New design for New York's famous yellow cabs chosen

A design from Nissan has been chosen to be the new official taxi of New York City.

The Japanese automaker's NV200 taxi was announced as the winner of the "Taxi for Tomorrow" contest May 3 and will be the exclusive replacement vehicle for the city's iconic fleet of yellow cabs from late 2013.

The bright yellow design features ample room for four passengers and their luggage, said Nissan, a considerable improvement over current taxi models.

It also incorporates sliding doors and an entry step to make life easier for passengers and reduce the number of accidents caused by doors swinging open, as well as new safety lights to warn approaching vehicles that a door is open.

Occupants will also be able to stare at the Big Apple's famous skyline through the transparent roof panel from the comfort of the air-conditioned interior, which also features reading lights and a mobile charging station for passengers.

A major factor in the decision to select the NV200 was its fuel economy - the best of all the entrants. It is powered by a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder powertrain which has been engineered to enhance the emission performance and fuel efficiency of the city's huge taxi fleet, although Nissan is also to provide several of its Leaf electric vehicles to taxi firms for testing in the city.

"If they prove successful, they could lead New York to start using all electric NV200s," NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "That would be a big step toward cleaning out air, improving public health and shrinking our carbon footprint."

Nissan was selected above designs from US automaker Ford and Turkish manufacturer Karsan, and will be the official taxi for New York for ten years from 2013. City authorities based their final decision on the opinions of 23,000 people who were asked to help select the new vehicle.

"The city’s Taxi of Tomorrow is the Nissan NV200 – and it’s going to be the safest, most comfortable and most convenient cab the city has ever had," said Bloomberg.

"The new taxis will be custom-designed to meet the specific demands of carrying 600,000 passengers a day in New York City traffic and the vehicle meets the top priorities identified by the public in our on-line survey."

NH/JR