Falcon taxis on the nose in Melbourne

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

On a side note the 2018 Explorer looks fantastic and while similar in looks to a Range Rover it (imho) is one of the better looking vehicles built in the USA....a burgundy Platinum 3.5L Ecoboost would be lovely.

Rented one in Florida and drove it all the way up to Chicago. The thing looks like a next generation Ford Territory, with some Range Rover mixed in. Gorgeous car and it even drives and handles comparable to a Ford Territory. Tailed a porsche down the interstate, holding speed in excess of 110mph without breaking a sweat. All I can say is Ford Explorer has come a very long way from the dowdy junk 90s and 00s model. Why don't Ford sell this in Aus as the Territory??

[Jastel]

Originally Posted by Brazen

I went past a taxi yard a while back and saw some Falcon and Camry taxis sitting probably for a next shift, but what was interesting there were two dust covered late model decommissioned Mondeo wagons in the far corner, probably there for parts. Have the Mondeos gone well?

NO they were pretty crap, but the biggest problem was lack of parts when they did break down.

[Jastel]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

Just came back from LA, NYC and Washington on Tuesday and it really varies between cities. A large amount of Prius in California, and a real pain getting 4 large suitcases, 1 carry-on and 2 back-packs into the back with 4 passengers inc. driver, in NYC it varied from Prius, Camry's, some Crown Vics still, Escape, Fusion, a Nissan model I'd never seen before and looked like a take on a London Cab, and Uber drivers in anything and everything upto a Caddy Escalade. In Washington I saw the most Crown Vics and even had a ride in a Lincoln Town Car, Fusions, one or two Taurus and again plenty of Camry's which are built in the US anyway, not so many Prius. And when the temp is -13deg C at 2:00pm any cab is fantastic to get into.

On a side note the 2018 Explorer looks fantastic and while similar in looks to a Range Rover it (imho) is one of the better looking vehicles built in the USA....a burgundy Platinum 3.5L Ecoboost would be lovely.

The Nissan NYC taxi.

https://www.nissanusa.com/future-and...xi-of-tomorrow

Each city in the world uses what is cheapest and best for them, rules differ about ages and sizes, some countries have a buy local thing, some have cheaper diesel than petrol etc.

That is why London cabs have not taken over the world...they dont work that well here...IIRC they had issues with brakes and air conditioning at least.

[superfly]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Who uses taxis?

I do whenever I travel. Still have not used Uber and not sure if I ever will.

But interestingly I was in Melbourne last month and caught a number of taxis whilst I was there and they were all Falcons.

Here in Brisbane it's extremely rare to see a Falcon taxi these days.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by MrZ

How much longer will Falcons be around for?

Until 2016 there was an age limit on vehicles. That is no longer valid so in theory there is no limit as of 2016:

http://taxi.vic.gov.au/owners-and-op...cle-age-limits

[Jastel]

The timing of laws allowing ride share varied by state but most of Australia has now removed many safety rules and regulations and lowered standards to allow ride share to operate legally.
Hence no age limit on vehicles, no specifications on vehicles, less inspections etc...a taxi can be a tuk tuk or a HQ Kingswood if the operator wants it to be and it passes an inspection.

Common sense and economic reasons indicates you would not use the above vehicles but...Falcons could still be around until the early 2020's. Just because a taxi is 5 years old doesnt always mean it has been a taxi for 5 years.

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by Jastel

Just because a taxi is 5 years old doesnt always mean it has been a taxi for 5 years.

Exactly. One of my mates in Melbourne runs a taxi workshop (mechanical & smash repairs). He was buying 1-2 year old ex-fleet FGs, fitting them out & painting them yellow - for much cheaper than buying a new one.

He also had a stock of panels & parts so rather than be off the road for any length of time, he had painted bolt-on panels, lights & bumpers ready to go for quick repairs.

When they brought on the age limits, and Ford announced the end of production, he thought he was destined to change. Luckily the age limit laws were repealed before he took drastic action.

