Dozenspeed
Top Post Dawg
- Joined
- May 1, 2012
I probably should have started this thread a long time ago, and I still have mixed feelings about it as I write, but here goes.
As you may or may not know, I took a brand new 2011 Jetta TDI sedan 6MT and immediately put it into service as a full-on proper commissioned taxicab about 51 months ago.
(Four-year anniversary of purchase pic)
Operating in the greater St. Louis MO USA metro area where at the time virtually all other taxis were former cop cars, (Ford Interceptors, Chevy Impalas) a couple Lincolns and domestic minivans, I believe this was the first serious cab around here that was 1) European, much less German, VW, etc 2) Diesel 3) Able to break the 30 mpg barrier in service. It was also the first manual in over 30 years. At the time it was the most expensive known car bought to be a taxi in these parts and came before the idea of Prius cabs and other small cars hit the St Louis area market.
While the interior of the MK6 Jetta sedan is nearly equal in size to the Crown Vic/Interceptor, it was at the time technically the smallest cab installed to date, now overshadowed not only by the Prii but a Nissan Versa, Corolla and Ford Focus as well.
Anyway, understandably this would generate quite a few comments from those used to riding in unremarkable ex-goverment chariots of the industry norm.
This thread is about sharing those real actual comments, in hopes of possibly providing enlightenment, world perspective and if we are really lucky, perhaps something to mock and laugh at. (In the event you find this thread annoyingly frivolous and not pertinent to VW or TDIs useful for members, may I argue against that and say it does and I hope to adequately illustrate that with the real-world data comments from real people who usually are way out of the VW loop, unlike us, and certainly something can be learned from that?) But I way digress...
Originally my thought was to call this thread "comment of the day" because usually somebody says something....but realistically...... So I mean to try to keep up with it for at least a while anyway...
I put a fair effort into keeping it clean, because I enjoy it and the ensuing compliments. I like to make people guess how many miles it's got and revel in their gross misunderestimations. Smart, sober people in full daylight have missed the mark by well over 100,000 more than once.
People typically don't guess it is a VW. Only 1% or so know what the car is, but then they KNOW, and typically applaud my choice. The Bosnians are best at this.* Often when folks realize they are in something different, they ask, commonly asking if it is a _________ which can get amusing. The stick-shift is the most observed and is usually the spark. Common comments:
"I have never seen a stick cab."
"I haven't seen a stick in years." (Cab or otherwise)
"I didn't know they made these in manual"
"I didn't know they made manuals anymore (at all!)."
"You have a stick, that is so cool!"
"You're driving a manual, respect."
Usually people don't figure it is a VW, and 99% are surprised when I tell them diesel. I have even given rides to people who OWN a MK6 Jetta and didn't realize they were riding in one!
Since the advent of many Prius cabs about 3 years ago, most people guess that is what she is. Often I will pretend they are offending my car and pat the dashboard lovingly. "Don't listen to them baby, they don't mean to call you a Prius."
Here's a list of more actual guesses and assumptions of cars mine is taken for:
Chevy Cruze, Impala
Ford (not specified)
Dodge Charger
Toyota Camry
Honda Accord
Acura
Audi
BMW
Jaguar (ok, she was pretty drunk)
When I do identify the car, with the surprise usually comes approval and positive impression, especially those whose only experience was a T1 Beetle. On occassion a VW fan will regale me with their tales, or a nice techie conversation will take place.
I've lost count of how many have said it is the nicest cab they've been in. About 20 have said it was their first ever cab ride. Most people are pleased with the room in the back, unless there are three of them. The elderly seem to have a hell of a time buckling their seatbelt, they struggle with the recessed-in-the-seat reciever. Only 1 in 8 people who have been drinking can seem to understand the words "to recline the seat use the triangular lever at the pivot, not the long horizontal handle down the side, the one where the back and the base meet, no, not that one, the triangle one at the pivot, yeah, no that's just raising it up, the other one...." About half give up. I have to pump the seat back down all the time. One little girl was scared of the open sliding roof.
Now, for more specific comments. But first, let's pause for another disclaimer!
*I don't wish to have to say this, and I shouldn't have to, but just in case I should, I will. In this thread there will be identifying references of description such as age, gender, race and others. Their purpose is never in any way meant to be a slight (somehow?) but to help paint the picture of real life as it is. Race, nationality, heritage etc is nothing to be ashamed of or hide, but the true reflection of humanity as it is. Let's not read unnecessary offense where there is none. Moving on...
Okay, with all of that out of the way hopefully it is just the nitty-gritty from here on. The remainder of this post will attempt to recount the memorables from the first 51 months.
"This has got to be the coolest cab I have ever seen."
