Nissan wins NYC taxi contract

[Johnny]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Quote:
FWIW the London cabs have diesel engines from Nissan since 1989, replacing Rover ones. Bet they had a scuffle when that went down, too. Fx4


I believe the brand new ones the TX4 use an Italian built engine.The company that builds these cars is English as it should be with the profits even with a Nissan engine going to an English company.



1982 - Upgraded from the Austin to the 2.2L Land Rover diesel.

1989 - Fairway was upgraded to the Nissan 2.7L diesel.

2002 - TXII upgraded to the Ford 2.5L diesel.

2006 - TX4 upgraded to the VM Motori diesel that meets the Euro IV emission standards.

London Taxi History

 

[Samilcar]

Originally Posted By: Trav

Even if the Japanese car is built here the profits go right back to Japan


Nissan is a publicly held company. Any profits go back to the stockholders of that company, regardless of what country they live in.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
I agree with this..There really needs to be a investigation on how the Nissan was picked..Something does not sound Kosher to me..I really think it should have been given to Ford but if not at least one of the other big 3..It would have been the right thing to do..Just IMHO.


You think an investigation should be launched because they didn't pick the brand of your choice? Ford was the only one of the Detroit 3 that had a bid in; they can't award a contract to a company that hasn't bid. And giving deference to a certain company for anything that's not in the Request For Proposal (such as being an "American" company) is not legal.

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
I do not see why they did not pick the Escape Hybrid as that was working well for them since 2005...


Or the Toyota Prius, or the Nissan Altima Hybrid, or the Toyota Camry Hybrid, or either of the Sienna or Caravan minivans... They're all approved current vehicles and working fine. But they apparently didn't meet the requirements of the RFP. I'm sure Ford would have bid the Escape Hybrid if it met the bid specifications.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Even if the Japanese car is built here the profits go right back to Japan and i don't think its the right kind of statement being made. The country is in bad times and what does the city of NY do? Send a billion dollars worth of business to the Japanese.IMHO That's darn near criminal.


Actually, what would be criminal is awarding a contract based on something that's not in the bid specifications, like being an "American" company. If NYC wanted to hire only "American" companies, it should have/would have put that in the RFP.

Ford got beat by Nissan. It happened. Let's move on.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: 65cuda
So you want the city to also dictate that it has to be built in the US? Don't forget that the big 3 have many models that are built outside the US or have high foreign content and there are many foreign cars that are built in the US.



LOL...I guess that all depends on your definition of "many"...Regarding Domestic content....


"Among the 58 models with ratings of 75 percent or higher, foreign-based automakers produce just eight. Conversely, Detroit automakers produce just 24 of the 140 models with domestic content ratings of 10 percent or less."

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Yay, jobs for America!

Wait a minute...........


The Ford Transit Connect is made in Turkey isn't it?


At the present time yes, but one of the articles (if you can believe what you read) said Ford was going to start building them in MI.

Time will tell how smart the powers to be in NYC are.


The article is correct, the Transit Connect assembly for NA consumption is going to be moved stateside...As of now, the schedule is for mid 2012, either at Wayne or Louisville.

 

[Spyder7]

So what does an owner of one of these 24 domestic models with 10 percent or less domestic content call it. I call it a stealth import, regardless of whether its badged GM, Ford, or Chrysler. And no, the fact that the company HQ is in the US does not make it - in itself - inherently domestic. Not in a day and age when these companies have so much of their stock owned by foreign private investors, companies, and even governments.

24 models is the smaller portion of the total pie, but as a number looked at by itself, that is a LOT of cars with the only domestic thing about them being the name branded on them.

-Spyder

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: Samilcar
Originally Posted By: Trav

Even if the Japanese car is built here the profits go right back to Japan


Nissan is a publicly held company. Any profits go back to the stockholders of that company, regardless of what country they live in.


Really? Is it all about profits anyway?

I guess the research and development costs that get invested are meaningless? "Profits" are a mere fraction of the total cash revenue stream, and where they get invested is relevant to the discussion. Care to compare how many US engineers Nissan employs vs the number that GM or Ford employ here?

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: Spyder7
So what does an owner of one of these 24 domestic models with 10 percent or less domestic content call it. I call it a stealth import, regardless of whether its badged GM, Ford, or Chrysler. And no, the fact that the company HQ is in the US does not make it - in itself - inherently domestic. Not in a day and age when these companies have so much of their stock owned by foreign private investors, companies, and even governments.

24 models is the smaller portion of the total pie, but as a number looked at by itself, that is a LOT of cars with the only domestic thing about them being the name branded on them.

-Spyder



Yeah, of course, ignore the fact that only 8 of the 58 models over 75% are made here by transplants. Meanwhile the Accord and Camry get bantied about like they tell the whole story again and again around here.

