prius 2010 hybrid batteries dead at 126000km and up on atleast 3 taxis i know of

Most of the hybrids in NYC are not Priuses. They're Ford Escape Hybrids, a small SUV. Even so, they get much better gas mileage than Crown Vics and other NYC cab types, are (relatively) highly reliable, and much desired by the drivers since they use a lot less gas.

Crown Vics and the Escape Hybrids are no longer manufactured; according to an NY Times article, 80% of new cabs coming on line are Toyota Camry and Prius hybrids. Neither car has the same roominess that the Vic, the Escape, or so-called cab of the future (a boxy Nissan) pushed by the Bloomberg administration.

It was more than a little interesting to find out the adoption of the Nissan was stopped by a state court judge who, apparently, has ruled that the city doesn't have the right to make all the cab companies buy the same car. The lawsuit's on appeal, but with a new mayor coming into office in January, it's a flip of the dice which way things will go.

KBeck

 

i noticed more than a few hihy's as well.

 

I am not really sure how great those Ford Escape Hybrids really are. Last time I was in Vegas the 3 of us took one and the engine ran all the time. Transmission was jerky and made weird gurgling sounds. Then in Silicon valley this a couple months ago again I got a Ford Escape Hybrid and it sounded and acted pretty much the same. There were periods at stop lights when it was well warmed up (Sunny CA, well after pickup) and the engine never shut off.

 

yes its lowered

even small and new yaris HSD would no longer apply
you also have to pay the 10 pounds a day in london.

i checked and its below 75gram to still apply for the exemption

 

Which is probably why Toyota have decided to charge top dollar for the PIP. They know they're guaranteed to sell at least a few hundred just so people can get access to London. Only 170,000 people access the CCZ every day out of a population of 30 million car owners, yet you'd be surprised how it influences the car manufacturers.

Just imagine how clean the air would be in the UK if the manufacturers actually attempted to sell these low emission cars to the rest of us! Instead of selling 600 PIP's in a year, Toyota might sell 10,000? 30,000? But that would be too much like hard work. Easier to slap on a hefty price tag and sell it to a restricted market.

 

well the pip over here is about 5000 euros more then the top spec normal prius
where you already get a loaded PIP
that 5000 is what your pay for the larger battery pack and the buildin charger

i dont think thats a lot of money

ofourse if they sell the base unit for ~25.000 euro and 30.000 for the pip that would get a greater market

i geuss those CCZ people are also those with a tree in the backyard growing money? they can afford it and also buy a more expensif car.

170.000 X more money is a lot ;-)

 

First: I don't have a clue what a "normal" Escape hybrid sounds like or how it works.
Second: If I were a cabbie in NYC, and I had the car because it had good gas mileage, I might have something to say and/or impetus to get the car fixed if the gas mileage dived down. I would imagine that a Crown Vic would get in the low single digits/very low double digits in in-town driving; my vague memory was that the Escape Hybrid got in the mid-30's in-town. That performance difference, if true, would outweigh funny driving characteristics.

KBeck

 

The Escape gets 22 in town, 31 on the highway. Also no way they are getting 22 driving like cabbies. It may be improved from the 6-8 they get in the vic, but it is probably in the teens (2x-3x savings though). However if it is 16 and it drops to 14, they won't notice or care. What I was bringing up is that there are weird noises and sounds coming from these taxis which is the equivalent to a stress test for longevity. Just like how the early GenIII Prii taxi failures seems like a canary.

I've been in GenII Prii taxis with 400K+ miles on them and they sound and worked just like new.

 

Toyota needs to talk to taxi drivers who drive prius and start promoting them. Nothing more gruling then a taxi in NYC

 

would most new york cabbies even bother with hybrids if bloomberg didn't make them?

 

lol they did over here and I got a really really good deal on mine. So good I can't discuss it.

But it turned sour when the car was a pup.

If you're gonna promote something to a market, it had better work! Nissan will probably have the same problems with the Leaf. No way is that first (or even second) generation EV gonna crack it as a cab. Not a chance. Any reports of them used as taxis will have significant backing from Nissan as they'd bankrupt you as a privateer cabby.

 

Most(all) NY cabbies drive for someone that owns the car, why should they?

An independent cabbie would opt for the inexpensive option if they paid the bills...
Driving a cab that get's 10-15 mpg's when the owner paid would be an incentive to cut the overhead, unless one were influenced by "Bloomberg the fascist" and refused to understand reality

 

More than half for sure, but I can do a little personal survey during lunch brake I drive a 2012 myself but while driving hard to keep count.

But I can tell that the city has a lot of Gen2 for the various departments my guess those are still the majority.

I think the taxi commission or the city has some limit by age and miles on the cars themselves ...

 

well Prisu Gen3 is out starting 2013 !!!! Only PriusV will qualify with the whatever qubic feet required really sad ... but there are growing number of those appearing in the city