Cabbie


 * ''You may be looking for Cabby, a minivan taxi in Grand Theft Auto IV.



The Cabbie is a Checker Marathon-based four-door taxicab that has appeared in the following games:


 * Grand Theft Auto III
 * Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
 * Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
 * Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
 * Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
 * Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Design
The Cabbie is based on a 1956-82 Checker Marathon taxi; it is presumably based on the '70s and '80s models, considering the games' timelines, however its single headlights are reminiscent of the 1956 Marathon.

Performance
The Cabbie is generally slower and heavier than its more modern counterpart, the Taxi. Its handling is also inferior; the vehicle is somewhat unstable under heavy cornering, and its wobbly suspension can make it prone to rolling over, especially when driving at high speeds. These factors make the Cabbie a poor choice for the taxi side-mission, where speed is critical.

Some players, however, favor its rear-wheel drive, which is more capable of powersliding in corners. Also if the player knows how to control the Cabbie, it's large V8 engine can be potent in a fast getaway. The Cabbie is also more capable of off-roading than the modern Taxi. Lastly, the Cabbie is more durable and should last longer.

In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the Cabbie returns as the sole taxi. Its performance has been improved. Acceleration is acceptable and so is handling. These factors make the Cabbie a good car for evading police (i.e ramming police cars). There's a glitch in the iPod version of the game, where if you ride in a cabbie (paying at the end of the ride), if, after you ride in it, you steal it, it will become invindestructible. It is still unclear if ut works with the PSP or iPad versions.

Different Incarnations
There are minor cosmetic differences between Cabbies in each game:
 * In Grand Theft Auto III, the Cabbie sports a checker pattern running in a line from the front to the rear of the car.
 * In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the front of the car is slightly more rounded; the wheels are closer together, and set noticeably deeper inside the wheel wells. Its stripe also consists of forward arrows, rather than the checker pattern seen in GTA III. The Cabbie also sports a different grille design, a mesh grille as opposed to a horizontal one. The Cabbie is used by Vice City Cabs, but it is not commonly seen driving around the city as the great majority of that company's vehicles are the modern versions instead, although a Cabbie may spawn in the parking lot of the Moist Palms Hotel. However the Kaufman Cab, used by a rival taxi firm, is very similar to the Cabbie albeit a different livery and some modifications, and is the most common taxi in Vice City. GTA Vice City is the first GTA game to feature an operational taxi service, which can take formerly Wasted or Busted players to their last mission trigger.
 * In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the Cabbie's body is smoother, and lacks checker patterns.
 * In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, the Cabbie retains the design featured in GTA III.
 * In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, the Cabbie retains the design featured in GTA Vice City.
 * In Grand Theft Auto IV, the Cabbie does not appear, but has been replaced by a similarly-named cab, the minivan-style Cabby.
 * In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the Cabbie returns, and no other taxi types are present.

Players can enter Cabbies in GTA Chinatown Wars and take taxi rides to destinations.

TransFender modifications (GTA San Andreas)

 * Color
 * Wheels (ten types)
 * Nitro (All)
 * Bass Boost
 * Hydraulics

Variants

 * Borgnine
 * Kaufman Cab
 * Zebra Cab

Trivia



 * Completing the Kaufman Cabs asset in GTA Vice City unlocks the special Zebra Cab, a souped-up Cabbie.
 * After completing GTA Vice City Stories, hydraulics are unlocked for the Cabbie and the Taxi; this disables the vehicles' horns.
 * The Cabbie plays the following radio stations by default when entered:
 * VCPR in GTA Vice City and Vice City Stories.
 * Bounce FM in GTA San Andreas.
 * Espantoso in Vice city stories
 * Under the "Chinatown Wars" section of the Rockstar Games Social Club website, members may download a printable papercraft model of the game's Cabbie. The vehicle's design differs in terms of detailing.
 * In real life, Checker Marathons were pulled off the streets of NYC after a law established that taxis couldn't be more than five years old. The last one went out of service in New York in 1999. However, they appear in GTA III and Chinatown Wars, set in 2001 and 2009 respectively.

Locations
In many cases, Cabbies are only available as part of city traffic, and are not frequently parked is specific locations. However, at least two of the games do spawn Cabbies in set locations:

GTA III
 * Parked at the Mean Street Taxis depot in Trenton, Portland Island.

GTA Liberty City Stories
 * Parked in front of the Francis International Airport terminal, Shoreside Vale.