Interwebs Catch of the Day 002

WOW, I’m really happy about finding all vintage ads from my Kalamazoo’s favorite Child, in this occasion: a Checker Diesel Cab. If you know where I can see more like this let us know!!!

This picture was found at http://www.taxi-library.org/

2011 is the Year of the Rabbit and the Year of the Taxi of course

Best taxi wishes for 2011!!!! We hope all your taxi related business start on the right track and continue growing throughout the year. We are sure we can help with all your taxi resolutions for this brand new year, count on us!!..and if you haven’t thought so, we got you some insider tips.

PLASTIC TAXI

We believe there is always room to make your business more attractive, effective and competitive. One unavoidable trend is the power to accept credit cards in your cab, tell the world you can accept credit cards, and make a big deal about it. Use the body of your taxi to tell the public you mean taxi business from inside out.

TAXI BRANDING

A simple effective way to start right on track with taxi-branding involves the selection of the right roof-light (taxi dome light) This is what will capture the eye of potential customers from far away. Basic. Now, if you want to go further than that, then infuse some personality in your cab but trust this job to a graphic designer: we are talking about your logo, your catchy name, the right colors, the power of iconography, etc.  Ultimately you can grow uniformly a web+corporate presence which, make no mistake, will translate into more clients.

FLEET OMNIPRESENCE

If your company is mind set into a positive strategy to make your business more profitable, then a low cost dispatch system capable of integrating all communications, credit card transactions and GPS tracking is the way to go. Although this may sound intimidating price wise, in the long run is priceless (Oh well). There are always features you might never use from these complex systems, and you probably are interested in some features more than in others. The key is to be able to find a system that fits your needs and gets you the best value for your money.

Have in mind that you will pay monthly airtime per car for data communications. This normally is a fixed fee. However, if your dispatch system is capable of digital communications, forget about your two way radios and take advantage of the data stream. You can also take advantage of text communications and instant messaging; see it as a new dimension in mobile communications.

Well, we feel we did our part.  The moment of truth has come and it is time for you to decide: do I want my company to continue living in the stone age, or am I ready to take a jump into the twenty first century technology.

Beijing Taxi: A Film by MIAO WANG

BEIJING TAXI is a feature-length documentary that vividly portrays the ancient capital of China undergoing a profound transformation. The intimate lives of three taxi drivers are seen through a humanistic lens as they navigate a quickly morphing city, confronting modern issues and changing values. The three protagonists radiate a warm sense of humanity despite the struggles that each faces in adapting to new realities of life in the modern city. With stunning imagery of Beijing and a contemporary score rich in atmosphere, BEIJING TAXI communicates a visceral sense of the common citizens’ persistent attempts to grasp the elusive. The 2008 Summer Olympic Games serve as the backdrop for BEIJING TAXI’s story, a coming out party for a rising nation and a metaphor for Chinese society and its struggles to reconcile enormous contradictions while adjusting to a new capitalist system that can seem foreign to some in the Communist-ruled and educated society. Candid and perceptive in its filming approach and highly cinematic and moody in style, BEIJING TAXI takes us on a lyrical journey through fragments of a society riding the bumpy roads to modernization. Though its destination unknown, the drivers continue to forge ahead.



 

Taxidepot adquired a Checker Cab for rehab

There is a new mission at Taxidepot’s studios, it is about a checker cab remake-restoration-rehab project. We have the main body recovered, and  about 60% of the engine ready. The new restored checker cab will hit the New York streets in 2011, we can’t wait!!! we are already in love with this iconic Cab.

Taxidepot’s Concept Taxi of Tomorrow

Taxidepot’s concept taxi is an extension of the excitement about the taxi of the future for New York.

Our dream cab for New York city should resemble the proportional ratio of interior space and overall size of a London cab, this would set the right dimensions to seat 4 passengers with royalty-legroom, and up to 5 persons ride in great comfort. At the back, one long backseat will fit 3 of them; facing this, 2 retractable chairs will seat two more passengers and encourage conversation among them; a big door to pass through with big luggage and of course a wheelchair just as the London cab does. A generous sunroof inside the passenger cab is a must-have for the appreciation of the vertical landscape, and there should be no doubt about it.

About the car itself, we know we need a “green” engine which doesn’t have to move the cars faster than 70 mph, and efficient enough to move a light and impact-resistant body and all the crew in it without stress. The transmission and suspension has to be military grade of course, and WiFi must be standard.

From 2014 to 2024 New York city will see just one of a kind of yellow Taxi in the streets. We’ll see…

 

Read more about the taxi of tomorrow:

Official site: http://www.taxioftomorrow.com/

Taxi of Tomorrow by Tony Hiss

Taxi of Tomorrow by WIRED

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Iconic Cabs of the World

In no specif order, here is my list of the most iconic cabs around the world:

THE TUK TUK

Tuk Tuk, the natural successor of the cycle rickshaw is king in India, and found abroad south and southeast Asia. This 3 wheeler cab is commonly customized by their owner with tropical colors and flavors, it is say its passenger capacity is unlimited.

MEXICAN GREEN VOLKSWAGEN  BEETLE


Part of mexico city landscape is the green Volkswagen taxicab, with an estimated 60.000 fleet abroad, nobody could deny the impact of the green cab in the streets despite the color of the emissions.

Get a closer experience in an iconic mexican cab with the music of Nortec Collective (recommended)

THE HONK KONG RED CAB

A theory for iconic cabs might come from chaotic traffic, as it would be the case for Honk Kong’s famous red cabs, with around 16.000 of them serving one of the busiest and more dense cities of the world. Among them, the Toyota Crown Comfort YXS10 and Nissan Cedric Y31 are the most popular in the streets.

LONDON CAB

London Black Cab is a classic among the classics, personally I think is the perfect cab,  its enormous interior cab-space is proportional to its small compact overall size, contributing positively to the traffic of a busy city.

MOST FAMOUS NEW YORKER: THE CHECKER CAB

If it is famous in New York it is famous everywhere else, however, despite all the different cars used in all different decades, the Checker Cab, particularly the model A8/Marathon manufactured from 1956 to 1982 was and it will always be a truly icon of the city, just like the Empire State and The Statue of Liberty.The film industry still portraits this icon as a truly New York landmark, even decades after its retirement back in the 1980′s.

JFK assassin cab

The Checker Marathon cab, hailed by Lee Harvey Oswald after he assassinated President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963, has been sold at auction for a very solid US $40.000.

After fleeing the Texas School Book Depository. Oswald jumped on a bus which got stuck in traffic, so he was forced to hail the infamous cab.