Call the 10% models whatever you like, they represent a small fraction of what the Detroit 3 produce, the numbers dont lie.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Industry wide, domestic content weighted for total sales by manufacturer:

GM: 69%
Ford Motor Co.: 64%
Chrysler Corp.: 60%
Honda/Acura: 58%
Toyota/Lexus/Scion: 44%
Nissan/Infiniti: 31%
Mitsubishi: 25%
Subaru: 20%
Mercedes-Benz: 16%
Suzuki: 12%
Mazda: 11%
Volkswagen/Audi: 9%
BMW/Mini: 5%
Jaguar/Land Rover: 3%
Porsche: 3%

Kudos to Honda!

 

[Spyder7]

What is interesting for me to note from that breakdown is just how much domestic content the imports that get bashed, because they are import brands, have compared to the brands with almost no domestic content and who invariably get a pass.

Curious double standard.

-Spyder

 

[Ursae_Majoris]

Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
The article is correct, the Transit Connect assembly for NA consumption is going to be moved stateside...As of now, the schedule is for mid 2012, either at Wayne or Louisville.


Great, maybe they'll get rid of that horrible glue that Ford Turkey uses. Our Transit still smells like a wet dog after a year, despite all the baking soda and odor absorbing gel we put into it.

NA Assembly...... Does it mean that Transit will still be made with foreign-sourced parts? So much for "American built"...

When will Ford bring the 4WD version over? It's been on sale in UK for several years already.

 

[Ursae_Majoris]

Originally Posted By: Spyder7
What is interesting for me to note from that breakdown is just how much domestic content the imports that get bashed, because they are import brands, have compared to the brands with almost no domestic content and who invariably get a pass.

Curious double standard.

-Spyder

You mean like VAG and Beemer? Yea, Toyota seems to be doing much better, yet they get the bashing.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Ursae_Majoris
Originally Posted By: Spyder7
What is interesting for me to note from that breakdown is just how much domestic content the imports that get bashed, because they are import brands, have compared to the brands with almost no domestic content and who invariably get a pass.

Curious double standard.

-Spyder

You mean like VAG and Beemer? Yea, Toyota seems to be doing much better, yet they get the bashing.


I think it is because nobody brags about the "domestic content" of their VW/Audi/Porsche/BMW/Mercedes cars.

 

[Spyder7]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL


I think it is because nobody brags about the "domestic content" of their VW/Audi/Porsche/BMW/Mercedes cars.


I'll run with that logic, and ask how one can brag about how 'domestic' their Chrysler is when it contains 2 percent more domestic content than a Honda or Acura.

Doesn't seem to me that 2 percent is much to brag about. Yet that 2 percent seems to somehow entitle the Chrysler owner to pat himself on the back for buying domestic, while demonizing the Honda across the street for being an import.

And again the true imports, by actual content, invariably get a pass. Seems to me more like reality and perception are very much at odds these days, yet the myths and stereotypes persist.

-Spyder

 

[sasilverbullet]

I drive a 1970 Lincoln Mk III - 100% Detroit iron!

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Spyder7
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL


I think it is because nobody brags about the "domestic content" of their VW/Audi/Porsche/BMW/Mercedes cars.


I'll run with that logic, and ask how one can brag about how 'domestic' their Chrysler is when it contains 2 percent more domestic content than a Honda or Acura.

Doesn't seem to me that 2 percent is much to brag about. Yet that 2 percent seems to somehow entitle the Chrysler owner to pat himself on the back for buying domestic, while demonizing the Honda across the street for being an import.

And again the true imports, by actual content, invariably get a pass. Seems to me more like reality and perception are very much at odds these days, yet the myths and stereotypes persist.

-Spyder


OK, but that's not what I was saying. I'm saying nobody cares/ talks about it, because regarding those cars, it isn't important to anybody who buys/drives them. Therefore it isn't discussed, and we don't hear about it.

On the other hand, the "back and forth" regarding the Japanese imports and the "Domestic three" and their relative domestic content and the "my vehicle is more domestic than your vehicle" arguments that subsequently ensue are I think what you are getting at.

These arguments simply don't happen with the brands in question because the owners don't care. So the owners don't bring it up. So nobody hears about it.

When is the last time you heard somebody brag about how much domestic content their M5 has? Exactly.

 

[RH+G]

WOW The convo got off topic. To bring it back to the original question.

Karsan lost the bid cause nyc official didnt have faith in a Turkish manufacture to build American car. They even offered to sweeten the deal by offering to buld sum cars/parts in Brooklyn.

Nissan actually said it was going to use the tranparent roof on the model that they will build. The issue with the Nissan car was poor wheelchair accesibility.

Throught the whole bidding contract Ford really wasnt that competitive. It came down to Karsan and Nissan. Nissan is really making a push to get more cars in the US. They have supplied the NYC police department with cars and now have the NYC taxi cars.

This is a 10 year deal so it will be alot of cars and they will amass alot of problems. This deal will probably bring NIssan out in name brand awarenes but knowing the way NYC cab drivers drive it will cause NIssan alot of headaches and i think thats why Karsan didnt get the bid