Nissan introduces Black Cab

The Black cab is a symbol of London and our whole country, it is instantly recognisable. So what would you think if the London Black Cab got re-designed? Well Nissan have produced their own take on the Black Cab and it is being supported by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

It is not just our London Cabs that will see a new rival; the Nissan NV200 has already been introduced to Tokyo and is also set to be a new replacement for the iconic Yellow Cab of New York. We have to ask, can Nissan really replace such strong symbols?

The London version of the Nissan NV200 is a bit different to the Tokyo and New York versions; it has a wider axel and better suspension to allow a turning circle of 25ft. This is a requirement of all London taxis as they have to be able to get around tight roundabouts such as the famous Savoy Hotel on The Strand.

The taxi is based on the Nissan NV200 Compact Van; this has been taken and made into a passenger friendly vehicle. It can hold five people and has plenty of room for luggage too. One of the other main focuses of the NV200 is to be accessible for anyone, so Nissan have installed a wide-opening sliding door which has been designed to make it easier for wheelchair users to get in and out of the taxi.

There are some great features on the inside too; the Nissan has USB charging points for passengers and a glass panoramic roof which give a fantastic alternative view of London’s sights for the passenger.

Nissan have said that the new NV200 will be 50% more fuel efficient than the current London taxis which are the TX4 London Taxis. Nissan have also said that it could save cab drivers around £700 in fuel costs. Annual Co2 emissions will be reduced by 37,970 metric tonnes.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson, said: “Having taken the significant step of introducing the first age limit for taxis in London (cabs over 15 years old are being decommissioned), I am absolutely delighted that manufacturers are stepping up to the plate and are responding to the challenge I set in my air quality strategy to reduce taxi emissions and improve efficiency.” 

This is all very good stuff, but will people miss the old classic London Black Cabs? Is this enough to convince people that changes are a good thing?

Miniature Olympic Helpers

Usually in the field events at the Olympics like Shot Put and Javelin etc, will require someone to collect the equipment and bring it back after each turn; ready for the next person to use on their turn. At the London 2012 Olympics a human helper will be a thing of the past, we now have something much better and to be honest it is quite funny.

The new Olympic helpers are just 1.1 metres long and 0.4 metres high. That’s right, say hello to the mini Mini Cooper! A radio controlled Mini Cooper has been created to carry Olympic equipment back to the players once they have been used. This method may seem a little crazy but it saves a lot of time and seems to be a efficient method of getting the games equipment back to the players again.

Not only will this help the athletes, it will also give the audience a bit of a laugh seeing the miniature car carrying around large javelins and other large equipment. We think this is a fantastic idea and a great way to promote the Olympic fleet of vehicles.

The mini MINI Cooper can carry up to 8kg at one time, this is equal to two javelins, one shot, one discuss or one hammer. The Mini is powered by a little battery pack and can last up to 35 minuets when being used continuously, and then it will need to charge for around an hour and 20 minuets.

Three of these Mini Coopers have been created for use in the field games which start today. BMW have really put their all into being the official vehicle supplier of the London 2012 Olympic Games, they have been creating all sorts of interesting things to support London 2012 as we have previously talked about and this is just another brilliant idea of theirs.

So what do you think of the Mini MINI fleet? A fun idea or just silly?

London 2012 Fuel Card Cloning

Iconic Image

The Olympics games are now in full swing, and we have to say it’s making London proud. We’ve been enjoying all the games, but things will be reviewed after the games to see where things didn’t quite work – this is just one of those clangers.

Fuel-Cards made especially for the BMW Olympic Fleet were stolen and cloned, reports have discovered. This was back in April and, as you’d expect, kept quite hushed until the problem had been dealt with.

How the perps got hold of the fuel-cards to clone them remains a mystery, but since the start of the games it is being reported that the cards have been retrieved and no further fraudulent use has been undertaken.

The big question rattling around many heads was ‘how did the fraudsters know the PIN to use the fuel cards?’ – cloned or not, each fuel-card has a PIN and this needs to be entered upon use. Yep, you guessed it, the four-digit security lock on the cards just happened to be 2012.

A London 2012 Spokesperson said:

“A very small (around 20) number of pre-Games fuel cards were fraudulently used in April. This was picked up immediately by a team that tracks the fuel card usage daily and the information was passed to the police.”

Fuel Card Examples

“The Games Time fuel cards have been active since the start of July and there have been no fraudulent use of these cards.”

We’re rooting for TeamGB to keep bringing in the medals, and for BMW to keep showcasing their fantastic vehicles.

If you're interesting in what the BMW Olympic Fleet consists on, click on the link for a full breakdown!