Custom-made taxis first since Checker

Poughkeepsie, N.Y. -- A contract manufacturer is building the first custom-made taxis for U.S. cities since the classic Checker cabs went out in 1982, the manufacturer says.

The Metroking taxicab -- a yellow, boxy, roomy cab based on General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck -- is projected to hit the streets in New York and elsewhere starting in July, Vantage Manufacturing & Assembly LLC President Michael DiGonis said.

The vehicle -- which gets about the same gas mileage as top taxi choice Ford Motor Co. Crown Victoria -- can also easily handle a person in a wheelchair, DiGonis said.

Vantage, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., plans to target New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission, which wants to increase the number of handicapped-accessible and fuel-efficient cabs on Big Apple streets.

The commission regulates the city's taxicabs.

Early Metroking models are priced at $39,900, but with full production starting this fall, the cost will be "in the low $20s," The Poughkeepsie Journal quoted DiGonis as saying.

Several New York taxicab owners already have placed orders, he said.

Future models will have an automatic shutoff and restart technology, known as "idle stop," that saves gas by shutting down when the cab stops for a red light or a pickup or dropoff.

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