Kaufman Cabs is a taxi firm appearing in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Description[]
It is located in Little Haiti, Vice City. The business operates a fleet of Kaufman Cab taxis, and employs long-serving employee Doris as a dispatcher and Ted as a taxi driver. Kaufman Cabs' main rivals are Vice City Cabs, who are a bigger firm with more taxis.
In GTA Vice City, the business can be bought by Tommy Vercetti for $40,000 ($20,000 in the mobile version). After completing the three missions for Kaufman Cabs, the asset will earn a maximum $5,000 between pick-ups.
In GTA Vice City Stories, Kaufman Cabs is closed and doesn't have a sign just like the other assets from GTA Vice City.
Influence[]
The firm takes its name from the late actor Andy Kaufman, who played a taxi mechanic in the Taxi TV series. The depot of Kaufman Cabs also has the basic layout of the Sunshine Cab Company from the same TV series.
Known Employees[]
- Tommy Vercetti – current owner
- Doris – former owner, dispatcher
- Ted – cab driver
Rivals[]
Asset Missions[]
Intro Cutscene Transcript[]
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Gallery[]
The interior of Kaufman Cabs.
Exterior view of the building.
Alternate logo of Kaufman Cabs.
A Kaufman Cabs worker, Ted.
Purchase Cutscene[]
Tommy walks to the small office in the small cab depot he purchased.
Tommy walks into the office and finds an old lady working there, who asks hims if he's their new owner.
The old woman asks Tommy which gang he is a part of.
The lady doesn't wait for Tommy's answer and proceeds to rant about how all owners start off by saying that things will change around the depot. She also rhetorically asks if he'll assault one of the drivers to establish his dominance.
She does however ask Tommy to go easy on one of the drivers, Ted, as she says he just got his hernia fixed.
Before Tommy can say anything, she tells Tommy to just wait up, while she tells the usual speech herself.
She says that she's been repeating the same speech for years now.
The lady gets on the microphone and tells the drivers that the depot is now under new management again.
She stops her speech and asks Tommy which gang he is a part of.
Tommy tells her that he's actually not a part of any organized gang.
Since Tommy is not in any gang, the woman just asks him what's his name.
Tommy introduces himself.
The lady tells the drivers that their new management is the Vercetti Gang, that will now make sure nobody messes with the depot's business, before getting off the microphone.
After getting off the microphone, the lady runs down the basics on how the depot is supposed to be ran to Tommy.
She also tells Tommy that if there's any problems from rival businesses, then Tommy will just have to take care of them.
After finishing running down the basics, she tells Tommy to just go and grab a cab from the depot whenever he feels like helping out.
The depot is now under Tommy's control.
Trivia[]
- Sometimes, when driving a Kaufman's cab, the player hears Doris on the dispatcher giving orders to Tommy (even though there is no marker nor a side mission). It is also possible to hear her arguing with a cab driver, possibly Ted.
- The song that can be heard playing in the background during the Kaufman Cabs purchase cutscene is "Working for the Weekend" by Loverboy. It is also featured on the in-game radio station V-Rock.
- There are arcade machines inside the firm like the Pogo the Monkey game however, they are not playable.
The misplaced Texture.
- There is a calendar inside the firm but the picture is a rival cab – the VC Cabs, which is unusual as the Kaufman Cabs taxis are Cabbies. The same calendar is on the refrigerator at Phil's mobile home.
- Kaufman shares its name with a character in Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, which is another Rockstar Games title.
- There is a texture which is misplaced on one of the lamps, instead the chains on it says DMAir Rockstar.
- The interior is modeled after the set of the show Taxi by comedian Andy Kaufman which the company name is a reference to. Even the way the cabs are parked is a nod to the original.
Note how the staircase and the cabs positions are almost exactly the same
[]
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City assets | |
|---|---|
| Vice City Mainland | Boatyard | Cherry Popper Ice Cream Factory | Kaufman Cabs | Sunshine Autos | Print Works | Phil's Place |
| Vice City Beach | The Pole Position Club | Malibu Club |
| Islands | Vercetti Estate | InterGlobal Studios |