In 2009 New York City officials invited auto manufacturers and designers to compete in the “Taxi of Tomorrow” contest. Essentially, the winning design, selected by the city, would become the New York City Taxi for the next ten years.
Fast-forward one year.
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| Ford's Turkish Taxi |
On November 15, 2010 the New York City Taxi and Limousine commission unveiled the contest’s three finalists. Of the three finalists, Ford Motor Co. is the only American manufacturer. Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. and Turkey’s Karsan Otomotiv are the other two finalists. New Yorkers can vote on features they want in the winning design by logging onto the Taxi of Tomorrow website.
As it turns out, Ford’s design, the Transitconnect, is actually manufactured in Turkey. That’s right, not a single design in the finals was manufactured in the United States. Even worse, according to a mayoral spokesperson, the City did not receive any proposals for taxis that would be made in the U.S..
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "The yellow cab is one of the most iconic symbols of New York City.” One would think that folks in New York City would want an American company to design and manufacture “one of the most iconic symbols of New York City.” I guess not.
Pretty pathetic.
For more information on the Taxi of Tomorrow Contest:
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