The Vehicle Production Group LLC was an American automobile manufacturer. Based in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
, it made the wheelchair-accessible
taxicab
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
s, the MV-1 (Mobility Vehicle-1), which was built in
Mishawaka, Indiana
Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River, in Penn Township, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Mishawaka is a principal city of the South B ...
at an
AM General
AM General is an American heavy vehicle and contract automotive manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. It is best known for the civilian Hummer and the military Humvee that are assembled in Mishawaka, Indiana. For a relatively brief period, 1 ...
plant.
History
Production began in 2011, but by February 2013, Vehicle Production Group ceased production of new vehicles. The company laid off all employees and closed its doors in May 2013 after their finances dropped below the minimum condition of a $50 million clean-energy loan awarded by the
US Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States ...
in March 2011. AM General reached an agreement with the Department of Energy to acquire the assets of VPG in September 2013, after it had purchased the $50 million DOE loan for $3 million.
AM General created Mobility Ventures,
a wholly owned subsidiary to again produce and distribute the MV-1 through its dealer network. Production restarted on March 11, 2014.
Standard Taxi
The Standard Taxi is a purpose-built taxicab
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...
designed by Vehicle Production Group.
It was unveiled at the 2005
International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR) conference and later that year at the
Taxicab, Limousine, and Paratransit Association (TLPA) annual convention in Las Vegas.
[
In mid-2008, it was announced that a contract had been signed with ]South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
-based AM General to build the Standard Taxi taxicabs, beginning in 2009.
Through market feedback, VPG developed a more advanced and user-friendly vehicle known as the MV-1
The Vehicle Production Group LLC was an American automobile manufacturer. Based in Miami, Florida, it made the wheelchair-accessible taxicabs, the MV-1 (Mobility Vehicle-1), which was built in Mishawaka, Indiana at an AM General plant.
History
P ...
to replace the Standard Taxi, which never entered series production.
Specs
* Vehicle Production Group LLC (VPG)
* Production – 2010 (planned, but cancelled)
* Engine – GM SEFI 4.3 L Vortec V6 engine
* Wheelbase –
* Length –
* Width –
* Height –
* Fuel capacity – gasoline –
MV-1
The MV-1 was a purpose-built taxicab
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
designed by Vehicle Production Group and built in Mishawaka, Indiana at an AM General plant The name is an initialism
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
for "Mobility Vehicle 1". It was intended to replace the planned Standard Taxi
The Vehicle Production Group LLC was an American automobile manufacturer. Based in Miami, Florida, it made the wheelchair-accessible taxicabs, the MV-1 (Mobility Vehicle-1), which was built in Mishawaka, Indiana at an AM General plant.
History
Pr ...
, and like that car it was developed in collaboration with AM General
AM General is an American heavy vehicle and contract automotive manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. It is best known for the civilian Hummer and the military Humvee that are assembled in Mishawaka, Indiana. For a relatively brief period, 1 ...
. The first MV-1 rolled off the line in October 2011 and was delivered to disabled former American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player Marc Buoniconti
The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is a spinal cord injury research center and a designated Center of Excellence at the University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida.
The Miami Project was co-founded in 1985 by Bar ...
, who was a company spokesperson.
Developed from the Standard Taxi, it was a more advanced and user-friendly vehicle than its predecessor. The MV-1 was the first production-made purpose-built vehicle in North America constructed from the ground up for people with disabilities. It seats up to six adults, with two full-size wheelchairs. Chairs are allowed entry via an ADA-approved ramp, able to carry and which stows under the vehicle's floor. The rear doors are 36 inches wide and 56 inches tall, to accommodate bulky wheelchairs.
On 21 October 2011 it was announced that New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
had approved the MV-1 for use as a yellow cab. Because it is handicap accessible, the MV-1 will continue to be approved for taxi use even after the new Nissan NV200
The Nissan NV200 is a light commercial and leisure activity, 4/5-door van designed and produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 2009.
Overview
The vehicle was previewed as the NV200 Concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, followed by ...
has replaced all other yellow cabs. The MV-1 is the first purpose-built taxicab to be allowed to enter service as a yellow cab since the iconic Checker Marathon.[
]
Specifications
Originally the MV-1 was to be based on a General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and was the largest in the world for 77 years bef ...
pickup truck with a standard GM drivetrain. Instead, the concept version had a Roush Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Politics
*Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana
* J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of:
** J. Edward Roush Lake, a res ...
designed chassisConsumer Guide Automotive
/ref> and a powertrain from a Ford Crown Victoria
The Ford Crown Victoria ("Crown Vic") is a full-size sedan that was marketed and manufactured by Ford. The successor to the Ford LTD Crown Victoria, two generations of the model line were produced from the 1992 to 2012 model years. The Ford ...
. In either case, it has a simple but sturdy body-on-frame construction with fully boxed rails. The engine is the well-known Ford Modular 4.6 liter V8 which produces . VPG had partnered with Clean Energy Inc, the largest provider of compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...
(CNG) for fleets in North America, to offer the MV-1 with a CNG fuel option. The MV-1 with CNG has an estimated 290-mile range with three Type-3 tanks integrated into the vehicle's design.
Production was temporarily halted in the summer of 2012 as VPG changed their tooling in order to introduce the MV-1 LX, a more luxurious version. The LX will allow the access ramp to be controlled from the keyfob, and also has some wood trim and other luxury features. The 2015/2016 model is powered by a newer Ford 3.7-liter Ti-VCT V6. Fuel economy is 14 mpg city, 16 mpg highway, and 15 mpg average.
The vehicle played a part in the Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...
movie, '' The Fundamentals of Caring'' in 2016.
References
External links
*
VPG
at ''Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
''
Official California Dealership.
{{Automotive industry in the United States
Taxi vehicles
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Minivans
2010s cars
Vehicles introduced in 2011
Taxis of the United States
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Indiana