LONDON TAXI COMPANY

http://www.london-taxis.co.uk/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=520 accesat pe 4 nov. 2011

Pre-war taxis
The origin of "Hackney cab" and "Taxi"
The term "Hackney cab" comes from two sources: "Hackney" is an anglicised version of "Haquenee", a French horse breed, known for its stamina and ability to trot at moderate pace for long periods. Naturally, this made them the ideal horse for pulling carriages. More generally hackney became a term for a working horse (as opposed to a thoroughbred for racing) and is the origin of the riding term, to go for a hack. "Cab" is a shortened form of "cabriolet" - as in the continental term for convertible car. Originally a cabriolet meant a light two wheeled carriage pulled by a single horse. "Taxi" is an abbreviation of taximeter. The taximeter was invented in Germany and comes from the German word "Taxe" meaning charge or levy. There is an apocryphal story that the taximeter was invented by the Baron of Thurn and Taxis, one of the richest German aristocrats, but it seems unlikely he would have been interested in calculating how many pfennigs cab drivers should charge.

The first petrol taxis

The famous Conditions of Fitness that decree the 25ft turning circle of a Hackney cab were laid down by the Public Carriage Office in 1906. In the early years, the biggest taxi manufacturer was William Beardmore of Glasgow.

In 1929 Mann and Overton, the biggest taxi dealership, sponsored Austin to create a new and much more cost-effective cab which immediately dominated the market. Since that agreement, more than 70 years ago, there is a direct line of succession to today's TX4 taxi.

Postwar Developments
1947 FX3 In 1947, a consortium of Mann and Overton, Carbodies of Coventry and Austin created this new design that came to dominate the market. Originally petrol powered, the first diesel version became available in 1952.

1958 FX4 The FX4 became the best-known taxi in history over its long life. It began as another joint venture between the three companies (early ones wore Austin badges), but in 1982, Carbodies bought the rights to the design and, as London Taxis International, continued to develop the vehicle. The model underwent continuous development: originally a 2.2 diesel, it was offered with a petrol option in 1961. The engines were uprated from Austin units to Land Rover diesels in 1982.

1989 Fairway In 1989 the FX4 was heavily revised to create the Fairway. The major changes were a new 2.7 litre Nissan engine, new front suspension incorporating disc brakes and a fully wheelchair accessible interior.

1997 TX1 The all-new TX1 was possibly the biggest single step forward in the history of London Taxis. The design combined the unmistakable silhouette of the traditional taxi with huge advances in usability and refinement. To take just two examples the windscreen is 48% bigger and the rear doors open 44% wider, to a full 90 angle. Those changes mean it is easier for passengers to get in and easier for them to see out, better to view the famous landmarks as they pass. It was also safer, with full three-point seat belts for all five passengers and an integral child seat.

2002 TXII A major evolution of the TX series, the TXII introduced a number of major improvements. The engine changed to a Ford 2.5 litre unit giving better performance and the suspension was given a major redesign. At the rear, coil springs were used for the first time on a London taxi. Combined with a new front anti-roll bar this gave passengers a much smoother ride with less roll through corners.

2006 TX4 The TX4 brings yet further improvements to the London taxi. The new VM Motori diesel engine meets the Euro IV emission standard which means a much improved environmental performance. ABS brakes provide increased safety, while the passengers benefit from reduced noise levels. There are a number of other refinements, such as improved ventilation (with the option of air conditioning), improved intercom system and an interior redesign to give a lighter, brighter ambience.

Austin FX4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Austin FX4

An FX4 Taxicab pictured in London. Manufacturer Production Predecessor Successor Body style
Main article: Taxicab

Austin, Carbodies, LTI 195897 Austin FX3 LTI TX1 2-door funeral 4-door saloon

The FX4 is the classic Black Cab. While the majority are black, there is in fact no requirement for them, or indeed any other make of London taxi to be black. Over the years, the FX4 has been sold under a number of different makers' names. Contents

