The American taxi is an iconic piece of transportation. These aren’t just vehicles to get you around a city, but it’s hard to imagine so many American cities without yellow Checker Taxicabs, Ford Crown Victorias, or their replacements like the Toyota Prius. So many companies have attempted to make a better taxi, some going in truly weird directions. One of them was MetroKing Motors, a company that hoped to follow up cabs like the iconic Checker with a taxi based on none other than a Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck. Somehow, that’s only the start of the weirdness.
According to the Kalamazoo Public Library, the last legal Checker cab in New York City operated on July 27, 1999. This was the death of an icon. The Checker Taxicab began production in 1958 and its run was impressive, lasting until 1982. Checker tried to keep up with evolving regulations, but the taxicab, which was pretty much the default taxi for much of America, looked pretty much the same throughout its whole production run. Checker figured out a way to stick around by becoming a parts supplier for General Motors. Sadly, Checker sputtered out and became a victim of the Great Recession, filing for bankruptcy in 2009.
Part of what made the Checker Taxicab so great at its job was its ability to swallow a whole load of passengers and their luggage. Then, those cabs were just seriously durable machines that didn’t require a degree to repair. Unlike a certain new robotic taxi concept, the Checker Taxicab had a huge rear seat for multiple passengers plus jumpseats for even more people to ride.
The era after the Checker Taxicab has been interesting to watch. The Ford Crown Victoria became the default option for many cab companies, but there have been other options like the Ford Escape, the Nissan NV200, or even hybrid cars. But most of the modern taxis you see out there have something in common: They’re regular cars adapted to taxi use.
Some companies have tried to replicate the kind of success Checker had.
Some of you may know about the VPG MV-1 (above), a goofy-looking van born from a purpose-built taxi concept, but evolved into what VPG hoped was the ultimate wheelchair-accessible van. Most MV-1 buyers were fleets, but production lasted only five years, not really revolutionizing the taxi business.
Then we have MetroKing Motors, the creator of the MetroKing taxi.
Much of the information about the MetroKing comes from a NYC Taxi And Limousine Commission meeting in November 2007. In it, Tom Hayden from MetroKing Motors explained the advantages NYC would benefit from if it adopted the MetroKing vehicle:
In 2003, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority signed a memorandum of understanding that a New York future taxi initiative be inaugurated to promote the development of improved taxis and for-hire vehicles that incorporate both wheelchair accessibility and advanced power trains. Metro King Motors accepted this challenge and will shortly complete our first production run of a taxi that is wheelchair accessible and that provides improved fuel economy over the current Ford Crown Victoria.
The Metro King taxi is a purpose built vehicle that uses a full frame chassis for durability; a separate driver’s compartment; and a passenger compartment that comfortably seats up to five.
MetroKing Motors continued that it knew about introducing complexities in a short timeframe, so its taxi was built on a traditional platform and used as many off-the-shelf parts as possible for easy repairability. What did MetroKing Motors mean by this? Well, its taxi wasn’t based on a car at all, but one of the vehicles you would least expect.
The MetroKing is based on the Chevrolet Colorado. Specifically, the Colorado Chassis Cab Work Truck in just rear-wheel-drive. Attached to the back of this truck is a custom pod for carrying passengers. This pod was made out of fiberglass and supplied from a company in Michigan while MetroKing added its own internal steel structure for support.
The company continues:
The wheelchair accessibility is provided by a two car ramp that enters through a side door and is stowed under the floor when not in use. It therefore does not take up any interior volume from the passengers. The wheelchair and its passenger are secured with the restraining system.
The inline 5-cylinder engine is inherently more fuel efficient than the five liter V8. Furthermore, Metro King is commercializing an idle-stop technology that we will market as hybrid on demand. This feature automatically stops and restarts the engine during prolonged idle periods; and in vehicle testing by the New York Department if Environmental Conservation at the request of NYSERTA [sic], it demonstrated a 20 percent decrease in fuel consumption over the New York City taxi driving cycle.
Metro King is also looking forward to incorporating an auxiliary electric starter generator that would further reduce emissions and improve fuel economy.
MetroKing claimed that its wheelchair-accessible taxi truck would cost in the low $40,000 range and according to the Westfair Business Journal, A-1 Transportation Inc. in MetroKing’s hometown of Poughkeepsie, New York actually tested some vehicles from MetroKing. The regular MetroKing taxi was powered by either the 2.9-liter four making 185 HP or a 3.7 straight-five with 242 HP.
The 2011 report in the Westfair Business Journal indicated that the taxis MetroKing already had on the road racked up over 110,000 miles and the company was in the process of building 20 more. So, at least some of these did exist. And they did seem to have a lot of potential. DiGonis said that the taxi-trucks could fit 22 college students if everyone stood, five seated passengers, or a wheelchair, three seated passengers, and the driver.
