New York Daily News Taxi Article Features '50 DeSoto

Web link to article: http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/street ... -1.2218265
Many more photos in the online article.

TAXICAB CLASSICS: Cruising New York City in a vintage Checker and DeSoto cab!
BY Nick Kurczewski
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, May 20, 2015, 12:30 PM

No vehicle is as engrained into the landscape of a metropolis like the mighty Checker Marathon is with New York City.

This broad-shouldered and big-bumpered sedan is as much of an N.Y.C. icon as the Empire State Building or the Brooklyn Bridge. That's despite the fact that the last working Checker cab retired from active service here in the Big Apple more than 15 years ago.

Yes, all those films and television shows that still have Checker cabs trundling along in modern traffic have been lying to you. But come on, would you really prefer a Yellow Cab Prius to roll into the shot?

The Daily News Autos got to spend an incredible morning with these two classic cabs: a 1950 DeSoto DeLuxe and 1969 Checker. The cars were provided by Film Cars, one of a number of closely-knit companies that provide all manner of vehicles to the television and film industry.

We’re not trying to stir up trouble - sorry Prius - or spark any rivalries. We at the Daily News Autos know that London has its famously upright black taxis. For years, New Delhi had the gloriously outdated Hindustan Ambassador. And no trip to Asia is complete without a ride in a square-edged Nissan Cedric, or the indomitable Toyota Crown. (In full disclosure, your cab-crazy author has driven all of these vehicles. He's kind of weird that way.)

Despite being as seemingly ubiquitous in the city as bossy pigeons and steaming hotdog carts, the Checker cab was never exclusive to New York. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Checker Motors sold cabs and private vehicles all over the country before it ceased all vehicle production in 1982.
Taking a trip back in time with two giants from New York City's taxicab past.
Off duty, but on the road! This awesome Checker took us for a tour in Brooklyn.
With its lights ablaze, this DeSoto looks ready to pick up its next fare in DUMBO.

If you could travel back in time, New York’s taxi stands would have been full of a wide range of makes and models. They weren't all painted yellow, either. That law only came into effect in 1967.

Many decades ago, you might even have spotted something as stately – and downright gargantuan, if we’re being honest – as the 1950 DeSoto Deluxe taxicab, which the Daily News Autos included in this look back at the city’s legendary cabs.

Since a time machine isn’t currently in our fleet of test vehicles, the Autos team made a couple phone calls and fired out a few emails to see what life was like when hailing a taxi in the 1950s and 60s. What would Don Draper hail on the way to his next liquid lunch? What would Bob Dylan have piled into after finishng a gig at The Bitter End?

This is New York, baby, so anything is possible! That's why we managed not one, but two incredible classic cabs for this rear-view look backwards at the city's coolest taxis.

Much like spotting a “For Hire” sign during a rainy rush-hour in the middle of Times Square, our eyes similarly absolutely lit up when we spotted these two cars parked alongside each other in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Peter Yanello, owner of Film Cars, is the man who made it possible. As a long-time part of the city’s close-knit film car community, Yanello loves sharing his passion for cars, especially two that are so representative of the city itself. We'd first met more than a year previous, curb-side in lower Manhattan, as he stood next to the very same Checker. These two vehicles have been in countless television and film productions, but today the star attraction was going to be the cars - not the celebs riding in them.

And really, how could we not start with the Checker? Without playing favorites, this is THE CAR when you think about New York. Forget the fact that Checkers haven’t been on-duty here since 1999 - these boxy sedans from western Michigan remain integral to the spirit of N.Y.C.

Unlike the typical New York apartment, the Checker happens to be incredibly spacious inside. This example dates to 1969 and was an actual working New York cab, until being retired in 1981. “It’s in phenomenally good shape,” said Yanello, who also revealed this Checker’s nickname amongst the Film Cars fleet.

Buttercup.

Yes, Buttercup.

The bright-yellow paintjob is obviously a major influence for that huggably cute name.

Powering this Checker is a Chevrolet-sourced 350 cubic inch V-8, coupled to a three-speed automatic with a steering-wheel mounted shift lever. This example has superb period touches, like a Viking fare meter, air conditioning mounted on the lower half of the dash, and a Checker-branded speedometer that stretches up to a hugely optimistic 120 mph.