I can still remember in the early 90s, the neighbour having a HZ cab - a 253 on gas - that he ran independant, doing part time on weekends & late night. Eventually the (restricted) plate was worth so much that he sold it and extended the house with the money. Age didn't seem to affect them 25 years back, so it makes sense to go back to that way. Eventually customers, or a lack of, will force them to update the really old ones (or when they become economically unviable to repair).

[rjk74]

A bit off topic, just come back to Vic from a couple of weeks in Tassie and didn't see one Falcon or Commodore Police car. They were either Camry, Hyundai,Subaru and Ranger Divi's.

[Bobman]

Originally Posted by MrZ

As far as colours go, yellow is still overall the most popular taxi colour, with 60% being yellow. Next most popular is silver, at 25%. White is number 3, at 11%. Grey is about 1%, followed by black, blue, green, and red (all less than 1%). This is interesting, considering that 5 years ago, 100% of all taxis were yellow!

There are also a number of other premium cars now being used as taxis, including the Genesis (23 of them), Lexus ES (13), and Chrysler 300 (12). There are only 9 Ford Mondeo taxis in Melbourne, but in regional areas, there are an additional 14. There's also 1 Jaguar taxi (most likely a XF diesel), and a current model Audi Q7 (which would arguably be the most expensive taxi in use, at over 100k!).

Interesting. Last night I saw quite a large variety.

1) Yellow WM Statesman
2) Silver Toyota Kluger
3) Grey Hyundai Genesis
4) Grey Toyota Camry
5) Yellow Toyota Camry
6) Black/Ego FG G6E
7) Yellow FG XT

[chookaradley]

I think taxi owners loved the simplicity of the previous gen egas and 4 speed auto seen in BA-early FG. Whilst ecolpi and ZF combo is vastly superior in every way, maintenance costs went way up.

[IanC]

The "English" cabs in Perth were not English. They were Chinese knockoffs. As a passenger they were no where near as comfortable as a Falcon.

[78xcgxl]

Originally Posted by chookaradley

I think taxi owners loved the simplicity of the previous gen egas and 4 speed auto seen in BA-early FG. Whilst ecolpi and ZF combo is vastly superior in every way, maintenance costs went way up.

While this may seem the case. Ecolpi system is extremely reliable and more so than the egas system where gas converters would stuff up and freeze over. etc The only real expense that stuffs up on ecolpi is the LPG pump but usually around 400,000km. The ZF 6 speed also has a much longer life span compared to the 4speed, it has no bands and less wear points. So even with the more expensive service costs of a 6speed the much larger life span makes up for it. Comparing to rebuilding the 4speed auto every 200,000km etc.

A family friend owns an ex fleet BF fairlane with over 700,000km is still on the original engine (dual fuel, gas vapor injection) Original ZF auto and diff.

[Bobman]

Originally Posted by 78xcgxl

A family friend owns an ex fleet BF fairlane with over 700,000km is still on the original engine (dual fuel, gas vapor injection) Original ZF auto and diff.

Only if the ZF is bypassed with an external cooler which most if not all cab owners or companies did with the Fairlanes after learning lessons of milkshakes and fried mechatronics.

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Tailed a porsche down the interstate, holding speed in excess of 110mph without breaking a sweat.

You were doing 180 km/h on the freeway, in a rental car?! Sounds pretty irresponsible to me. US freeways aren't the autobahn...

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

I can still remember in the early 90s, the neighbour having a HZ cab - a 253 on gas - that he ran independant, doing part time on weekends & late night.

A HZ taxi in the early 90s?! What city was this in?

Originally Posted by Jastel

Falcons could still be around until the early 2020's. Just because a taxi is 5 years old doesnt always mean it has been a taxi for 5 years.

Assuming that the last 2016-built models last as long as 10 years, we could still see some Falcon taxis in 2026, but there would be very few left at that point. As for general use (private) cars, Falcons will of course last well into the 2030s, but beyond that, I doubt you will see very many. I expect that Commodores, however, will still be seen in the 2040s, due to the fact they were made in larger quantities, are seen as more desirable than the FG, and were produced for a year longer.

