Taxis Dumping LPG Ford's For VW PASSAT Diesels

[csv8]

Article in The Sunday Mail 18/04/10, page 34. Taxis are dumping LPG cars and going to diesel. Black and White and Yellow taxi's are replacing its 70 strong LPG Falcon fleet with VW Passat Station Wagon diesels. " though each VW costs $3000 more than a Falcon, he expects to save $20k over its six year working life"
Is this another case of FORD Australia being behind the eight ball again ??
Diesel Tezza should have been on the market years ago as a Falcon should have been. Why aren't Ford pushing the Mondeo diesel for taxi's !!!!!!!

[Falc'man]

When did Ford last offer a "Taxi Pack"?

This is good news, we can stand back and watch people say VWs are crap because they're used as taxis.

[FPV GTHO]

I can only imagine the decisions driven by resale, as purely by running costs alone LPG is still the better prospect with modern injection systems.

But then maybe thats the problem, the lack of a modern injection system

[fg_nitro]

I fail to see how they are going to save 20k over its working life unless they plan not to service them?

They are going to be more expensive with parts too!

[flappist]

Resale of a taxi is irrelevant, they are driven until their wheels fall off.

Possibly the whole "cost of operation" rather than "fuel price" is the main reason.

Longevity of components both driveline and body, maintenance intervals and reliability are quite important when the car is to be operated constantly.

[jpd80]

Maybe the new Hybrid beating Mondeo Diesel has a big role to play in the near future...

[Melz]

I think the taxi fleets show great diversity. Saw a Toyota Prius being used in Clayton, often see a Territory near the Tulla, seen plenty of camrys. At the end of the day they need a reliable somewhat cheap car that can be driven into the ground and do hundreds of thousands of kilometres. I've seen plenty of VWs with many kms on them so time will tell

[mcnews]

In Townsville all the taxis seem to be Prius, and the drivers rave about the savings per annum from them. In Darwin too I think from memory there was plenty of Prius taxis.

[Yaw]

Yeah, I can't see this being a long term thing. ANY euro car takes longer to repair and is more expensive to repair after an accident.

Simple plain fact: Euro car parts are not as readily available in Australia as is the Falcon and Commodre. I can't see taxi owners/fleets being happy to wait 5-6 weeks for parts to come from overseas.

[LeadFoot81]

Originally Posted by Falc'man

When did Ford last offer a "Taxi Pack"?

This is good news, we can stand back and watch people say VWs are crap because they're used as taxis.

+1

Hopefully this means the days of people seeing roads littered with thousands of dirty, run down Falcon taxis are over.

[fg_nitro]

Not arguing about diversity or what badge they choose to run as a fleet. But saying you can save 20k over 6 years by using an expensive german car v's a relative cheap falcon/commodore is a big call.

[xr6turbo2005]

the fact that it's a wagon makes it a great option for a taxi. least a family with a bit of luggage now has some changes to going in just one taxi.

as flappist mention, dont thing they worry too much about re-sale value, but it will be interesting to see how they are running at the time they have to be retired from service due to age.

[Mr Brooksy]

Those things are used all round China and dang they take an absolute beating. But they always seem mechanically sound. One things for sure! I'm not going to catching a cab in Aus anymore if I have fold myself up 3-4 times to fit!

[g220ba]

I personally think this is fantastic news and is the first step in the falcon losing the taxi slur. Back in the early days of the BA ford stopped offering the taxi pack for a reason, it's not a profitable business and not image they wish to uphold.

[xr6turbo2005]

Originally Posted by 84ltd

I personally think this is fantastic news and is the first step in the falcon losing the taxi slur. Back in the early days of the BA ford stopped offering the taxi pack for a reason, it's not a profitable business and not image they wish to uphold.

i've never throught that using Falcon's as taxis, is a slur on the car.

think of it as a positive - given the km's that taxis do they need something reliable and capable of do the high km's

i remember when my dad was a commerical, he always had falcons and they use to have a "country" pack. from memory this included sump guard and better springs or some sort.

[Dr Smith]

Wait until they have to reco a VW box...I know, I had one done under warranty and the local dealer sourced the box from a specialist in Dandenong...makes a brand new ZF look cheap.

As long as you can buy a one year old e-gas Falcon from the auctions, paint it "taxi yellow" and equip it with long standing electronics then the majority of cabs will still be Falcons.

