mathguy18

Discussion

Safety

For this section of I will be comparing the safety features of the 2016 Ford Fiesta, 2016 Volkswagen Jetta, and the 2016 Subaru Impreza, to help decide which of these cars would best suit a taxi company. Safety features are one of the most important variables when it comes to taxi’s simply because if people don’t feel safe getting into the cabs your company owns, or have ridden in them and didn’t feel safe then you’re probably not going to get as many customers as you would have if the passengers in your cabs felt safe. To show how important this is there was a survey done in 2015 that asked a group of college students in Toledo OH how many of them would get into a taxi with no seatbelts and 42% of them said they would not. So in order to find the correct model of car to start a cab company we must start with the safety features to figure out what type of car people would most likely feel safe getting into.

The Ford Fiesta, which comes stock with 3-point safety belts, electronic, stability control (ESC), Battery saver, a Front safety belt reminder, and child safety locks, driver’s knee airbag, emergency trunk release, LATCH – lower anchors and tether anchors (for child-safety seats), a Personal safety system, seven standard airbags, side-intrusion door beams, and a SOS post-crash alert system. The Ford Fiesta also has a four star safety rating, which is impressive for a smaller car such as this.

The Volkswagen Jetta comes stock with, an anti-lock braking system, anti-slip regulation, which will come in handy during the winter. Also comes with a brake override system, electronic stability control, electronic brake-pressure distribution, engine braking assist, and a hydraulic brake assist. The Jetta also comes with passive safety features like Anti-intrusion side door beams, automatic locks, driver and passenger airbags, a crash optimized front end, seat belts, child seat anchor points, and a reinforced safety cage. Some additional safety features are child safety locks, anti-theft system, a crash response system, and a tire pressure monitoring system.

Last but not least we have the Subaru Impreza witch safety features include, eyesight driver assist technology, this can adjust your cruise control depending on the traffic, as well as warn the driver when they are drifting out of there lane, and can even stop its self when a collision is imminent. Symmetrical 4-wheel drive, and a boxer engine designed to give the driver quicker response time. The Subaru also comes with a stability control system, and a smart breaking system that prevents the wheels from locking up. And a seven airbag system.

Vehicle Capacity

Capacity of a car is also one of the considerations when choosing the most efficient car for Taxi Company (Ferguson). Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Jetta, and Subaru Impreza are 2016 editions was selected by the cost and safety. In this section of the report, the capacities of the three models will be discussed. According to the comparing chart from ConsumerReports.org (“Dimensions”):

Ford Fiesta is a 5-seat sedan, and the length of Fiesta is 160 inches, the width is 68 inches, the height is 58 inches, the maximum load is 825 pounds, and the cargo volume is 13 cubic feet.

Volkswagen Jetta is also a 5-seat sedan, and the length of Jetta is 182 inches, the width is 70 inches, the height is 57 inches, the maximum load is 1080 pounds, and the cargo volume is 16 cubic feet.

Subaru Impreza is a 5-seat sedan, and the length of Impreza is 180 inches, the width is 69 inches, the height is 58 inches, the maximum load is 850 pounds, and the cargo volume is 12 cubic feet.

Interior Design

The Volkswagen Jetta has a cabin that serves as an indicator of a high quality feel. This is clearly an attempt by the manufacturer to instill a level of class in this model. There are noticeably a lot of plastic surfaces meant to give the interior a more modern and mainstream look and feel. The Volkswagen Jetta also boasts of having a very spacious cabin. This alludes to an attempt by the company to create a serene environment within the car all aimed at ensuring maximum comfort of the passengers. The car can accommodate a maximum of five and he seats are equipped with upholstery. The front seats are heated and the driver’s seat just so happens to be power adjustable. The adjustability of the driver’s seat ensures that the driver has enough legroom for effective navigation of the car. The car also comes equipped with Bluetooth, heated mirrors, a four speaker stereo and cruise control. Of course there is the push button star feature which has motor enthusiasts all over the world in a buzz as well as a satellite radio and an iPod adapter.

The Subaru Impreza 2015 is equipped with climate control and audio controls which are rather straightforward hence extremely easy to operate. The seats are also very spacious in both rows so as to ensure maximum comfort of the driver as well as the passengers. The car can seat a maximum of five seats that are standard cloth. The front seats are, however, equipped with leather upholstery and are also heated. The car also has a relatively lower hood line which is very accommodative to short drivers and ensures that drivers of all heights can get a good view forward. The automobile has a four speaker audio system equipped with Subaru’s star link infotainment systems as well as the inclusion of a 6.2 inch touch screen. There is also an USB port as well as Bluetooth. There is also an eyesight driver assist that aids drivers with poor vision to navigate the roads. This feature works in a manner that is very interesting. There are sensors placed in the car. These sensors keep track of aspects such as the lane in which the car is and its distance from any oncoming objects and cars. The driver, therefore, gents a warning whenever they start to deviate from their lane or whenever they are in the path of an oncoming car. This is very useful to all drivers and not just the ones with visual impairment. This is due to the fact that the feature ensures that the driver never loses their concentration while behind the wheel. The optional features include a seven inch touch screen display for infotainment and an audio system with six speakers. The car has, however, been criticized for its trunk space. The car has a 12 cubic feet trunk space which critics have described as being very low for that class of cars.

