Today in Automotive History: 1934 NY Taxi Riots
It’s hard not to think of taxis when thinking about New York City. The yellow cabs are practically synonymous with the Big Apple, and have been a part of the city’s way of life since the early 20
th century. However, things haven’t always been smooth sailing for the city’s taxi industry. 87 years ago, Feb. 5 marked the beginning the infamous NY Taxi Riots of 1934. Here’s the story of what went down on this particularly dark day in automotive history.
The story of the NY Taxi Riots
The first taxis made their way to the streets of New York City back in 1907. For the next few decades, the industry evolved along with the city, growing into a major business by the 1930s.
Car-Sploitation Movie Spotlight: ‘Rolling Vengeance’
Back in the 1980s, North America was experiencing an obsession monster trucks. It’s not hard to understand the appeal; big loud things crushing smaller things can definitely be entertaining. The jump from dirt-filled arena to movie theater was an obvious move, and there have been plenty of monster-truck movies over the years. But how many of them involve a truck driver going full
Mad Max on a bunch of boozed-up murderers operating out of a used car lot? As far as I know, only one: 1987’s
Taking a page from a certain aforementioned thriller about fast cars and revenge,
Great Car Moments in Film: ‘The Giant Gila Monster’
The fascinating and bizarre world of old public domain films is a cinematic rabbit hole not many dare venture into. But for the bravest cheese-loving cinephiles, there’s plenty of weirdness to discover and enjoy. One of the best-known public domain genre films is a little 1959 gem called
The Giant Gila Monster. Chances are you’ve seen stock footage from this Z-grade monster flick used in documentaries, music videos, and everywhere in between. But actually watching the film reveals a treasure trove of goofiness, culminating in an explosive car-vs.-lizard finale.
New Sitcom About the Auto Industry is Heading to NBC
Photo: Chevrolet
Let’s face it: pretty much every topic under the sun has had a sitcom made about it. From family dramas and sci-fi stories to shows set in airports, bars, offices, and hospitals, it seems like sitcoms have covered almost everything. But what about a story centered on the auto industry? Turns out NBC is currently developing one, and it looks to be a hoot.
NBC’s new auto-centric sitcom
Confirmation of this new sitcom came on Tuesday, when the
Detroit Free Pressbroke the news. Although little is known about the plot of the new series, we do know that it will be called