Someone Needs to Fact Check NYC

Planet Gore on National Review Online

I actually rode in my first NYC hybrid taxi, a Toyota Highlander, a few days ago. This particular driver was the owner of the taxi, which means to non-New Yorkers that the cab was far cleaner and better maintained than a taxi which is leased out on a daily basis. This driver/owner knew his fuel usage to the penny. He said when he first took delivery of the cab, he was getting about 26 m.p.g. About a year later, this number had dropped to 18 m.p.g. He went on to say the battery is under warranty for 100,000 miles, but, even if he could put in a claim, there just aren't any extra batteries out there. He's also furious that he went out and bought a hybrid before the law kicked in. He didn't quote me a figure, but he said he paid "much more" for the hybrid instead of a Ford Crown Victoria and there's no way he'd ever make up the difference in price now that the Toyota's gas mileage had decreased. This driver also said he would regularly get 18 m.p.g. on the Ford, not the 14 m.p.g. quoted by the A.P.