This week, we are going to take a look at some New York City taxis from the late 1970s to the early 1980s.
Most people not from the New York City area would just assume that the iconic Checker was the default taxi cab for decades in the city much in the way the Austin FX4 was over the pond in London. The truth is you were way more likely to hail a fleet spec big four door from one of the big three than something made in Kalamazoo.
Unexpectedly, Peugeot offered taxi versions of the 504 and 505 in the 1980s.
So back to the big three.
Dodge fielded taxi versions of the Aspen, St. Regis, and Diplomat.
The Chevrolet Impala were likely the most common of the era.
The LTD/Crown Victoria was not as ubiquitous as it would become starting in the 1990s.
Over 50 Dallas taxis in 1969/70 were equipped with AC which was the first field tough endurance trial of the lab built swash or wobble plate “rotary” compressor which went into mass production in 1971 at Sanden in Japan. Bill Olson, who came from Oklahoma when John E Mitchell Jr bought Mark IV, patented the compressor. All those “Yellow Cabs” had rooftop condensers due to long idle times on hot roads.
hotrodac
H’mm. GM (Harrison/Frigidaire) had the A6 swash-plate compressor in 1962, before the Sanden unit came along.
My 1955 Buick Roadmaster was factory equipped with a rotary swash-plate compressor, that was, I believe, the first one. It was also the same compressor used on the 1953 & 54 Packard A/C units, as they all had matching Frigidaire air conditioning. I suspect this was an earlier compressor than the A6.
The Sanden was an improved copy after the patent rights had run their course.
With the Buick, at night, if the outside humidity was very high and the temperature was in the high 70s, Idling the engine with the A/C on the lowest settings could [and did] result in frost forming on the outside of the car’s rear window because the inside clear plastic A/C vent tubes passed too close to the glass!
The 1953 Packard, not having the big clear tubes, did cause moisture to condense on the back windows of the car as long as it was standing still.
My 1955 Packard 400 hardtop’s factory A/C unit had the ability to produce vent output temps approaching 32f, and it used a massive V4 compressor. I used to joke to people that I had 12 cylinders in a V formation under the hood!
The last time I rode in a NYC Checker cab was in the summer of 1984 when my Uncle and I grabbed one downtown for a 10 block ride to have lunch at a Greek restaurant whose name I cannot remember. Strangely enough the cabbie was a young white American.
I like how the Dodge Diplomat is pictured with only one whitewall tire on the front – art imitating reality.
Probably should have added a few dents and a missing wheel cover to make it even more realistic.
Peugeot was popular as a taxicab in Argentina with the 504 in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s from what I read on this French article. https://www.carjager.com/blog/article/peugeot-504-el-yeyo-a-la-conquete-de-largentine.html
Still see a fair amount of Crown Vics toiling away as taxis, and that’s usually after a hard first life as a police cruiser. Though I never gave the Crown Vic a second look when they first came out, these are truly amazing cars. It excelled in nothing, but was pretty good at everything. After a few years Ford seemed to lose interest, but they kept it around, soldiering on for 20 years with little change. Stone reliable and easy to repair, it was beloved by fleet managers everywhere, though maybe not so much by its drivers. Had one as a cab ride at the airport a few years back. 540,000 miles on the clock. Quiet and rode solid. A/C ice cold. Driver said it had the original engine, but a few transmissions.
I rode in a box Panther (Crown Vic) in Las Vegas from the airport to my hotel. It seemed like every body panel tried to go different ways. Of course the driver told me he just started his shift after a party and had some (chemical assistance) to get him through his shift.
And he never slowed down for speed bumps.
Toyota Crown taxis are quite roomy. Most of the ones I’ve ridden in had the mechanical lever for the driver to open the curbside passenger door, similar to (if I recall correctly) UK Austin cabs.
I await the taxi stories to come rolling in .
-Nate
These mirror what I saw in Washington DC in that era (except the Pugs, never seen one used as a taxi anywhere in the US). Some Checkers but predominantly full-sized Chevys or Fords, along with Mopar R bodies in the brief time they were available. The Diplomat et al was popular with police but evidently deemed too small for cab use.
New York city had m body grand fury as police cruisers and dodge diplomat as taxi cabs
I guess dodge got the taxi contracts and Plymouth got the police
The Dodge with the Eastern Airlines sign is true classic; especially with the white wall only on the front tire.
Was told by an elderly New Yorker that you could tell the super rich in Boston & NYC in the ’60s and early ’70s. They were the ones with a deep tan who flew to Florida or Puerto Rico for the winter.
Once airline deregulation kicked in (Jimmy Carter), all were sporting a tan.
It took a little digging, but here it is….New York as seen from a cab in late 1976. All sorts of cabs to be found.
The music is rather 1940s but it just adds to the ambiance.
Brings back pleasant memories. My office was on Lexington Ave at that time.
I see two Checkers and what looks to be three Dodge Aspens in a line in NYC.
Later that afternoon caught a big Ford LTD in Wall Street
Hello. I need a vector version of the 1990 Ford LTD/Crown Victoria model. Can you tell me where I can buy the vector file for editing? Thank you very much.