When they see each other on the streets of New York, they often honk, wave, flash their lights and sometimes even stop to trade maintenance advice. The camaraderie is owed to a shared experience: each drives a Lexus as a New York City taxi.

In a city teeming with more than 13,000 yellow taxicabs, more than half of them Ford Crown Victorias, there are exactly six cab-ready Lexus hybrids, either the RX 400h or RX 450h, driven by cabbies who paid more than $40,000 for the privilege. The Crown Victoria costs about $28,000.

Does driving a Lexus taxi mean more money in fares and tips? No, at least not measurably. But cachet? Most definitely.

“A cab driver is dying for individuality,” said Neil Newmark, a 30-year veteran taxi driver who has been driving his Lexus for two years and who says that some independent taxi drivers try to distinguish themselves through bumper stickers. (He does not have any.) “I sort of feel like a celebrity.”