According to the Westfair Business Journal, MetroKing Motors LLC also didn’t just pop up overnight. As the story goes, the year was 1999 and Mike DiGonis needed to get a friend home. There was just one problem as not a single cab in New York City at the time was wheelchair accessible. So, DiGonis drove his friend home himself and promised to build him a better taxi.
The MetroKing vehicle was the result of over a decade of engineering, design, testing, field trials, and even crash testing. Development lasted for so long that some of MetroKing’s early taxi-trucks were based on the Chevrolet S-10, the company generated 27 patents, and test vehicles clocked in over a half-million miles.
MetroKing said its history dates back to 1973 when it was launched as the MD Engineering Company. In those days, DiGonis raced cars at the Bonneville Salt Flats and MetroKing specialized in building high-speed off-road racecars. In 1991, the company rebranded to the Alternative Fuels Technologies Corporation, where it began conversions of various commercial trucks and taxis to run on natural gas. AFTCO claimed that its converted vehicles racked up over 50,000,000 miles of real on-road use and that for the decade of the 1990s, it converted more vehicles than anyone else. Building its own taxi was right up its alley.
So, what happened? Why didn’t New York City spend the 2010s crawling with Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon truck-based taxis? A clue comes from Business Opportunities, which cites the Poughkeepsie Journal. Michael DiGonis said that mass production of his vehicle depended on a lot of sales and he was hoping for those sales to come from the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. However, New York was specifically looking for the “taxi of the future,” not just any taxi design to issue permits to.
It’s not entirely clear what happened after this part, but it would appear that MetroKing did not get the surge of sales it was looking for. I’ve found archived versions of MetroKing Motors’ two websites and the company was selling individual taxis into the late 2010s. The later incarnation of MetroKing also just sold random used classic cars. The trail goes cold after as all of MetroKing’s websites go offline and even DiGonis stopped posting on social media. Some MetroKing prototypes were later found in a junkyard.
While the MetroKing taxi was solidly a bizarre taxi effort that makes a Pontiac Aztek look good, I also sort of love it. It, like the taxis that came before it, was meant to be durable, simple to work on, and designed to carry lots of people. I’m also all for more accessible vehicles out there. But, outside of these pictures, most people probably never knew MetroKing existed, and that’s sad.
If you have any additional information about what happened to MetroKing, please drop me a line at mercedes@theautopian.com. I promise I don’t bite.
(Images: Manufacturers, unless otherwise noted)
This looks almost exactly as if it was designed by Vogons.
Dream garage: this and a Youabian Puma
I drove an orange Checker in Aspen a long time ago. Worked at night skied during the day and never sleep. Paradise. They were assume in the snow, never let me down. The wheel base on this vehicle looks loooong. Especially for NYC.
It’s weird looking, but IMO a good idea.
Oh dear GOD that poor S10!!!
Yea, my home-town is part of an Autopian article!
Oh, my eyes! Never mind the above sentence.
I had the exact same thought!
I’m still of the opinion that NYC missed a huge opportunity by not mandating that their most recent cab specs didn’t involve bodywork that was reminiscent of that signature Checker Marathon aesthetic, the way that London black taxis look like London black taxis. They would add to the aesthetic of the city in a way that the Nissan NV200-based cabs do not, and might help the cabs claw back some of the business from Uber/Lyft.
I actually always wondered if there was any business model in putting fiberglass Checker replica bodies on Panther or F-Series chassis and marketing them as sightseeing tour cars or hotel shuttles in touristy areas
I’m confused. While the intentions are good, the execution seems…highly iffy. Is that second-to-last image really the angle of the ramp? Were wheelchair users expected to wheel themselves up the 37° slope or was the taxi driver meant to help? It seems like if you wanted to build a low-floor accessible cab that a FR body-on-frame pickup is about the last place you’d want to start. A high-roof PT Cruiser would have been better at this, and somehow would have also been less ugly.
Look at the era. Consider that no cabs at the time were wheelchair accessible at all.
I suppose so, it always surprises me that there weren’t more wheelchair van conversion taxis. Meanwhile in Australia…
https://i.imgur.com/k4VjWm8.jpg
And a power wheelchair would have no problem climbing that ramp. The ADA specifies a maximum ramp angle; as long as it’s within that limit it would be fine for any wheelchair.
ADA specifies a maximum of 1″ rise for each 12″ of length. There is no way this would be compliant. The wheelchair user would have to get assistance from the driver. That said a steep ramp and a wheelchair accessible vehicle is better than no ramp and a crown vic.
If they were picking up curbside and the ramp was resting on the curb rather than the street, perhaps it was a more compliant angle.
Maybe the idea was to pull up to the curb to lessen the pitch? Like that picture the ramp needs to go all the way down to the same level as the tires. But if you pulled up to a curb it’s going to be a lot less steep. And presumably that’s exactly what you would do if picking up a passenger in a wheelchair since they can’t exactly hop the curb either.
