The making of a Mazida - A Three Wheeled Motorized Taxi

Anyone who ventures out into the suburbs on the outskirts of Nanjing will be aware of the ever increasing presence of the Maz-ida; the three wheel motorized Rickshaw.  

These three wheeled trikes are converted by a number of companies around the city who take a basic vehicle and build them up according to customer's specification.

Basic vehicle awaiting conversion to mazida 

According to one of the workers;

“It takes roughly six hours to complete one vehicle from start to finish, three hours for the welding and painting. Then once the paint is dry, the final stage is completed in about the same time.”

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"As well has having three engine sizes, 125.150 and 155cc they can be specified with a fold down rack at the back for carrying awkward items like bicycles or carrying a spare wheel. Some customers prefer the front light to turn with the vehicle, whereas these days most prefer the front light re-affixed to the front panel.”

Once the frame is affixed to the chassis and is dry, the process of cutting and fitting the panels, converting the brakes, re-affixing the front light, inserting the seats and the windows is complete.

The lady behind is responsible for cutting most of the panels inside, fitting them as well as fitting the seats and the windows.

The man in the foreground bends and shapes some of the front panels and fits them, he then converts the brakes and reworks the front  front lights of the vehicle.

The Final Vehicle

 

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And what kind of life span can the proud owner of such a vehicle expect? According to the converters, the mazida taxis usually last about five years.

So next time it is raining, you are tired, or have some luggage you don’t want to carry and you scuttle into the comfort and safety of a three wheel motorized taxi. You can now say you know a bit about how it is made. You can also sit back happy in the knowledge that they are made locally, and offer good benefits to the local economy.

Comments

[sally]

I posted a comment about this interesting topic, but I think it was "dropped" by the computer. Anyway, I am sorry for the double posting, if there is a double posting.

"Mazida" is a great word to describe these machines. Other foreigners have called them "mafia cabs". This is because, where I lived in China, the windows were blacked-out and the driver wore a ski mask and ear muffs.

The Mazida, although convenient, has a few drawbacks. First: the passenger needs to be very thin, as thin as the edge of a coin in fact, to get in. Second: although quiet when crusing down the street, inside this mode of transport it sounds like ten pennies rattling around in a beggers bean can.

Because of the noise, communication with the driver requires either telepathy or hand signals. Three days after getting out of the Mazida one can still recall the clanging.

[Administrator]

"Mafia-cab" - never heard of that one Rob!

One of the funny and never quite explained phenomena of these things are the way some of them pound down the road at an electric pace, where as some of them never ever seem to get going. Some of them have good suspension and others leave you rattling like a pneumatic drill five minutes after you dismount.

All the drivers I knew avoided the well known pot-holes and bumps with skill and aplomb. However when it comes to overtaking and sheer safety issues as long as they get an inch infront of another vehicle - its all systems go!