1 Design and 2 The Austin 3 The Carbodies 4 The LTI FX4 5 The FL2 Hire 6 Further

launch

models

FX4

Car

reading

7 External links

Design and launch The FX4 London taxi was the successor to the Austin FX3, which was produced between 1948 and 1958. In its day the FX3 was the most widely used taxi in London. Like the FX3, the FX4 was designed by Austin in collaboration with Mann and Overton, the London taxi dealership that commissioned it (and paid for half of its cost) and Carbodies, the coachbuilder that built the body and assembled the cab ready for sale. The design team included Albert Moore from Austins engineering division, Jack Hellberg from Carbodies and David Southwell of Mann and Overton. The original design was by Austins Eric Bailey and it was engineered for production by Carbodies' Jake Donaldson. It would be the first London taxi to go into production that had four doors. Like the FX3, the FX4 had a separate chassis, but with independent front suspension and dual-circuit hydraulic brakes. The first FX4, registration number VLW 431, was delivered in July 1958 and went on test with York Way Motors. The official launch was later that year at the Commercial Motor Exhibition. The Austin models The first model of FX4 was fitted with a 2178cc Austin diesel engine and a BorgWarner automatic transmission. In 1961, the manual transmission from the Austin Gipsy was available as an option. From 1962, the Austin 2199cc petrol engine was available. However, almost all FX4 taxis were fitted with a diesel engine and, until the mid-1970s most had a manual transmission.
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In 1969, the cab was altered, to offer a new version in place of the abandoned replacement model and to amend some of the shortcomings of the original. The original Austins were provided with small rear stop and taillights and roofmounted turn indicators, commonly known as "bunny ears". On the revised model, the rear wings were modified to accept the taillights and turn indicators from the MkII Austin 1100 / 1300. Front indicators were also provided below the headlights and repeater indicators fitted to the front wings. The "bunny ears" were abandoned. The interior was also changed, with black vinyl seats and an altered partition to give the driver more legroom. In 1971, the 2178cc diesel engine was replaced by a larger, 2520cc version. This engine proved to be better for use with an automatic transmission and gradually fewer cabs with manual gearboxes were sold. The petrol engine was discontinued in 1973. In 1973, Carbodies' owner, BSA collapsed and was bought by Manganese Bronze Holdings, who were happy to continue making the FX4. However, only detail changes, such as burst-proof door locks and push-button door handles, safety steering and moulded rubber overriders (designed because the original tooling for the chrome overriders had worn out) were carried out. The Carbodies FX4 In 1982, Carbodies, who had been producing the FX4 for Austin and Mann and Overton, took over the cab's intellectual property rights when BL, Austin's parent company lost interest in it and began to produce it under their own name. The old Austin engine was no longer available because, during Michael Edwardes' reconstruction of British Leyland, the plant had been sold to India. Carbodies
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selected the Land Rover 2286cc diesel engine in its place and also offered the similar-sized Land Rover petrol engine as an option. The new model was branded the FX4R, with R standing for Rover. The FX4R had some improvements over the previous FX4 models, including power steering and full servo brakes, but its performance and reliability were poor and the cab gained a bad reputation. Some proprietors replaced the Land Rover engine with the Perkins/Mazda 2977 cc diesel, which improved the performance of the cab dramatically. Whilst powerful and reliable, the Perkins conversion gained a reputation for being noisy at idle and, mistakenly for causing cracks in the chassis. The chassis problem, which was also occurring on late model Austins was traced to a manufacturing fault. In order to regain lost sales due to the FX4R's failure, Carbodies took old chassis and suspension and refurbished them, fitting new bodywork and the original-type 2520cc diesel engines re-imported from India. Because these vehicles used refurbished chassis and suspension components, they were required to have a registration mark starting with the letter Q rather than the current year letter and thus this model was known as the FX4Q. All were fitted automatic gearboxes, but not the power steering fitted to the FX4R. Sold by the dealer Rebuilt Cabs Ltd, they were marginally cheaper than the FX4R. The LTI FX4 In 1984 London Taxis International (LTI) was formed after Manganese Bronze Holdings bought the London taxi dealers Mann and Overton. LTI replaced the 2286cc Land Rover diesel engine with the new 2495cc version. The new model was called the FX4S. New rocker switches replaced the old toggle switches on the dashboard, the wipers were controlled by a stalk on the steering column and
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draught proofing was added to the bottoms of the doors and black rolled steel bumpers fitted, but basically it was an updated version of the cab that had been around for almost 30 years. At this time, Carbodies were developing a replacement for the FX4, the CR6, which is why this 'stopgap' FX4S was introduced. However, the CR6 was abandoned in 1985 and MBH decided to carry on making the FX4 until such time as it could fund a new cab. The FX4S was superseded in 1987 by the FX4S-Plus, which had a rear compartment redesigned to allow five passengers, the trim changed to grey. A new grey plastic moulded dashboard was also fitted. This was received very well by the trade, as a sign that their needs were actually being listened to. The Department of Transport was keen to see wheelchair accessible taxis and the FX4W wheelchair conversion, which was available from early 1986, enabled the FX4 to provide that facility. In this, the kerbside passenger door was made capable of opening 180 and the nearside part of the partition could be moved forward to accommodate the rearward facing wheelchair in place of the nearside tip-up seat. In February 1989 the Fairway was introduced. It was fitted with a 2664 cc Nissan TD27 diesel engine. This made the FX4 a faster and more reliable cab. It had full wheelchair accessibility, in line with a new law that came into force in January 1989. The Fairway was the best version of the FX4 ever built, and enabled LTI to sell to overseas markets, as well as move into provincial UK markets they had not been able to tackle. Much of this increase in sales was due to local authorities insisting on wheelchair accessible cabs being used in their areas. As part of a programme to develop a replacement model, AP Lockheed were commissioned to design and develop front disc brakes, and in conjunction , GKN designed a new suspension system to allow disc brakes to be fitted whilst
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maintaining the mandatory 7.6m turning circle. These modifications were fitted to a new model, the Fairway Driver, which was introduced in February 1992. The very final Fairway made, with registration mark R1 PFX (i.e. RIP FX), was built on 1 October 1997 and was presented to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Transport for London, (TfL) who had taken over control of the Public Carriage Office ruled that by 2006 all taxis licensed in London should comply with Euro 3 exhaust emission regulations. The Fairway, and for that matter its replacement, the TX1, which used the same Nissan engine only complied with Euro 2, but most proprietors were reluctant to get rid of their very reliable and economical Fairways. In the face of pressure from the trade, TfL allowed different conversions systems to be developed that could be fitted to the Nissan engine to make it comply. These were the STT Emtec Clean Cab turbocharger system and the Van Aaken exhaust gas recirculation system. Only 80 Austin- and Rover-engined cabs remained on the road, which made it uneconomical to develop conversions for them so they were granted an exemption. Although some owners of older Fairways got rid of them, many owners opted to spend almost 2000 having their cabs converted, rather than buy a new or second-hand TXII, which was considered to be very unreliable. In late 2009, only six of these Rover- or Austin-engined cabs remained in service the street, most having covered more than a million miles each. The Fairway was replaced in late 1997 by the TX1, which was subsequently replaced in 2002 by the TXII. This in turn was replaced in 2007 by the current model, the TX4. The FL2 Hire Car

