big oil companies are all butt humping each other. Almost every police force in the country uses the vic for reasons stated in other posts.. it has horrible hp and mpg and its all for their own personal gain....


In response to a comment up there about Taxis being a major source of income for Ford and the commenters fear that this is a bad move for the US economy:

Are you kidding? With most of the Japanese automakers well ahead of the curb in terms of commercialized (and developemental) hybrid technologies, hasn't Ford spelled their own demise by sitting on their laurels for so darn long? They have stopped innovating decades ago because the American people were content driving big, clunky cars. Ford only started changing when the Japanese started making a splash on the AMerican market. Too little too late. Maybe if the American automakers weren't so tightly linked with the oil industry, we would have (American-built) electric cars in our driveways by now!

If this hurts American automakers, it is no one's fault but their own. But then again, I'm sure they'll lobby hard to obtain a minimum percentage of US-made vehicles into this NY Taxi renewal plan.

Is that by the epa standards cuz if it is - its probaly more like 10.

Also, fact is if we double all the cars mpg's in the
US. We wouldn't have to import oil from the middle east.

How about some old Ford models and parts like ford probe performance parts? Are they still on the line?

@JCK

Bloomberg rides the subway to work every day, just like most NYC common folk.

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Dubai going to replace there fleet with hybrid cars, they are going to test 10 cars in January.
http://dubaiforvisitors.com/2007/11/16/hybrid-taxis-to-help-save-up-to-50-per-cent-on-fuel/

Of course hybrid taxis aren't the final solution to the pollution but they represent a step forward. This is Info Taxi's stand as the major online taxi community worlwide. We encourage both our taxi companies and taxi drivers members to try and turn green as soon as possible. Needless to say that the sooner we go free from the fuel slavery, the better especially seeing the evolution of some fuel-sourcing countries.

It is best for the environment on the long run and cheaper for taxi companies.