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by MrZ

A HZ taxi in the early 90s?! What city was this in?

Sydney - outer suburbs.

[solarite_guy]

Originally Posted by MrZ

You were doing 180 km/h on the freeway, in a rental car?! Sounds pretty irresponsible to me. US freeways aren't the autobahn...

Oh hell, I can beat that all to pieces.

After a multi week business trip in mid 90s to Lajolla, CA our airlines called to tell us our flight was moved up by an hour. That gave us less than 20 minutes to get to the San Diego airport from Lajolla. Everybody in the car group looked at me and said "you are driving". The speed odometer was pegged at 120 while the tach kept moving.

During the ride everyone swore they would never drive with me again. We got our boarding passes on time. They bought be beer on the flight back to the D.C. area.

[baboon]

Originally Posted by solarite_guy

That gave us less than 20 minutes to get to the San Diego airport from Lajolla. Everybody in the car group looked at me and said "you are driving"...

That picture in your signature - was that on the way to San Diego airport?

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by MrZ

You were doing 180 km/h on the freeway, in a rental car?! Sounds pretty irresponsible to me. US freeways aren't the autobahn...

It’s not that abnormal I was sitting on 160kmh in Arizona and was being overtaken!

We drive VERY slowly in Australia. Which is pretty stupid considering our great weather, good licensing and long distances.

I had a colleague from Malaysia come over and said driving in Australia is like being in a slow motion movie.

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by Brazen

It’s not that abnormal I was sitting on 160kmh in Arizona and was being overtaken!

We drive VERY slowly in Australia. Which is pretty stupid considering our great weather, good licensing and long distances.

I had a colleague from Malaysia come over and said driving in Australia is like being in a slow motion movie.

It really is quite scary at first when you first land in the US, and your driver from the airport is doing 90 mph on the freeway... it just feels unsafe to me, but that's probably because I'm used to going so "slow" here.

In any case, the lanes on our freeways in Australia are quite narrow compared to the US, making higher speeds more dangerous. This becomes apparent when you get a huge truck (or two) going past you, and you realise just how close you are to it.

[Junkyard-Dog]

I went in a hybrid camry taxi early Saturday morning. I have no idea how it went performance-wise but the stereo is pretty awesome for stock.

The Indian taxi driver let us play death metal full blast so we repaid him with a Bollywood style dance after he dropped us off. He was filming my incredible dancing so I won't be surprised if it ends up on some random youtube channel.

That's about all I remember about that taxi.

[MrZ]

Originally Posted by Junkyard-Dog

I went in a hybrid camry taxi early Saturday morning. I have no idea how it went performance-wise but the stereo is pretty awesome for stock.

What model grade was it? The top of the line Atara SL has a 10 speaker system with subwoofer, but the other grades only get 6 speakers without a sub.

[commodorenutt]

Even the basic Camry hybrids our reps at work have are quite decent when it comes to the stereo in them.

[Bobman]

Originally Posted by MrZ

I doubt you will see very many. I expect that Commodores, however, will still be seen in the 2040s, due to the fact they were made in larger quantities, are seen as more desirable than the FG, and were produced for a year longer.

Have to absolutely strongly disagree with this.

Currently there are a large number of VZ and VE Commodores being scrapped with seized engines due to the Alloytec timing chain problem.

There were also a large amount of VN-VY scrapped due to similar problems with the Buick/Ecotec 3.8 engines and other quality issues.

If you observe a major road for a few hours you will find a higher number of older Falcons still travelling than their opposition. E.g. more AU than VT seen around and this will ring true in the future with more BA/BF/FG over VY/VZ/VE.

VF on the other hand you might see more of but only purely based on numbers as the FG-X wasn't built in the same high numbers, but on reliability they will last much longer.

[Wretched]

In AU i have caught taxis three times, one Falcon, one Prius and one Camry (would rather drive myself around).