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The Austin FL2 was the limousine version of the FX4. Introduced at the same time as the FX4, it was aimed at the private hire, limousine and funeral trade and this market was the main reason why the petrol engine was offered in the vehicle. It had forward-facing occasional seats, a second front seat and carried no roof sign. It could also be ordered with special trim at extra cost. It was also the base of a small number of Hearses. The FL2 was relaunched in 1982 as the FL2 London Limousine, based on the FX4R. Air conditioning was offered as well as a wider range of luxury interior options, including a cocktail cabinet and custom sound systems. Three stretch versions were built, with four doors and an 18-inch extension between the front and rear doors. A six-door version of the FX4S was also built. The FL2 designation was dropped around 1987, but limousine versions of the Fairway were ordered, the most prominent being that belonging to the Crown Prince of Tonga. The FL2 and the FX4 were also sold to private customers. FL2 customers included Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Sir Laurence, Lord Olivier. The actor Stephen Fry owned a Fairway as his own private transport. An FX4 London taxi was the official car of the Governor of the Falkland Islands, Rex, later Sir Rex Hunt at the time of the Argentinean invasion.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Austin FX4 Further reading

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Bill Munro Taxi Jubilee - 50 Years of the Austin FX4 London Nick Georgano & Bill Munro The London Taxi Shire

Taxi Earlswood Press 2009 ISBN 978-0-9562308-0-5

Publications 2008 ISBN 978-0-7478069-2-9

External links

London Taxi Exports. Portail franais reserv aux taxis anglais-www.taxianglais.fr LTI Vehicles Manufacturer of London taxis London Vintage Taxi Association AROnline FX4/FL2 Index Page Austin Taxi (at Austin Memories) Restoring an old black cab. Owning a black cab as a family car.

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This page was last modified on 31 October 2011 at 20:31.

Compilate de Marian COVLEA

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