The end of the line for the black cab?

colm_mcm

I see that Manganese Bronze, the parent company of LTI are now in administration.
There is a sense of Déjà vu about this, with the likes of LDV vans and MG Rover suffering similarly.
The LT1 was in the news recently due to a dodgy Chinese steering system that's causing problems, in fact the UK outfit only assembles the taxis in kit form imported from China nowadays. I've been in enough black cabs over the years and never got the appeal of them. All black cabs seem to be a mix of parts bin leftovers and really uncomfortable conditions for the driver.
I've priced these for the craic and you're looking at around £30k for a new one.

That said, the alternative, that horrible Nissan NV200 yoke that's gaining popularity in New York doesn't appeal much either.
There may be some hope on the horizon, frazer Nash - who now own the Metrocab name unveiled their allegedly forthcoming new London taxi with 50g/km emissions. Now I have no idea how they'll achieve this figure but I don't think they're gonna be on the road for a good while. At least they're looking to the future.

166man

Was thinking the same, been in many a black cab and they always looked like they were made from old bit and bobs stuck on with superglue. I'm sure they're reliable though as they do serious mileage in them.

Sad to see another company into administration though.

Leonard Hofstadter

There is a modified Mercedes Vito that can match the black cab turning circle, I think there is talk about that being the replacement for the black cab. They've been using the same design for at least the past 12-13 years. I never got the appeal of them and they're supposed to be a dog on juice too, the official CO2 emissions are up there with a Range Rover.

dr.fuzzenstein

captainspeed wrote: »

There is a modified Mercedes Vito that can match the black cab turning circle, I think there is talk about that being the replacement for the black cab. They've been using the same design for at least the past 12-13 years. I never got the appeal of them and they're supposed to be a dog on juice too, the official CO2 emissions are up there with a Range Rover.

Urgh, no thanks. I prefer to arrive at my destination. I don't want to have to switch cab 7 times because it breaks down.

colm_mcm

Quick update on this, seems things are looking up for now

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/marques/lti-vehicles/news-lti-announces-production-restart/

ba_barabus

Funnily enough I was in an electric one over the weekend in Amsterdam. They're still shyte.