GOOD Design Daily: Finalists for New York's "Taxi of Tomorrow"

With the Crown Victoria discontinued, New York City recently held a competition soliciting new ideas for the "Taxi of Tomorrow." The three finalists come from Nissan, Ford, and a little-known Turkish company called Karsan. Oddly, they all look like minivans.

Here's the Karsan:

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Here's the Nissan:

And here's the Ford:

It's a little unclear to me why they're all so large. According to this New York City taxi factbook, there's an average of 1.4 passengers per trip, and I'm guessing most of them don't have a stand-up bass.

The city sounds pretty noncommittal about the whole thing, though: "Whichever of these designs that the City selects, if any, will be the next New York City taxicab (subject to constant improvements and enhancements) for the next ten years."