Just posted the same thing and realized you beat me to it by 24 minutes.
I dunno, I kind of want to see one converted into a camper…its giving me old school Dolphin style Toyota Campers
The crime of the cybercab/robotaxi design is that it clearly wasn’t in any way taking into consideration a population that really needs reliable mobility, and that’s wheelchair users. Freedom to participate in the economy for this population is dependent on access, and since so many public transit systems are woefully behind in providing access, individual vehicles are often the best option.
This looks like an AI hallucination of a Chevy HHR. They were thinking in the right direction, unlike Tesla and using off the shelf chassis. Too bad NYC didn’t buy
Oh yeah, a 5-cylinder is definitely the way to go when you’re looking for maximum fuel economy. What’s the old saying? “The power of a 4 with the efficiency of a 6”.
Don’t get me wrong, 5s are awesome on the highway. But in the city? Blech.
Yep. Same with Volvo’s NA five-bangers. I managed 18 mpg city out of a 2.4L, and it only made 168 hp.
My Rabbit 2.5 manual got 27 MPG. It got 27 whether city or highway, winter or summer, driven hard or driven easy. It got 27 no matter what. Not great for a compact.
Honestly, this would have been a great taxi!
Cue photo of Kevin McCallister looking at a framed photo of Buzz’s girlfriend
Sorry, I don’t hate it. It’s a lot like the Grumman LLV. Purpose-built, using existing components to keep costs down. Might have also been a good basis for a mini-camper.
This looks like a real life version of a Matchbox Connectable.
https://toysfromthepast.blogspot.com/2014/10/471-matchbox-connectables-part-1-1989.html
looks like an HHR BBL.
I like the Metroking more than I should.
It may not be as iconic as the Checker, but the Checker wasn’t built with wheelchair accessibility. It was designed for a purpose, seems well thought out in that regard… I can’t hate it. If anything, I’m a little sad it didn’t find success.
The Checker Medicar was built with wheelchair accessibility in mind, at least by the standards of its day:
https://live.staticflickr.com/2580/4173058408_28ea40a6a6_c.jpg
I stand corrected.
Neat concept. It’s goofy looking, but taxis don’t have to be photogenic, they need to be effective and efficient transport.
I do wonder though, it would seem like an easier task to just convert whatever flavor of mini/full-size van to taxi duty vs. the extra cost and effort to build this contraption. I suppose it might be more difficult to copyright/monetize your design doing that though.
I thought the same thing, but the 20 college students thing means that this thing was designed to have riders hanging from the rail like on a subway or city bus. I guess you could probably get a similar result with a fiberglass top on a minivan.
For that you’d want one of those extended full-size vans that you see with churches and tour groups.
This contraption would absolutely not fit 20 people unless you stacked them.
I skimmed the article, so apologies if it was mentioned, but why did no one try to just get the manufacturers of UK taxis to make a left-hand drive version of their units? Seems it could’ve saved a ton of development costs.
Toyota could also do a version of the JPN Taxi in LHD – maybe do a bigger version for the North American market to allow for extra seating if needed.
Sounds like the Toyota Crown (the the bullshit we actually got) needs to be here.
The Crown Comfort was basically the Japanese equivalent of the Ford Crown Victoria. The majority of both models were sold to fleets.
The JPN Taxi is more like the London Cab than that. It’s tall, boxy, has a sliding door and is designed for wheelchair access. It ain’t pretty but it’s fit for purpose.
They did. The TX1 was officially but briefly sold in the US. I remember seeing one in service in Las Vegas years ago. It was a flop.
https://www.taxi-library.org/tx1.htm
The vast majority were sold to hotels, relatively few went to actual taxi use. Same thing happened in the ’80s when they imported some of the classic FX4 cabs with Nissan diesels, majority of those were outfitted as executive limousines with luxury interiors and on board fax machines. I think cost is a factor, LEVC, or whatever they’re called this week (Carbodies, LTI, London Taxi, etc) has always been a low volume operation, so they’re a bit pricey to begin with, add in the cost of federalization, and they get priced out of most taxi fleets here. But, the basic design is perfect for the purpose, problem is already solved, just make something exactly like that here
It definitely put function before form. I used to volunteer at a hospice when I was in university. People with mobility issues are *very* heavy. I can see the need for using truck chassis, to support the passengers and equipment. Unfortunately there is not much meat in business like this.
There’s an MV-1 in my town and I’m delighted every time I see it. It’s so weird!
This is even more weird but possibly less delightful.
Apparently a local church owns one here. I like riding by as it reminds me of vehicles seen in Tycho’s China Car articles.
Having completely forgotten about AM General, my reaction when first laying eyes on it was, ‘that’s like a Hummer body with an Asian market people-hauler front end’.
Je-he-he-hesus