NYC taxi cabs seem to be less, well… cabby these days. Toyota RAV4 hybrids and electric Nissan vans have taken over from the classic V8-powered three-box sedans, which is of course excellent news for air quality. And quite probably ride quality. But somehow less… cabby.

Of course we’re talking nonsense, because the old three-box sedans weren’t bespoke taxis like London’s ‘Black Cabs‘ anymore than a RAV4 is, and thus you were just as likely to see them being driven by the elderly in Florida as you were in yellow NYC form.

However even now, if asked to picture a NYC yellow cab, we would still think of a shape (and era) like this.

The Chevrolet Caprice was one of several V8-powered three-box sedans used for taxi duty in New York before their electrified replacements arrived, with this superb brick-built version being a 1989 example.

Constructed by previous bloggee Jakub Marcisz, the model captures the classic cab brilliantly, including four opening doors, hood and trunk, working steering, a detailed engine bay and interior, and some wonderfully authentic NYC Taxi License decals.

There’s much more of this Chevrolet Caprice NYC cab to see at Jakub’s photostream, and you can hail a ride in New York sometime in the 1990s via the link in the text above.

*Today’s title song (a cover version that features (we think) this very Chevrolet Caprice taxi in the video. Points for us!).