Toyota’s upcoming JPN Taxi Concept taxi
In my November 19 column in The Japan Times, I wrote about the rather special rear-view mirrors you see on the front of Japanese taxi cabs. I promised to post some photos of vehicles equipped with fender mirrors, including a sneak peek at Toyota’s soon-to-be-released taxi cab, the JPN Taxi Concept.
The JPN looks suspiciously like an SUV to me, but the company says it borrowed design elements from London’ iconic black cabs.
The interior certainly looks roomy. Nice big windows.
What? No fold-down jump seats?
Now, here’s a real classic car with fender mirrors. Many thanks to reader Graham who identified it for me as a 1968/69 Daihatsu Compagno Spider.
And a Toyota Crown Super DX, I think from 1993, formerly a taxi:
In the “here’s something you don’t see everyday” department, a Mazda Eunos Roadster with fender mirrors from an Alfa Romeo. According to the owner’s account, the modification was for looks, not function.
A Mazda Roadster with Alfa mirrors added
And last but not least — this driver isn’t leaving anything to chance. See what I mean? If not, look then look again.
The JPN Taxi concept is interesting. I agree that there is something SUV about it, but I can also see that there is some of that London cab in them too. I wonder how accessible it is for Japan’s aging population.
Does Tokyo regulate the style of taxi? Is only one colour or brand allowed? Just curious..
The red convertible is a 1968/69 Daihatsu Compagno Spider ( I own two of these )