-young Asian male professional from a Clayton hotel going to the Washington Universtiy campus; very first official customer
"When did you get the G-ride?"
-fellow driver in our fleet, at the airport exit traffic signal about 3 weeks after I got it
"This is a nice cab! VW? Is it diesel? Very nice."
-cop who pulled me over maybe a year ago for going faster than I was but was kind enough to not write a ticket anyway
"I feel like I'm back in Europe"
-otherwise unmemorable youngish white female
"Damn boy you rollin' the fly taxicab ain't ya? That looks ******' sweet!"
-3 young crusing black guys who rolled up fast on me dropping off on a south city saturday night
"I like your car, it's so pretty."
-Elderly white lady whom after my arrival just wanted to tell me that she wanted a cab later in the afternoon
"It looks angry."
-Cab driver from another company at the taxi commission office, quite foreign darker-skinned guy but I'm not sure where he was from
"This car is too nice be a cab."
-middle aged white male going to the strip club
"I don't think we took a cab home. This was like, a real car."
-some super wasted white girl to her super wasted white girl friend
"It's okay honey, all that matters is we're home and I paid the guy money. Now get out of the ******* car. Thank you sir."
-what the super wasted white girl friend of the first super wasted white girl said next
"This car needs brakes bad. I feel them."
-rather drunk middle aged white guy about 230,000 miles ago. It still doesn't need brakes currently.
"Your power steering fluid is low. I know, I can hear it."
-middle aged white woman who knows everything about cars
"Sounds like your engine is about to blow up."
-cop outside the station where I was picking up a release a few hours ago.
I let him know it was diesel, which seemed to satisfy his interrogations
"Man, this car is really tight."
-elderly man and manual fan from the grocery store last week over rather rough pavement actually
"This feels like a race car."
-young African female college student
"I love feeling the way this car accelerates. It reminds me of riding on the back of my friend's motorcycle."
-visually-impaired young adult white male
And finally for now, the spark of this thread:
"Is this one of them Priuses?"
("Naw, this is much better, it's a Jetta TDI with a diesel")
"B*******, you wish."
("No, it really is.")
"Whatever, it's a ******* Prius."
-slightly surly unshaven middle aged white male transporting an ever-dwindling can of beer to the casino last saturday afternoon
"Oh **** this is a Volkswagen, isn't it? You got the diesel in here?"
-same slightly surly yada yada guy about 10 minutes later
I'll post again if anything interesting (or maybe uninteresting) is ever said ever again, cheers for now.
As you may or may not know, I took a brand new 2011 Jetta TDI sedan 6MT and immediately put it into service as a full-on proper commissioned taxicab about 51 months ago.
(Four-year anniversary of purchase pic)
Operating in the greater St. Louis MO USA metro area where at the time virtually all other taxis were former cop cars, (Ford Interceptors, Chevy Impalas) a couple Lincolns and domestic minivans, I believe this was the first serious cab around here that was 1) European, much less German, VW, etc 2) Diesel 3) Able to break the 30 mpg barrier in service. It was also the first manual in over 30 years. At the time it was the most expensive known car bought to be a taxi in these parts and came before the idea of Prius cabs and other small cars hit the St Louis area market.
While the interior of the MK6 Jetta sedan is nearly equal in size to the Crown Vic/Interceptor, it was at the time technically the smallest cab installed to date, now overshadowed not only by the Prii but a Nissan Versa, Corolla and Ford Focus as well.
Anyway, understandably this would generate quite a few comments from those used to riding in unremarkable ex-goverment chariots of the industry norm.
This thread is about sharing those real actual comments, in hopes of possibly providing enlightenment, world perspective and if we are really lucky, perhaps something to mock and laugh at. (In the event you find this thread annoyingly frivolous and not pertinent to VW or TDIs useful for members, may I argue against that and say it does and I hope to adequately illustrate that with the real-world data comments from real people who usually are way out of the VW loop, unlike us, and certainly something can be learned from that?) But I way digress...
Originally my thought was to call this thread "comment of the day" because usually somebody says something....but realistically...... So I mean to try to keep up with it for at least a while anyway...
I put a fair effort into keeping it clean, because I enjoy it and the ensuing compliments. I like to make people guess how many miles it's got and revel in their gross misunderestimations. Smart, sober people in full daylight have missed the mark by well over 100,000 more than once.
People typically don't guess it is a VW. Only 1% or so know what the car is, but then they KNOW, and typically applaud my choice. The Bosnians are best at this.* Often when folks realize they are in something different, they ask, commonly asking if it is a _________ which can get amusing. The stick-shift is the most observed and is usually the spark. Common comments:
"I have never seen a stick cab."
"I haven't seen a stick in years." (Cab or otherwise)
"I didn't know they made these in manual"
"I didn't know they made manuals anymore (at all!)."
