I likes me a good old Toyota Crown Comfort as much as (if not more than) the next guy, but this is a bit much even for me! This is like that dream sequence in Being John Malkovich.
Two Crowns deep and three Crowns high… They should this highly efficient taxi-stacking solution at Ikea (with a name like KRÖNÅBERG or BILLYCAB).
Guess Toyota threw in that white one for free. It’s not registered as a taxi, but turning it into one would by pretty easy. I don’t remember the address of this place, but it should be renamed Crown Plaza.
I like the looks of the white “incognito” one up front, looks good with the steelies, perfectly stealth for driving through traffic… I knew you get well off the beaten path, T87, but to come across the hidden lair of taxidom is impressive. The building next to this one seems to have even more stacked inside and the workshop behind it may be proof that even Toyotas need some servicing sometimes. And a real longbed pickup truck in frame as well, something for everyone…
3-high, what an inefficient use of space!
Here’s a ’32 video overview of the Chicago system.
Fascinating structure. It appears the platforms are hanging on steel cables and are being dropped to the ground level, two of them on top of each other.
Looks like three-dimensional Sudoku.
That is what I’m seeing too. So is the upper platform just a bit narrower, with maybe a little longer ramp so that it nests and meets the ground? Love to see a video of it in operation. My other question is where are the power sources. I don’t see any obvious motors, transmissions or other mechanisms to make it work, nor an obvious control panel.
In the 1.st picture I can see 2 red boxes and on the top level to the left I see a grey box. These may house controllers and/or motors. Also when enlarging the picture I see either a worm drive or a chain that disappears into a standing pipe.
In the last picture I see that the top shelf has an extended off/on ramp.
In any case it is a masterpiece of engineering.
And looking even closer: the bottom shelf is hanging not on cables but on rods with a joint at the middle. The rods fold like scissors. The top shelf is either hanging on chains or on all thread rods.
More Kerplunk! than IKEA. (“See how many Crowns YOU can remove before the tower falls. Or not. A game the whole family can avoid. New, only from HasbeenplayedBro”)
Anyway, if it was IKEA, it would, firstly, be hidden down a remote corner of a labyrinth to rival the maze at Villa Pisani, secondly, you would be by then inexplicably clutching an entirely useless butter churn – no doubt gathered in desperation in aisle 27 near the kitchen displays to stave off exhaustion and creeping panic and in defiance of the fact you had entered there some hours before to buy a chair – and thirdly, it would be named something more obtuse, like Stakyotavobbletotta, or even more likely, something entirely misplaced, such as Harry, or Enid, or both.
Scrolled down to read what you had to say about this. Not disappointed.
Even worse things could happen:
In my opinion, Crown Comfort is the true replacement of Benz W123. You can argue which vehicle was better made, but Comfort can easily out-live W123.
Sometimes I really want to get one from Duncan Import. My favorite one is diesel engine with column shift manual transmission.
Being that it’s IKEA, shouldn’t those be Volvo 240s?
So, is this the place taxis go when off-duty? Brilliant!