World Notes BRITAIN

Unlike the cramped taxicabs that passengers around the world must frequently endure, the tall, black and boxy London taxi is well loved for its roominess and comfort. Conservative Londoners were thus greatly alarmed when a Birmingham company called Metro Cammell Weymann said it was building a streamlined rival to the traditional taxi, which is made by London Taxis International and first appeared in 1948.

They need not have worried. Despite its more modern styling, the new cab, which was introduced last month and is known as the Metrocab, is at least equal in comfort to the older models. It has a sleeker hood but is still clearly a taxi. Its color, of course, is black. MCW plans to produce 1,000 Metrocabs in 1987, or about half the number of traditional cabs that London Taxis International sells each year.