MB London black cab.

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Thu 10 Jul 2008 00:31
MB London black cab. - henry k
Mercedes-Benz is to launch an eco-friendly London black cab.
London's iconic black cabs will soon look a little different after it was announced that a new eco-friendly model will be hitting the capital's roads this summer.
The new lower emission six-seat taxi is based on the Mercedes Vito Traveliner.
The Mercedes-Benz Vito has sliding doors, electric steps and seating for six people.
( The familiar TX4, made by London Taxis International, seats five.)
It also has rear-wheel steering that lets it meet the capital's strict 25ft turning circle rule and is able to carry two wheelchairs compared to its rival's one. Mercedes claims it will also be more fuel efficient.

..... is expected to match the TX4's price tag of £34,000.
London TV had significant coverage.
Photo at tinyurl.com/6dqgcp

Will it catch on?
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Thu 10 Jul 2008 00:36
MB London black cab. - Lud
How perfectly foul.

Time for a bit of Frog-style protectionism.

Bring back the early FX4 with a body that would come off worse in a collision with a G-Whiz, 3-speed slushpump automatic, 22bhp diesel designed in 1924 and yes, hydraulic front brakes! (but don't worry, still useless drums).

Those damn cabbies have had it too easy too long. Let them suffer for their money.
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Thu 10 Jul 2008 00:38
MB London black cab. - Westpig
How perfectly foul.
Time for a bit of Frog-style protectionism.

just what I was thinking
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Thu 10 Jul 2008 00:47
MB London black cab. - FotheringtonThomas
No, it's a car or a van, possibly crossed with a minibus, not a taxi. It's exactly the same as a Sihtroen Dispatch, Fiat whatnot, or Renolt thingy, exactly. It's not a black cab, just aother piece of euro-sponge-rubber. I won't go in one.
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Thu 10 Jul 2008 02:00
MB London black cab. - Bilboman
Ladies and gentlemen of the backroom... the future has arrived. I take my hat off to MB for having the foresight and ingenuity to create the next generation of black London taxi - seating for six and space for two wheelchairs is what London needs and apparently wants, so let's see if LTi can compete and go even better. If the two products are similarly priced, it'll be the cabbies who finally decide which taxi wins the day.
Any chance of a new Routemaster while they're at it? If R + D hadn't stopped dead in the 1960s, if the Routemaster works had been kept going, if..., if..., if...
Sic transit gloria mundi.
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Thu 10 Jul 2008 10:08
MB London black cab. - Baskerville
What one wants in a taxi seating more than five is a stretch Hummer not a converted panel van. Forget rear wheel steering, a taxi with a wheelbase shorter than the limit for taxi turning circles is pathetic. Where is their sense of rebellion and rage? What about a stretch Unimog?
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