"You have a stick, that is so cool!"
"You're driving a manual, respect."
Usually people don't figure it is a VW, and 99% are surprised when I tell them diesel. I have even given rides to people who OWN a MK6 Jetta and didn't realize they were riding in one!
Since the advent of many Prius cabs about 3 years ago, most people guess that is what she is. Often I will pretend they are offending my car and pat the dashboard lovingly. "Don't listen to them baby, they don't mean to call you a Prius."
Here's a list of more actual guesses and assumptions of cars mine is taken for:
Chevy Cruze, Impala
Ford (not specified)
Dodge Charger
Toyota Camry
Honda Accord
Acura
Audi
BMW
Jaguar (ok, she was pretty drunk)
When I do identify the car, with the surprise usually comes approval and positive impression, especially those whose only experience was a T1 Beetle. On occassion a VW fan will regale me with their tales, or a nice techie conversation will take place.
I've lost count of how many have said it is the nicest cab they've been in. About 20 have said it was their first ever cab ride. Most people are pleased with the room in the back, unless there are three of them. The elderly seem to have a hell of a time buckling their seatbelt, they struggle with the recessed-in-the-seat reciever. Only 1 in 8 people who have been drinking can seem to understand the words "to recline the seat use the triangular lever at the pivot, not the long horizontal handle down the side, the one where the back and the base meet, no, not that one, the triangle one at the pivot, yeah, no that's just raising it up, the other one...." About half give up. I have to pump the seat back down all the time. One little girl was scared of the open sliding roof.
Now, for more specific comments. But first, let's pause for another disclaimer!
*I don't wish to have to say this, and I shouldn't have to, but just in case I should, I will. In this thread there will be identifying references of description such as age, gender, race and others. Their purpose is never in any way meant to be a slight (somehow?) but to help paint the picture of real life as it is. Race, nationality, heritage etc is nothing to be ashamed of or hide, but the true reflection of humanity as it is. Let's not read unnecessary offense where there is none. Moving on...
Okay, with all of that out of the way hopefully it is just the nitty-gritty from here on. The remainder of this post will attempt to recount the memorables from the first 51 months.
"This has got to be the coolest cab I have ever seen."
-young Asian male professional from a Clayton hotel going to the Washington Universtiy campus; very first official customer
"When did you get the G-ride?"
-fellow driver in our fleet, at the airport exit traffic signal about 3 weeks after I got it
"This is a nice cab! VW? Is it diesel? Very nice."
-cop who pulled me over maybe a year ago for going faster than I was but was kind enough to not write a ticket anyway
"I feel like I'm back in Europe"
-otherwise unmemorable youngish white female
"Damn boy you rollin' the fly taxicab ain't ya? That looks ******' sweet!"
-3 young crusing black guys who rolled up fast on me dropping off on a south city saturday night
"I like your car, it's so pretty."
-Elderly white lady whom after my arrival just wanted to tell me that she wanted a cab later in the afternoon
"It looks angry."
-Cab driver from another company at the taxi commission office, quite foreign darker-skinned guy but I'm not sure where he was from
"This car is too nice be a cab."
-middle aged white male going to the strip club
"I don't think we took a cab home. This was like, a real car."
-some super wasted white girl to her super wasted white girl friend
"It's okay honey, all that matters is we're home and I paid the guy money. Now get out of the ******* car. Thank you sir."
-what the super wasted white girl friend of the first super wasted white girl said next
"This car needs brakes bad. I feel them."
-rather drunk middle aged white guy about 230,000 miles ago. It still doesn't need brakes currently.
"Your power steering fluid is low. I know, I can hear it."
-middle aged white woman who knows everything about cars
"Sounds like your engine is about to blow up."
-cop outside the station where I was picking up a release a few hours ago.
I let him know it was diesel, which seemed to satisfy his interrogations
"Man, this car is really tight."
-elderly man and manual fan from the grocery store last week over rather rough pavement actually
"This feels like a race car."
-young African female college student
"I love feeling the way this car accelerates. It reminds me of riding on the back of my friend's motorcycle."
-visually-impaired young adult white male
And finally for now, the spark of this thread:
"Is this one of them Priuses?"
("Naw, this is much better, it's a Jetta TDI with a diesel")
"B*******, you wish."
("No, it really is.")
"Whatever, it's a ******* Prius."
-slightly surly unshaven middle aged white male transporting an ever-dwindling can of beer to the casino last saturday afternoon
"Oh **** this is a Volkswagen, isn't it? You got the diesel in here?"
-same slightly surly yada yada guy about 10 minutes later
I'll post again if anything interesting (or maybe uninteresting) is ever said ever again, cheers for now.