[GTP-03]

I cant see this as a positive for Ford, I can hear the naysayers now,"see Fords are so crap now that people arent even using em as taxis anymore"
Oh good we got an image problem bigtime, long gone are the days of the mighty HO!

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

Wait until they have to reco a VW box...I know, I had one done under warranty and the local dealer sourced the box from a specialist in Dandenong...makes a brand new ZF look cheap.

As long as you can buy a one year old e-gas Falcon from the auctions, paint it "taxi yellow" and equip it with long standing electronics then the majority of cabs will still be Falcons.

And it's these sorts of reasons as to why i can't imagine that they'll ever save money with some deutschmobile.

The Ford Falcon is quite positively the cheapest way to get to 1 million taxi kilometres, bar none.

[g220ba]

Originally Posted by xr6turbo2005

i've never throught that using Falcon's as taxis, is a slur on the car.

think of it as a positive - given the km's that taxis do they need something reliable and capable of do the high km's

i remember when my dad was a commerical, he always had falcons and they use to have a "country" pack. from memory this included sump guard and better springs or some sort.

It may be a positive in the sense of how many km's they're capable of doing but that's not how the general populas see the car. The use of the vehicle is seen as a bad thing. Most cabs are brought second hand anyway so there really is no positive for ford in maintaining an image they don't want.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

And it's these sorts of reasons as to why i can't imagine that they'll ever save money with some deutschmobile.

The Ford Falcon is quite positively the cheapest way to get to 1 million taxi kilometres, bar none.

Prius taxi owners are claiming huge improvements in running costs over e-gas Falcons,
I don't think they would switch on a whim of fancy....

[RG]

Australian Taxi operators are finally learning what their European counterparts have known for years.

[pottery beige]

Like to see them try and keep a VW going with zip tie's and gaffer tape.........

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Prius taxi owners are claiming huge improvements in running costs over e-gas Falcons,
I don't think they would switch on a whim of fancy....

They also report not being able to take more than 2pax + luggage on airport runs. Priuses aren't a real taxi. Now the hybrid camry, that's the way of the future. Especially if you gas it!!!

Originally Posted by RG

Australian Taxi operators are finally learning what their European counterparts have known for years.

False. European taxi operators know that due to local fuel excise regulations, diseasel is the best option. Australian taxi operators know that due to local fuel excise regulations, LPG is the best option. And there's none better way to do big kays on LPG than in the mighty ford falcon.

Originally Posted by pottery beige

Like to see them try and keep a VW going with zip tie's and gaffer tape.........

Hahaha

[mik]

its hard to believe that the vw or the prius would be cheaper in the long term, give it 5 years have another look at the taxi fleets.

[Polyal]

Maybe trying something different until the LiLPG falcon is introduced.

They will be back. I too dont like people calling falcons taxis but you just have to use your head with people like that.

Simply ask them why companies choose falcons and see them shut up or say something stupid.

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

They also report not being able to take more than 2pax + luggage on airport runs. Priuses aren't a real taxi. Now the hybrid camry, that's the way of the future.

Don't forget, the Camry hybrid looses a lot of luggage space compared to the regular Camry because of the batteries.

[Mr Hardware]

Originally Posted by chevypower

Don't forget, the Camry hybrid looses a lot of luggage space compared to the regular Camry because of the batteries.

Moot point.
389L for Hybrid Camry, which is about the same as an egas falcon (379L).

[Mansal]

Originally Posted by xr6turbo2005

i've never throught that using Falcon's as taxis, is a slur on the car.

think of it as a positive - given the km's that taxis do they need something reliable and capable of do the high km's

i remember when my dad was a commerical, he always had falcons and they use to have a "country" pack. from memory this included sump guard and better springs or some sort.

Totally agree - think of all them Mercedes - branded taxis in Europe. A strong, local automobile brand with their vehicles reliably meeting the challenge of the heavy use-and-abuse in a taxi application.

If VW successfully delivers the strong message about its ability to take on the taxi fleet over the Falcon, think about what it could do to Au fleet sales - not just for Ford, but also for any locally-produced car (ie: "The Aussies don't even drive their own cars").

Some food for thought.

[BOSHOG]

Originally Posted by fg_nitro

I fail to see how they are going to save 20k over its working life unless they plan not to service them?

They are going to be more expensive with parts too!

surely the people doing this study have all the internal figures needed to come up with the decision, it must be the right decision.

[FG XR]

seen a BF GT taxi at the airport here in Perth..

Now that would be a good drive home!