The only difference was the Falcon was poorly maintained, dirty and squeaky (nothing to do with the make). The Prius was tight for space but the Camry was fine, I sat in the back and it had plenty of room.
As a customer i couldn't care less what type of car it is as long as it is clean, has a/c and comfortable.

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by Bobman

Have to absolutely strongly disagree with this.

Currently there are a large number of VZ and VE Commodores being scrapped with seized engines due to the Alloytec timing chain problem.

There were also a large amount of VN-VY scrapped due to similar problems with the Buick/Ecotec 3.8 engines and other quality issues.

If you observe a major road for a few hours you will find a higher number of older Falcons still travelling than their opposition. E.g. more AU than VT seen around and this will ring true in the future with more BA/BF/FG over VY/VZ/VE.

VF on the other hand you might see more of but only purely based on numbers as the FG-X wasn't built in the same high numbers, but on reliability they will last much longer.

Sorry, but that may be your observations, in your area, but I haven't seen an E-series Falcon on the road for over a week now, and saw 3 different VR/VS Commodores just on the run into work this morning (65km).

Likewise there's many more VT-VZ, especially wagons, getting around my local area than the equivalent Falcons.

One thing I have noticed though, is when I'm in Melbourne for work, there's a disproportionally higher number of Falcons on the road compared to Commodores. Likewise, Adelaide has the opposite - far more Commodores than Falcons. Be it employee discounts, or simple parochialism, those states lean towards their (former) employers to a degree.

I think your disagreement in the numbers comes from observations in Melbourne, not around the nation.

Also, if you travel through less well-off areas (Sydney example), there are often a lot of VS/VT Commodores still getting around, and whilst there's some AUs, they certainly don't outnumber the VTs.

[Mercury Bullet]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Who uses taxis?

Only when I can't get a limo. Limos on average are only a couple of bucks more than a taxi. My driver is on call 24/7 is Australian, showers and wears a suit and tie.

Great at the airport, uber/taxi queues miles long while I get a phone call from Tony, walk outside and jump straight in. Or he comes inside and gets my case if I have one.

Never have nor will use uber as I have a cabcharge card.

Shame there's no more ltd's. 7 series beema now.

[Bossxr8]

I got a taxi on Saturday night, first time in about a year. It was a FGII xr6, and the first Falcon taxi I have ever been in that didn't have diff whine and brake shudder. Felt tight as a drum. I was shocked. Must not have been in service long.

Even had the full colour screen premium sound option.

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

Shame there's no more ltd's. 7 series beema now.

The guy I use got a couple of the last Caprices, so they will keep him going for a while. He has 3 cars in his fleet - a 300C is the 3rd, but it spent more time at the dealer than with him in the first 3 months of ownership, so now he only has it as a backup. He doesn't know what he'll do when he has to replace the Caprices.

[Bobman]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

Also, if you travel through less well-off areas (Sydney example), there are often a lot of VS/VT Commodores still getting around, and whilst there's some AUs, they certainly don't outnumber the VTs.

Yes, the observations are based on Melbourne which I would class as having the most diverse range of vehicles in Australia and perhaps the highest number of car users as well in this nation, even if NSW has a higher amount of registered cars (many fleet cars up there).

There are a lot of VR/VS/VT around here too, but they are very worn out with clear coat peel, mechanical issues and generally run down. You'll find a few sitting on front yards in lower socio economic areas as well in Melbourne and Geelong.

Based on stats I've seen in SA, there are a large number of B series out that way too.

However, a lot of E series were scrapped not because there was anything wrong with them, but because of resale and owners simply selling them to wreckers. You will never find Commodores having the average kilometre life of a Falcon on the same motor, ever.

[Tonz]

my 2 bobs worth after the demise of taxi/hire car sedans/wagons we will (hopefully) see a lot of IMax, ILoad, Mercedes vans. Get one of these tricked up with after market chairs, quality sound system, drinks table, bluetooth/wifi etc etc
My bro in NZ has a custom built IMax, 180k on the clock, tuned motor, every thing you can think of inside. Never had a more comfortable long distance ride in my life.

If I was doing long distance driving thats the way I'd be heading.