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> Isn't the average Japanese taxi some big Toyota Crown sedan already? How much more premium than that can you go? Toyota Century :) https://www.wsj.com/artic

> Isn't the average Japanese taxi some big Toyota Crown sedan already? How much more premium than that can you go? Toyota Century :) https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-new-emperor-picks-his-ridean-old-school-toyota-11556366401 https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-new-emperor-picks-his-ri... Edit: Super short TL;DR from the article > Introduced in 1967, the Century isn’t for the flashy or hasty. Prospective customers can wait months because Toyota hand-builds each one. Background checks ensure the buyer is of an appropriate caliber, and not a member of an “antisocial organization”—a Japanese euphemism for the yakuza crime syndicates. It's only sold in Japan. Edit 2: Some more information courtesy of Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Century

roystonvassey 7y ago
Wow. That’s a fine looking car.
jessaustin 7y ago
Are we sure that's the same car used for taxis?
- kalleboo 7y ago
  He's answering the question "How much more premium than that can you go"
mlacks 7y ago
It’s not the Century, it’s the Comfort. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Comfort https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Comfort The Century was designed for CEOs and heads of state, the Comfort was designed as a general purpose Taxi.
dmix 7y ago
I love that quote about Yakuza. It’s so Japanese. Reminds me of mobsters in America driving Cadillac’s and how much that probably helped sales. I know my dad loved watching mob movies and bought a Cadillac in the 90s that was straight out of the movies. I’m curious if there was a badass motivation there similar to middle class suburbanites owning a Harley style motorcycle.
cattlefarmer 7y ago
Those background checks don't seem to be working. Lots of 'yankees' running around in pimped up centuries. https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%83%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%80%80%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%83%81%E3%83%A5%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%83%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AD%...

roystonvassey 7y ago

Wow. That’s a fine looking car.

jessaustin 7y ago

Are we sure that's the same car used for taxis?

kalleboo 7y ago
He's answering the question "How much more premium than that can you go"

mlacks 7y ago

It’s not the Century, it’s the Comfort. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Comfort https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Comfort The Century was designed for CEOs and heads of state, the Comfort was designed as a general purpose Taxi.

dmix 7y ago

I love that quote about Yakuza. It’s so Japanese. Reminds me of mobsters in America driving Cadillac’s and how much that probably helped sales. I know my dad loved watching mob movies and bought a Cadillac in the 90s that was straight out of the movies. I’m curious if there was a badass motivation there similar to middle class suburbanites owning a Harley style motorcycle.

cattlefarmer 7y ago

Those background checks don't seem to be working. Lots of 'yankees' running around in pimped up centuries. https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%83%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%80%80%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%83%81%E3%83%A5%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%83%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AD%...