March 6, 2009Manhattan No Longer an Ant Hill for Town Cars
Town Cars (via yellowcabnyc.com)
Mr. Big is practically synonymous with the site of a black Town Car. Presumably Mr. Big’s character on Sex and the City was meant to symbolize a number of things: masculinity, Manhattan, and the backdrop of Finance that is generally part and parcel of the first two. If this is the case, then the ubiquitous Black Car is a pretty powerful symbol of both Manhattan and the corporate world.
Thus, it is no wonder that, at the height of the economic boom, a long queue of black Town Cars, Mercedes S-Class sedans, even Maybachs could be found on every major street in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan. To keep up with demand, the number of car services proliferated and the size of fleets grew at the same rapid speed as rising Wall Street.
Prosperity begat excess and, in my own experience, I was privy to behavior indicative of the zeitgeist, where dispatching a black car to Pound Ridge to deliver a document or taking a car service from the office on Chambers Street to the client meeting on Barclay Street (just a few blocks) was seen as neither exceptional nor excessive. In truth, such instances were not outrageous because they had become norms - across firms and across industries. As Wall Street flourished, these extravagances became commonplace and were deeply woven into the fabric of Manhattan’s corporate culture. Subsequently, the black car fleet grew and its presence on the streets of New York became omnipresence.
When recession hits, the first things to go are the non-essentials. First out are the muffins at morning meetings, then the weekly delivery of fresh flowers, then the liberal attitude about Town Cars. A small survey I conducted among friends at firms throughout the City confirms this point; changes are occurring in offices everywhere. Habit changes are certainly not confined to the office, but are being brought about in households across New York. The plush car service ride to theater has been replaced by a standard, more affordable taxi-cab ride or, in some instances, a ride on old faithful: the subway. Even car service travel to and from the airport - one of the biggest drivers for most black car companies - is being reconsidered.
Recession adjustments are just one blow being dealt to the car service industry in Manhattan. The second punch is being thrown by the Bloomberg administration in its call to “green” the taxi fleet. This is a noble effort that will benefit the city in the long-term by reducing pollution and thereby improving air quality. The immediate effects may feel more detrimental than good to the car service companies as the adjustment period is likely to be a little shaky and prolonged. I expect that many car service operations won’t survive the adjustment period.
Here’s how it works: as of January 1st, new black cars entering service are required to have a fuel economy rating of at least 25 miles per gallon (this number will jump to 30mpg come 2010). This essentially means no new V-8 sedans will enter the livery cab fleet going forward unless automotive technology starts down a course of exponential advancement. Perhaps these are the incentives that the automotive industry needed to hasten change. But, given how poor economic conditions are right now, it is unlikely that the car industry will be able to rise to the occasion. The interim dilemma will be to determine which cars will meet the fuel economy standards and still feel luxurious enough to passengers that the premium for ordering a car service will still be warranted. On the table for consideration are the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids (these hardly offer a comparable plush factor to the Lincoln Town Car) as well as the Toyota Highlander hybrid and the Lexus RX 400h (I, for one, think it would be unfortunate to see American automakers lose yet another vehicular contest to the Japanese).
Perhaps this won’t be an issue any time soon as there likely won’t be any “new” cars entering the black car fleet in the near-term given how diminished (I have to imagine) the demand for car services is right now. A recent article in New York Magazine about Brooklyn-based car service, Arecibo, noted that “until recently, Arecibo received about 14,000 calls a week, but that was before the economy plunged…Now, with fewer calls coming in, the drivers are hungrier than ever.” NYC’s black car industry is in for a rough period; with the era of luxury behind us and strict fuel-efficiency mandates, which car service companies will survive? It remains to be seen.
This post was inspired by these recent articles:
The Town Car 500 (New York Magazine, 02.22.2009)
Fuel-Efficient Black Cars: A Taximoron? (The New York Times, 10.26.2009)
