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| Someone's been listening to kenny! | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 27 2005, 06:33 AM (392 Views) | |
| Amanda | Jul 27 2005, 06:33 AM Post #1 |
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Senior Carp
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Hope the experiment works out. Next stop, LA! 12, 600 taxis with use of one of the new hybrid models voluntary, it will take a while to lower emissions in New York City, but even so…Could change the experience of living there. Especially if it catches on with others (trying to picture a hybrid stretch limo) . Can hardly imagine living in New York without having to wash a film of soot off my face every night. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/27/nyregion...lq3crEIiLCEkLJA July 27, 2005 City Taxi Agency Approves Use of Six Hybrid Models By SEWELL CHAN The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, which only recently had raised concerns about the adequacy of leg room in hybrid vehicles, cleared the way yesterday for six hybrid models to be used as taxicabs as early as this fall. The commission did not have much choice in the matter, because a City Council bill signed last week by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg gave the panel 90 days to approve hybrid vehicles - considered better for the environment than traditional cars - for use on the city's streets. Even so, the commission's support was striking, because officials had indicated before that they felt none of the hybrids on the market had enough leg room. Before they met yesterday morning, the commissioners tested several of the vehicles, getting in the rear and front passenger seats and even behind the steering wheels. Peter Schenkman, assistant commissioner for safety and emissions, said they found the Toyota Highlander and Toyota Prius "surprisingly roomy," while the Honda Accord seemed "not as roomy as one would expect." The Honda Civic, he said, "does feel very confined." The commission's chairman, Matthew W. Daus, said that putting hybrids on the road promptly should be the priority. "Pardon the pun, but I think bigger cars need to take a back seat," he said. Hybrid vehicles use both a gasoline engine and a rechargeable electric motor and generally have higher fuel efficiency and fewer harmful emissions than conventional cars. Several cities are already using them as taxicabs. San Francisco has approved the Ford Escape, and Boston and Vancouver the Toyota Prius, Mr. Schenkman said. In 2003, the Council passed a bill requiring the commission to set aside a proportion of new taxi medallions to be granted to vehicles that use cleaner fuels. Some cars that run on compressed natural gas are already on the road, but no cabs with the special medallions have been put in use. Environmentalists lobbied the Council to compel the commission to test hybrids. One advocate of hybrids, Bob Muldoon of the New York City field office of the Sierra Club, said after the commission's decision, "Cabbies will now have the opportunity to use hybrids and take advantage of their quiet performance, tremendous fuel savings, and low emissions." The commission reviewed specifications for three sport-utility vehicles - Ford Escape, Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX 400H - and three four-door sedans - Toyota Prius, Honda Accord and Honda Civic. They range in suggested retail price from $19,900 for the Civic, a compact sedan, to $49,060 for the Lexus, a luxury vehicle. Fleet owners who buy several cars at once usually get a discount. Even the Toyota Prius, considered the most spacious of the six models with 38.6 inches of rear leg room, has less interior space than the model most commonly used now, the Ford Crown Victoria, which has 45.6 inches. To make up for the reduced space, some drivers will be permitted to install a camera instead of the usual security partition, which takes up several inches of space in the rear. Using a hybrid vehicle will be voluntary, and with 12,760 taxis in use, it is clear that the goal of lower emissions will take time to achieve. The commission expects to spend $15,000 to $20,000 to reconfigure one lane at its inspection site in Woodside, Queens, to test the hybrids. Several models use traction control, a feature that prevents the car from being measured on the site's dynamometers. Inspectors use the devices to check that the taxi meter is accurate and that the brakes are working. The next step is for the commission's lawyers to draft new rules that would create exemptions from the usual vehicle specifications to allow for the hybrids. That process, which will involve a public hearing and a formal vote of the commission, is expected to be completed by September. |
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[size=5] We should tolerate eccentricity in others, almost to the point of lunacy, provided no one else is harmed.[/size] "Daily Telegraph", London July 27 2005 | |
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| Jolly | Jul 27 2005, 07:00 AM Post #2 |
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Geaux Tigers!
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There is no way I'd drive a cab in NYC without a security partition... |
| The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros | |
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| TomK | Jul 27 2005, 04:38 PM Post #3 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Why are there so many Threads about Hybrids? And what are they like to drive? Hybrids are is cheep While fuel prices are steep And they maybe they even have a nice ride. So from what I've read here I seem to believe it Maybe I'll buy one and see. Someday I'll drive it The Hybrid connection Just kenny and Improv and me. |
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| kenny | Jul 27 2005, 05:24 PM Post #4 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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![]() Oh, Kermie!
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| kathyk | Jul 27 2005, 05:52 PM Post #5 |
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Pisa-Carp
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?? But - - I thought you were Improv ?? |
| Blogging in Palestine: http://kksjournal.com/ | |
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| Larry | Jul 27 2005, 06:10 PM Post #6 |
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Mmmmmmm, pie!
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Of the Pokatwat Tribe | |
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| kenny | Jul 27 2005, 07:59 PM Post #7 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Ouch.
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| LadyElton | Jul 28 2005, 04:31 AM Post #8 |
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Fulla-Carp
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Boy! Miss Piggy is gonna be pissed!
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| Hilary aka LadyElton | |
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4:12 PM Jul 10