The Ford Fiesta has been described as the car that makes time travel possible. This is due to the incorporation of a lot of futuristic pieces of technology in the interior of the car. Noticeably is the SYNC3 voice activated technology. This enables drivers to get things done by simply speaking to the car. Hence, hands free calling is one of the features of the car. The interior of the car is versatile to say the least. The car can seat a maximum of five passengers on very spacious seats. There are also contraptions which enable the loading of items such as groceries and the seats are foldable hence the capacity to change the passenger cabin into a cargo room. The seats are also leather which gives the entire car more of a classy feel. There is also automation which enables the car to start and the driver’s door to open without the key. The My Key feature also advocates safe driving by limiting factors such as top speed and audio volume of the car.

Finding the Most Efficient Taxi

In my personal opinion, there are two main qualities that contribute to the purchase of the most efficient taxi cab. Those two contributing qualities are the durability and the fuel economy of the vehicle in question. These two qualities are especially important in respect to making the most profits out of the materials within a company’s possession. An analyst at TheTruthAboutCars.com addressed this issue when he stated, “Of course, it isn’t surprising that taxis are poorly maintained, when money is lost with every second that they aren’t on the road.” (DeMuro, Doug.) Since a taxi company’s main priority is to make as many pick-ups and drop-offs as possible, it is very important that the vehicle also requires very little maintenance. Making the wrong decision in regards to what vehicle to use could potentially cost a company hundreds or thousands of dollars a year, depending on how large the company is.

Fuel Economy

In our search for the most cost efficient vehicle overall, my fellow analysts and I have decided to narrow our search down to three generally efficient 2016 vehicle models. Those three models are the Ford Fiesta, Subaru Impreza, and the Volkswagon Jetta. The first criterion that I would like to compare the vehicles upon is fuel efficiency. In the space below, I have prepared a bar graph illustrating the comparison of the city, highway, and combined gas mileage of the three selected vehicles based on information gathered from FuelEconomy.gov.

("Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy." Fueleconomy.gov. 29 Oct. 2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.)

After examining the data posted on the previous page, the Subaru Impreza appears to have the most efficient overall fuel economy out of the three selected vehicle choices. I also find it important to note that the Subaru Impreza only succeeded the overall fuel economy of the Ford Fiesta by a very small margin, which will be taken into consideration when we are forming a consensus on which vehicle will be the best choice, in terms of commodity, for a taxi company.

Durability

Moving forward, the next issue to be addressed in regards to vehicle selection is durability. According to statistics gathered from the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, an American taxi cab travels 70,000 miles, on average per day. If a taxi company were to purchase and utilize a vehicle that requires constant maintenance, the company could end up spending large amounts of money every year on repairs, which would be ideal for maximizing profits. I would also like to mention that the taxi company may also have to rent more vehicles while the damaged ones are under repair. This type of circumstance has the potential to greatly increase the company’s annual cost. In order to gather some relatively accurate data in regards to the durability of the vehicles that we are analyzing, we have decided to use the durability research information of older versions of the same three vehicle models. The graph that I have created below, depicts the J.D Power rankings of vehicle quality for the 2015 models of the three vehicles that are under analysis, on a 1-5 rating scale.

("JD Power Reliability Research." JD Power. 30 Oct. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.)

Fuel Economy of 2016 Suburu Impreza, Volkswagon Jetta and Ford Fiesta

City

Subaru Impreza Ford Fiesta Volkswagon Jetta 28 27 24 Highway

Subaru Impreza Ford Fiesta Volkswagon Jetta 37 37 33 Combined

Subaru Impreza Ford Fiesta Volkswagon Jetta 31 31 27

Estimated Fuel Economy (Miles/Gallon)

JD Power Reliabillity Rankings

Powertrain Quality Subaru Impreza Ford Fiesta Volkswagon Jetta 3 2 3 Body & Interior Quality Subaru Impreza Ford Fiesta Volkswagon Jetta 3 2 3 Features & Accessories Quality Subaru Impreza Ford Fiesta Volkswagon Jetta 2 5 3

Ranking (1-5)