New NYC Taxi on the Way

When hailing a cab in NYC there is a chance to get several different vehicles, but it is most likely that you will end up in a Ford Crown Victoria. Today the NY Times and NY Daily News are reporting that the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission has announced a winner if its Taxi of Tomorrow tomorrow competition. The Nissan NV200 van succeeded in this long process that started in 2007 with a RFP in 2009. The contract will be a 10 year exclusive agreement providing over 13,000 cabs starting as early as 2014.

Nissan won despite some impressive marks in their competition’s favor. The Turkish built Karsan gained support from the persons with disabilities, as it is fully wheelchair accessible, and has a seating arrangement similar to the very successful London taxis. The Ford is a known quantity by most cab maintenance facilities, already approved in Europe and Boston, and of course owned by an American company. However The Times reports that the Ford was viewed as problematic and uninspired; while the Karsan didn’t have enough experience in the American market. A couple of bonus points for the Nissan include vans to be built in North American Plants and possible full electric powertrain.

It may be a while before the details of the contract are made public, but this could be some welcome relief from the aging fleet of  Crown Vics and hodgepodge of smaller sedans.

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*Photos from NYC TLC.

I Desire a DeZir

Design, it is what sets apart an ordinary car from something special. Lately the only cars that have come with a tangible amount of style are retro designs base on 1960’s classics. However, I have evidence that a mainstream car company can produce something that is truly breathtaking. I give you the Renault Dezir.

I know that Renault doesn’t even make cars for the US any longer, but they are part of Nissan. Plus this car is electric, and Nissan is proving with the Leaf that they are able to bring this technology to market. I have no illusions that this car will ever come to market, but the supple lines and handsome stance give me hope about what can come with the next generation of cars.

Photos from rsportscars.com

The Electric Car Takes Revenge on All of Its Haters

Last night the Tribeca Film Festival hosted a screening of Revenge of the Electric Car followed by a panel discussion with writer/director Chris Paine, as well as auto heavyweights Carlos Ghosn of Nissan/Renault, Elon Musk of Tesla and Dan Neil from the Wall Street Journal. Both the movie and the discussion were riveting, but not exactly because of the cars—more for the colorful personalities of the people involved. The flick is a follow-up to the 2006 movie Who Killed the Electric Car, which focused mainly on how ‘The Man’ of big auto had succeeded in keeping the electric car from being economically viable. This new movie is more of a feel-good piece (because electric cars are totally being made now, duh) that centers on the major players in the auto scene that are championing the growth of the EV.

Among the personalities profiled are Carlos Ghosn, the sharp-as-a-knife CEO of Nissan/Renault that has stones the size of bowling balls. Ghosn basically decides to risk his company’s fate on the success of the 100% electric Nissan LEAF—while brazenly laughing in the faces of his naysayers.

Elon Musk, the dot-com millionaire and embattled CEO of Tesla Motors, also plays a starring role, and the cameras take a very personal, behind-the-scenes view of his life and business. At one point Musk practically has a nervous breakdown trying to get a defective car from the production line to the consumer—made even worse when it turns out to be the one that the film’s director had ordered.

Also onscreen is veteran auto exec Bob Lutz, who has had a hand in shaping GM, BMW, Ford, Chrysler—and GM again. “Maximum Bob” was part of the GM team that reportedly helped recall the EV1 (the star of Paine’s first movie), but according to the sequel he’s since had a change of heart and has decided that his legacy will be imbedding his fingerprints on the successful electric car.

All of these stories weave together an entertaining portrait that gives the viewer a sense that the modern electric car is now part of the human emotional consciousness—and cameos by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito and Adrian Grenier add a little celeb credibility that doesn’t hurt, either.

The moral of the story is that electric cars aren’t going anywhere any time soon—although either are their standard oil-guzzling counterparts. In 2010 the auto industry produced 77 million vehicles worldwide, and of that only 20,000 were electric. The electric car’s revenge isn’t world domination: At this point it’s that it’s being produced at all.

2012 New York Auto Show

This weekend the powers of the automotive market come to NYC to display their wares and entice the public to rush to the showrooms. Any buyer keen to see the offerings for electric or hybrid products will have something new from just about every manufacturer. However the standard petrol head had only a few new diamonds in the rough to peruse.

First the “green” stuff: Nissan’s Leaf is the first 100% electric car for the masses. Yes it does look a lot like their Versa compact car, and behaves a lot like one too; plus they even had a “racing” version. Honda, Toyota, Ford all continue with their hybrid technology in pretty much the same fashion. Each model gets a little different facia but the offerings are very much the same. Hyundai, Kia,and BMW all presented new models based on their current models. Then there is the new player – The Chevy Volt. GM cordoned off the entire north hall for their car exhibits with the majority of the space dedicated to the Volt. For those of you that have been anticipating this moment you might have heard the accolades and savior promises of this new model, however I will reserve my final judgement until I get a chance to drive one. I will say that it is a slick presentation and the model does look good – even if it appears to be based on a Chevy Cruze.

A few companies – read Germans – brought out their diesel products to show the other side of green. Namely VW, BMW, Audi, and Mercedes showed off their models that have been favorites in Europe for decades. All of these model boast impressive economy and performance numbers as long as the consuming public would really go find  the diesel to put in the tank.

There are two cars her on the gear head’s please, please produce list. The first is in the Scion booth but is a collaboration between parent Toyota and Subaru. It is dubbed the FR-S in this incarnation, but is the long development FT-86 product. Why should sports car fans desire this? Because it is a front engine, rear wheel drive, two seat sports coupe, with a boxer four-cylinder engine. How about that for a well priced, real sports car formula! The second will probably be motoring nirvana. About a year ago Lotus released drawings for five – yup 5 – all new models. They had a real version of the new Esprit in their booth. The iconic mid-engine, rakish, pure driving machine is on the verge of being back. I have a feeling Colin Chapman would be very proud.

There were a few good surprises. All manufactures should beware of the Korean tour de force: Sister companies Hyundai and Kia both are boasting a seriously good lineup of hot rides. They are no longer the two for one sale of sub-standard junkers. Hyundai has highly styled, sculpted bodies reminiscent of Mercedes with the new Veloster concept. Kia’s sleek, muscular lines could have been penned right from the Acura studio and now have everything from competent SUVs to sporty sedans. These two brands appear to be in touch with both popular culture and quality manufacturing.

After last week’s introduction, the new 2012 VW Beetle is still making the rounds and looking quite good. Ford put on a nice display of the new Boss 302 Mustang. Although it seems to take many cues from the Parnelli Jones edition from a few years ago. It is pleasing to see a road race tuned ‘Stang and their Laguna Seca slot car track was very cool.

Although many of the manufactures presented very few truly new ideas, Fiat and it’s Chrysler properties fell woefully short. Yes the new 500 was very well received and is a cute little car and hopefully sales will be brisk; but the rest of Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler looked to be the only design firm completely asleep at the wheel. Yeah they have a sexy Imported From Detroit campaign complete with voice over from Tim Allen and a performance by Eminem. So what if the 200 now looks like a baby 300, or new LED lights, or slightly more curvy Durango. Same basic line up, same old tech cars. The whole fleet looks destined for a rental car counter near you.

GTR in the City

I saw this great Nissan GTR in the Financial District. I know it is billed as a 911 Turbo beater, but I haven’t had the chance to sample it. From all of the reports I’ve seen it must be a pretty harsh ride in the city.