If you drove a car hour after hour, day after day through Manhattan as a taxi, you’d expect the engine to be completely haggard right? Look again.
This is a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid that had been working as a taxi in the Big Apple, as Reddit user NYCTaxiMechanic explains on this post in the ray of light that is r/JustRolledIntoTheShop:
This was out of a 2008 Escape Hybrid. Its getting all news seals and being put back in and sold as a private car.
The poster explains that this car’s oil gets changed every three weeks (old Crown Victorias used to get their oil changed every two weeks), and that its brakes only need changing once a year. You can thank the hybrid system for that.
And you may be able to thank the hybrid system for some of the light wear on this engine. The electric system takes a good deal of the city-driving load. NYCTaxiMechanic goes on to say that the Escape is pretty solid, even for a hybrid.
They’re great. I’ve never seen a cell go bad or a module. I’ve had to crack a few open (only twice) and put new cooling fans but other than that they are perfect. The camry and prius burn battery packs like crazy.
So if you think taxis are just rotting hulks barely scraping their way down the road, think again. Taxi operators need to rely on their cars for a living, and that means some of the best-maintained cars in the city are yellow with medallions bolted to the hood.
Photo Credit: NYCTaxiMechanic via r/JustRolledIntoThe Shop
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