Almost a year ago, I started shooting the very diverse cars that are used as taxis in Eugene. Like so many projects, I eventually forgot about it, after posting maybe half a dozen. So lets pick it up again, with this gen2 Nissan Quest. I’ll shoot and post them, and leave the commentary to you.
A very good use for a vehicle that few care to own. Purchased cheap, reasonable on fuel, and drive it until its used up – what is the downside?
The taxi market is a fairly decent repository (i.e., dumping ground) for cars and minivans that have a very limited appeal, such as the used police car market and all the vinyl roofed chariots previously owned by the blue haired brigade.
Interestingly, there are a whole fleet of Chevrolet HHR’s being used in Overland Park, Kansas, and I saw a Ford 500 in taxi livery in Kansas City earlier this week.
Nice find – minivans make great taxis when you have a crowd, and I’ve never seen a Quest pull cab duty. Impalas and retired Crown Vic cruisers are still pretty common here in Toronto, but there’s a lot more variety than there used to be. The Toyota Camry has become a common taxi here in the last few years along with the occasional Chrysler 300 and some Buicks as well.
These seemed too short and stubby when they were new. And weirdly styled. But if they can be used as taxis they must be either reliable or cheap to fix.
When I was looking for an older beater minivan, I asked my mechanic about these. His experience was that they were pretty good, but, oddly, he saw more Nissans with strange electrical issues than the twin Mercury Villager. The Villager was probably the better seller in central Indiana, at least it seemed that way to me.
These were on the small side but were not bad vehicles.
I truly hate those things… well, mostly their Mercury sibling anyhow. Those turds were warranty nightmares, all kinds of annoying issues… nice thing is that just about every Quest/Village Idiot part is obsolete so I can blow off the few people that cling to theirs.
Lots of used Jappa minivans like this over here aint seen any doing cab duty Prius ,Hybrid Camrys and diesel Sonatas are quite popular though.
Interesting choice for Taxi use. The drivetrain in these things last seemingly forever while everything around it crumbles, rusts and shorts out.
The passengers would best be advised not to pop open the sliding door and rear windows if they ever plan on closing them again.
My city in Central Canada has a seven-year age limit for taxis, to ensure their roadworthiness. So this generation Quest would be ineligible for cab use. I’d say the default cabs here seem to be Impalas, Malibus, the Taurus and the odd Camry. For accessible taxis, it’s Caravans and London Cabs. The major cab company here has a black color scheme, so it helps identify them, and prevents the gaudy colors you see in some cities.
It’s amazing how few of these I saw in my parts when they were new, and how even fewer I see now. I tend to see a few more Villagers than Quests, but neither in large numbers by any means. Corrosion protection must not have been a strength of these vans. Every 2nd gen Villager I see at least has peeling paint, if not substantial lower body rust, particularly on the sliding doors.
The only time I can remember riding in one of these was a Quest exactly like this one. In high school, one of my buddies drove one that used to be his parents. I got a ride home in it one night. I wasn’t impressed with the interior room and comfort, although my judgement may have been slightly impaired as I wasn’t entirely sober 🙂
I’m telling mom!
These Nissans as well as their Mercury relatives are all over South Central Los Angeles and are one of the most common vehicles next to the Astro/Safari twins and numerous small/midsized pickups.
The taxi population up here in Portland is mainly Crown Vics and Priuses and a variety of other vehicles, but not nearly as varied as the taxicabs of New Orleans.
Not much of a taxi market here in the Quad Cities. The main cab company runs Crown Vics and Grand Marquises. They tend to be ex-civilian units as they usually are in a variety of colors and have factory alloys.
I looked closely at the Quest before I brought my Trooper in ’01. It truly is the perfect size for me; I went with the Trooper because it was more comfortable seating for me.
I wish they still made vans this size….