KARSAN WINS FANS BUT LOSES CONTEST IN NYC
Karsan Taxi NYC | Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 2:53PM While we are disappointed that we were not selected, we are extremely proud of what we have accomplished in the Taxi of Tomorrow competition. Karsan's dedicated team of engineers and designers raised the bar in terms of what we all deserve and should expect out of our taxis. The City, in its RFP, called for an iconic, purpose-built taxi that would be accessible and sustainable, and that is exactly what Karsan delivered. So it is no surprise that New Yorkers hailed the Karsan design as the best in class. The disability community lauded us for our sensitive and inclusive approach. And elected officials and labor leaders praised us for our commitment to create up to 800 new jobs along the Brooklyn waterfront.
We fervently believe that there is a strong market and an acute need for a true Taxi of Tomorrow, and we look forward to working with other forward-looking cities around the globe to make the Karsan vision a reality.
Excerpt from The New Yorker, "Taxi of Tomorrow; It's a Nissan" written by Paul Goldberger, May 3rd, 2011
"The Karsan was far and away the best piece of design: a sleek, glass-enclosed vehicle that had just the right futuristic, Buck Rogers-y spin to it, as if a New York taxi had been bred to a spaceship. It somehow looked as if it belonged on the streets of New York. The front ends of cars are always like faces, and the Karsan taxi’s face was friendly. It made you want to jump aboard. And once you got inside, you would find an interior that looked more or less like the London taxi."
"Still, the Karsan was the only one of the three that made you smile, the only one that looked and felt as if it had been designed from the ground up as a taxi, and only as a taxi. It would have been something new, and something that would have made the streets of New York look better, which is what I thought this whole “taxi of tomorrow” business was about."