Maybe downhill, with no brakes.

With the exception of a few metal knobs and flashes of chrome, the cabin is dominated by acres of black plastic and vinyl. What else would you expect from a car that was meant to run 24-hours a day, racking up hundreds of thousands of miles on the streets of New York?

The best seat in the house is in the back, however. Even with the two optional auxiliary-seats, the rear legroom is nothing short of cavernous. It’s also loads of fun in a sharp corner, since that broad and flat bench-seat lets you SLIIIIIIIDE from side to side, if your driver opts to push the pedal to the metal. As for the small auxiliary seats, they’re more comfortable than you’d imagine, though modern safety regulations – and today’s smaller cabs – make them a relic from another era.

So how does it ride? Imagine the combination of a limousine and hay-wagon, then add in the bounciest backseat in the history of automobiles. This is a superb example of a Checker, but these cars weren’t exactly cutting-edge when they were brand new. There is a good amount of clanging and crashing over bumps, with loads of body-roll in corners. But from your backside’s point of view, the Checker is one very happy place to be.

And from the outside it’s impossible not to fall for that bulldog-like front end, with its quad headlights and wide chrome grille. Take a careful look at those magnificent chrome bumpers, too. Federal safety regulations forced Checker to replace them with much cruder, iron-girder style bumpers in the early-1970s.

As we’ve already mentioned, the Checker never had New York all to itself. In fact, Kalamazoo’s finest looks downright dainty when alongside the imperious 1950 DeSoto Deluxe taxicab. The DeSoto brand itself varied from mid-price to near-luxury offering in the Chrysler range, until the brand was axed entirely in 1961.

This 8-passenger behemoth rides on a 139.5-inch wheelbase and, like the Checker, it’s also a very active member of the Film Cars fleet. In case you remembered the company’s protocol for cute nicknames, we're now about to hop aboard “Otto” the DeSoto. It doesn’t quite rhyme, but it works all the same.

The DeSoto is also a former New York cab and is painted in the same livery it would have worn in 1952 – along with that era’s fare rates. Does anyone else long for the days of a 20₵ entry fee, and 5₵ for each additional quarter-mile traveled?

This example features an extremely rare “Skyview” light on top, which signified that the cab you were riding in had the optional see-through roof. This feature allowed weary tourists to admire New York’s towering skyscrapers from the comfort of the cab’s rear seats.

And whoa baby, what a rear seat! The acres of green leather and accommodating jump-seats in the DeSoto would have been things of absolutely beauty to harried commuters and gawking tourists. The vintage “Pittsburgh Taximeter Company” fare meter is exactly what you'd have been watching tick upwards when this cab was new. The wood-lined trunk, complete with a full-size spare mounted vertically to the side, is another nostalgic touch – even if the Blaupunkt speaker mountings and wires are a tad ahead of their time.

For the moment, the massive DeSoto sports a retro-fitted steering wheel, though Peter Yanello says a period-correct example is on his to-do list. A Tip-Toe Shift would also have been included when the DeSoto rolled off the factory floor. This early form of semi-automatic transmission had two forward gears, aided by electric overdrive, for the equivalent of a four-speed gearbox. A standard automatic gearbox has replaced it over the car's 60-plus years on the road.

The inline-6 cylinder engine under the long, long hood provides leisurely acceleration. From the cabin, the roly-poly suspension and measured progress makes riding in the DeSoto feel closer to taking a cruise on the Staten Island ferry.

Progress is a good thing, and we're well aware these two classic cabs probably have the emissions of a locomotive. But are USB outlets and annoying in-car ads really the height of modernity when it comes to New York's current taxi fleet? This pair could drive through a brick wall and keep going for another hundred thousand miles, or more. Add a credit card machine, perhaps, and these two would easily rule the road once again.

Luckily for us, and the Film Cars fleet, no brick walls (or cab fenders) were damaged during this fantastic trip in a pair of timeless New York taxicabs.

The New York Daily News Autos would like to thank Peter Yanello and Film Cars for making this amazing retro-themed ride possible - and special thanks to Buttercup and Otto for all their hard work!