2007 New York Show Preview: Taxi!

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While we await the Cadillac V-12 concept and Ford’s new Flex not-minivan, taxi enthusiasts — is there such a thing? — are eagerly planning their visits to the upcoming New York Auto Show.

It’s the 100th anniversary of the modern-day taxi, after all — and as such, the show is hosting a design competition to identify possible taxis of the future. The exhibit, sponsored by the show and the Design Trust for Public Space, will showcase the Trust’s “Taxi 07” project, which is says fosters new designs and helps the planning of the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission.

Taxi 07 will feature nine prototypes including the following:

• The Kia Rondo Taxi, which turns the new crossover into a taxi;
• The Standard Taxi, which features a wheelchair ramp;
• A lithium-powered, zero-emissions taxi from Hybrid Technologies;
• The “World's Fastest Taxi,” a Crown Victoria equipped with a 1000-horsepower hydrogen engine and a top speed of 200 mph;
• A hi-riser Crown Victoria taxi built by RIDES magazine;
• Taxi concepts from the Art Center College of Pasadena (Calif.), College for Creative Studies (Detroit), and Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, N.Y.);

And to honor “Taxi Week,” the Empire State Building will be lit yellow.

For more information about Taxi 07, visit http://www.taxi07.org.

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