The Ford Transit Connect Taxi is one of Ford's more recent "Better Ideas." No, make that one of its "Best" ideas, as this vehicle is perfectly suited to the chore of carting people around urban areas. The 2.0-liter gas engine gets 19 mpg, which is roughly 30 percent better than the Crown Vics that are the staple of most taxi fleets. Better still, it has a 90 percent improvement in emissions over most current taxis. I would also hope it's considering a clean diesel option for this vehicle. It almost goes without saying that New York, and the New York auto show, is the perfect place to debut such a vehicle.

Some features of this new taxi include a new infotainment and navigation system that shows passengers their accumulating cab fare and scrolling news, weather, sports scores and a stock ticker. The driver's area comes with a fold-flat passenger seat that Ford says doubles as a work station. It also gets a version of the Ford Work Solutions integrated computer.

Here's Inside Line's take: 2008 New York Auto Show: Ford Rolls Out a New Take on the Taxicab

Now that all the "new" news has been laid out on the table, we can go through and sort out the winners and losers. To help with that task AutoObserver has already cast its votes.

So, do you agree or disagree with AO's choices? Or can you do better?

New York Auto Show: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

Tucked in a far corner of the New York auto show is this rare Chrysler Thunderbolt. It's an early concept car from an era when life-size concept cars were not common. Alex Tremulis was one of the designers, notable because he was responsible for the Tucker -- there are clearly similarities. Tremulis also worked with American Bantam and Crosley earlier. The Thunderbolt is said to be Chrysler's answer to the Buick Y-Job.

The Thunderbolt has a power-folding hardtop, plus doors that open with the push of a button -- notice no door handles. There's also no grille, as air intakes are located below the front bumper.

This car is in nearly perfect condition; even the interior is spotless. Only five Thunderbolts were built, and four still exist. This one is on display in the LeMay museum in Tacoma, Washington. They have five other cars on display at the New York auto show. -- Brian Moody, Road Test Editor

Now that lithium-ion batteries exist, manufacturers are willing to take the risk of actually letting people drive all-electric cars. Forty Subaru R1e hatchbacks are motoring around Tokyo as we speak, as part of a partnership with the Tokyo Electric Power Company. Today in New York, Subaru announced it's giving two of these tiny, electric-powered subcompacts to the New York Power Authority.



Obviously, this is not a money-making venture, and so Subaru didn't even bother to change the front fascia on the R1e, even though it's the memorable snout from the last of the previous-generation Imprezas. Actually, the company didn't even bother to make a left-hand-drive version.

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Lightly refreshed for the 2009 model year, the Kia Optima was the other Kia off to the side at this morning's unveiling of the Koup concept.

"If there's a poster child for the old school of Kia, it's got to be the Kia Optima," Communications Director Alex Fedorak admitted. "But as Edmunds.com put it, 'When it comes to design, the Optima looks like it was styled by the witness protection program.'" (Credit for this now famous turn of phrase goes to Edmunds Automotive Editor James Riswick.)

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Cadillac used to be known for firsts. The first production V8, the first electric starter and the first automatic transmission in a luxury car. Then things got quiet for the next 50 or 60 years. The innovation has returned, however, in the way of the first fully functioning LED headlights on a production vehicle. It will be an option on the top-of-the-line 2009 Escalade Platinum Edition. Unlike the systems used in the Audi R8 and Lexus LS 600h, Cadillac’s system includes both high- and low-beam LED lights in addition to LED turn signals and parking lights. Cadillac says the LED beams produce light that’s closer to actual daylight than the blue-tinted beams of most xenon headlights. And more importantly, they look cool. Expect to see the rest of the world's luxury brands catch up shortly, but for now it's another automotive first for Cadillac. -- Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line

With the unveiling of the Kizashi 3 concept car, the Kizashi period at Suzuki is finally nearing an end. Sort of.

The whole thing started at Frankfurt with the unveiling of the Kizashi concept -- a not-at-all-unpleasant-looking red four-door hatchback. This was followed (predictably) by the largely pointless and fussy-looking four-door hatch Kizashi 2 concept at the Tokyo auto show. And now Suzuki has stripped the least realistic stuff from the basic style and revealed the nearer-to-production Kizashi 3 notchback sedan.

A further stripping of auto-show filigree such as the super-narrow side mirrors and the 21-inch wheels would reveal the range-topping sedan that the company will begin selling sometime in 2009 as a 2010 model. Based on the newest version of GM's Epsilon platform that, in slightly different form, sits under the Chevy Malibu, the sedan will be available with a 300-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 (from the XL7 sport-ute and sourced from GM) and all-wheel drive. We expect the company to introduce a four-cylinder version and a front-drive version.

And while the grille is a bit over the top, the sedan is certainly one of the more compelling designs we've ever seen from Suzuki. --Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Not much to report from the Mini press conference today at the New York auto show. Jim McDowell, vice president of Mini USA, got up and gave a nice little spiel on Mini's long history of racing and briefly went over the Mini Challenge racecar on display. He then moved on to the new John Cooper Works Clubman, a slick-looking variation of the standard Clubman that's just now trickling into dealers. The fact that Mini doesn't feel the need to use big flashy intros and overly ambitious language to describe its cars reflects its confidence in the product and its continued popularity. Even after six years on the market, the Mini Cooper still hasn't lost its edge, and the new Cooper has bumped up sales well past last year's numbers. Factor in the rising interest in smaller cars and Mini could have one of its best years ever at a time when most automakers are bracing for the worst. -- Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line

Kia wants to be the sporty half of the Hyundai-Kia alliance, but that just hasn't come through in any of the brand's production cars. That might change if the Kia Koup concept goes into production, and it almost certainly will: "This is a production-ready design that could find its way into the Kia lineup and perhaps sooner than one might think," said Tom Kearns, chief designer for Kia Motors America (and owner of a '71 Porsche 911 S). When we do see it, expect "Spectra" to be part of its name, as the Koup is built on the company's front-drive, C-segment platform.



It comes straight out of Kia's new Irvine design studio, so it's no surprise to see styling cues borrowed from cars like the Honda Civic coupe and Scion tC. There's also some early '80s Lotus Esprit in there, as the lead designer, Kurt Kahl, bought one just before starting in on this 10-month project. The very angular look of the wedge-shaped coupe is quite intentional. As Hyundai goes for more organic designs (i.e., Genesis coupe), Kia will use harder lines to differentiate itself.

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Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief