To some, they're gas-guzzling relics of an antiquated past. To others, they're as New York as a bagel with a coffee in an "Anthora" cup. But come next year the Ford Crown Victoria will be no more. Ford Motor Company is planning to shut the Canadian plant that manufactures both the Crown Vic and the Lincoln Town Car, leaving the city's cops, cab drivers and elite to find new way to shuttle themselves around. TLC Commissioner David Yassky told the Times, "These cars are a facet of people’s everyday experience. Whatever takes their place will have a real and tangible influence on the city’s aesthetic." more ›

Car makers are flocking to the city with the New York International Auto Show opening this weekend (media previews start tomorrow) at the Javits Convention Center, and there's one particularly NYC-focused exhibit: Taxi '07. more ›

As our President is "trying" to work on the growing crisis of high gas prices (or are gas prices slowly going to where they need to be?), more and more people are turning to hybrid cars and we wonder if more and more taxi fleets will want to go green(er). Hybrids generallyget about 10 miles more per gallon than the standard Crown Vic. The new hybrid taxis took to the street last fall, but we hadn't seen one yet (we feel like we're seeing those large taxis from Newark more). Scott Nath sent us a picture of a snazzy Prius taxi spotted in the East Village - has anyone ridden in one? And the Prius gets 60 miles per gallon, that's 42 miles more than the Crown Vic!
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The British can be cutting edge with their sense of humor and style at times, but some automobile-related news makes reassures us that high school prom kids can be as kooky across the pond as they are here: Apparently being chauffeured in a NYPD cruiser is becoming very popular, because nothing says "That special night of your life during high school" like "I was arrested for [something ranging from riding my bike to killing someone] in the Big Apple"! British car rental company Frankie's Yankees owner tells the Daily News that "teenage girls just love" going to the prom in a cruiser (originally purchased for British productions of films set in New York) - and owner Frankie Lancaster and his son will dress up in NYPD uniforms while on the job; no word on whether they do a good cop-bad cop routine. Lancaster also says that British police think the Crown Vic is nicer than their rides and people who leave prison sometimes rent the NYPD cars, which is pretty brilliant. While we think the idea of going to the prom in an NYPD cruiser is goofy (a Department of Sanitation san truck is another story), we ultimately give the idea a thumbs up for Prom 2006 because we really hate the stretch SUVs. more ›

The Taxi and Limousine Commission has given the okay to introduce hybrid cars as new taxi cabs, starting as soon as this fall. The six new car models, two Hondas, two Toyotas, a Lexus (!), and a Ford, will be more expensive than the old stand-by of the Crown Victoria, but they will be more fuel efficient. Commissioner Matthew Daus says the Crown Vic gets 18 miles a gallon, while the hybrids get at least 29 miles. The NY Times has a graphic that breaks down the models, their cost, fuel efficiency and more. The TLC stalled on the issue of hybrid vehicles because legroom would be compromised; most Crown Vics have about 46 inches of legroom whereas the hybrids have around 36 inches. The NY Post notes that Commissioner Daus is 5'8". Gothamist is pretty excited about the new cabs, but we can wait for the technology to remove gross bus exhaust (especially on a hot summer day)! more ›