The London taxis up to about 1990, give or take a year, were the FX4. (Nowadays it's the Metrocab 250) Plenty of pics around on the web - search for Austin FX4. All the ones I've been in since about 25 years ago have been automatic. You don't want to be changing gears in London traffic when you're working a 12 hour shift - no pun intended! Most are diesel, but some might have been converted to natural gas. They don't have the sort of power that the New York petrol/gasoline powered cabs have. (The two main models in NYC seem to be the Ford Crown Victoria and the Chev Caprice Classic) But like the text says, the FX4 can "turn on a sixpence", a figurative statement meaning it has a tight turning circle. Walking down Oxford Street, many are to be seen making a U-turn without touching the opposite kerb (US = curb).
The drivers? Well they're bloody excellent. That four year self training programme is called "the Knowledge", and indeed the driver has to learn every street with a 6 mile radius of Charing Cross, all the one-way streets etc. You can jump in a cab in Marylebone High Street and ask to go to the National Theatre - no further directions needed. Or ask for some obscure address like the Adelphi building in John Adam Street - the driver will know how to get there without consulting a map, and will take into account all the one-way streets etc.
Compare that with hailing a cab in NYC, or some other major US city. On second thoughts, maybe not. Too early for this thread to be locked!
