Gypsy Cab involves Steve (a “dude” from Colorado) who’s never driven in NYC, driving a gypsy cab which is actually the new VW Rabbit. Every fare is recorded Taxi Cab confessional style. My “favorite fare” is #2, a west virginian family exploring the city with Steve (who also hosts his own public access show from his car back in Colorado). The situation has really been perfectly crafted for comedy. Steve has no clue where he’s going and isn’t any sort of polished host, which allows for the unexpected at every turn.

This concept is a way to build a conversation that VW consumers can be a part of. It is very well designed as way to engage people and get them talking, more about the experience than the car. They have really succeeded in creating interesting content that happens to also meet their goals. Where it slips is that there’s no way for visitors to share their favorite fares. For example I can’t post my favorite fare here as I could a YouTube video, nor can I even link to it. That seems to create quite a dead end in the conversation. This would also be perfect for a video podcast or a myspace page, it’s surprising that they haven’t followed through.

Gypsy Cab Project