My brother in the 80's owned a 1963 white Checker. He loved that car. The jump seat in the back was removed, which left a ridiculous amount of legroom. My sister and I rolled her son's baby carriage in the back and we three went to the drive-in to watch the Blues Brothers.

I worked at Checker Motors from February 1977 to December 2008. In the Summer of 1982, I was an assembler on the cab line. I took part in the assembly of the green and ivory "last car" featured in your video. My group put the front clip on. That car is a museum piece today not too far from Kalamazoo.

Checkers are built like TANKS! Best cab rides ever in Boston in the 80's! Get in cab one day and pass in front of BSO and there's a line of traffic at light...cabbie says "Hold ON!" guns it into oncoming lane passes everyone cuts in front of line! Hahaha...a Mercedes 450 SEL decides he's going to do the same and cuts off my cab! The driver turns around says Hold on again, put's it in reverse, rams it in drive and slams into trunk of Benz! Folds the Benz trunk down to the ground and the yuppie just looks back open mouthed and cabbie just curses and says "You won't F-in cut me off again will ya!" and peels off! I was rolling in the back laughing so hard I couldn't speak. When he dropped me off I gave him every penny I had and thanked him for the most hilarious ride I've ever had! !!!!! True Story! The front bumper had a few dings and some black paint that's all! LMFAO

I daily drive one of the last. They are durable, drive very well, are easy to maintain, and it is obvious that people built it as opposed to machine. People do stop you anywhere they see you and the car to ask about it, because even without the taxi connection they draw attention. Even today, you don't drive these cars for yourself, you drive them for other people. It's nice to see a detailed, concise film about the company and a little of their legacy.

I am 57 and had been in them a bunch of times when I was a kid in the 70’s and remember how incredibly roomy the back seat was and how there was a fold up seat on the back of the front seat, and kids could sit in that little seat while adults sat in the regular seats and there was still plenty of room. I wish I had one!

My family bought a Checker Marathon straight from the factory in 1970. Four doors, AM radio, bench seats and two jump seats. My mother hauled herds of school kids, farm animals and furniture all over Central Penna. I learned to drive in that wonderful lumbering beast of a vehicle. Yes -- gas mileage sucked. But it drove where it drove and other vehicles got out of its way. Loved it. Miss it. But eventually one could see the road through the floorboards.

Had a '68 Checker Marathon wagon, original with a 283 Chevy motor, Ford cast iron auto transmission, Chrysler style electronic ignition, MOOG front steering and suspension and Dana rear axle. Front end had 12 grease fittings and rear had 2. Really was a very durable tank. Loved it.

I drove one for Checker Cab in London Ont. Canada in 1971. Loved it. Many times at the train station passengers would walk by the regular cabs in front of me and jump in my cab because they liked the leg room in a checker better. Cheers 🇨🇦

My buddy from Minneapolis brought his Checker to Mexico, years ago. We rode all over Mexico in that thing. We had a ball. And we got quite a few wide eyed looks from the locals. Later that year we drove from Minnie to Maine with that Checker , towing a boat. We made it to Sturbridge ,Massachusetts when we had a flat. Fixed the tire and cruised in style to Maine. Very reliable car. Fun Last I saw that car , it was in an Elsworth ,Maine, used car lot.

As a cabbie in 1972, I drove a checker for Yellow Cab in Pensacola, FL. You're not missing much. Heavy, slow, creaky, mushy suspension, and LOTS of play in the steering wheel. The seats were still comfortable for passengers, though.

Ive thought about those checker cabs.. because they were everywhere on tv, and they used that same 50s body style for so many years . I think we should still be keeping old automobile models alive.. especially ones like the original beetle, and other timeless models

My parents owned two Marathons a 1962 and a 1972. A back seat floor area nearly the size of a queen bed sure came in handy during my high school dating years! I also learned to drive in the '62, which had jump seats in the back. They were great cars and my Mom & Dad loved them.

Best rear leg room of any car - period. I remember seeing one entered in a demolition derby. It easily destroyed all of the competition and was still fully functional when it drove out of the ring.

Great video. I have a soft spot for Checkers. Having grown up in Boston without a family car, I've spent many hours in Checker cabs. And in the early 70's, I worked at a Checker dealer in Brookline, Massachusetts, first in the parts department, then for sales as a car jockey and new car prep. I recall that towards the end, Checker was working with GM to repurpose the new FWD cars (I think they were called X cars), but that never went anywhere. Thanks for the memories.

I drove a Checker cab for 12 years as a NYC Yellow cab driver. Best cab ever drove in my over 20 years of driving Yellow cabs. A true money maker and you couldn't kill them. I was actually one of the last Checker cab drivers in NYC when the NYC Taxi and Limosine commission forced us to replace them in 99. A tradition that was taken away from the city of New York. Taxis in just about every major city in the United States have never been the same since! Now they have cars and SUVs that don't hold up as long as the cabs of yester years. And some of these small ones that they use today look like golfcarts with roofs on them they are so small and unsafe!

My dad bought a checker in 1967 we still have the car and use it regularly just drove it yesterday and still love driving it

I drove these in 1978 LA as a cab driver. The Checkers I drove were imported from Chicago. Solid big heavy cars, lot of work to drive, they were so uncomfortable to drive that it was actually fun. They were certainly not fast. 10 MPG (fuel guage not working). Had the "bullet proof" divider. The cars I drove were old with 1/2 a million plus miles (no way to know for sure) but they did the job. They were being replaced and gone by late 79 as fleet cars (in Los Angeles). I drove a bunch of different cabs until 1987 and I don't really remember much of any of them except the Checkers. I'll never forget driving them and that's why the chance thumbnail got me here. Video is well done.

In 1971 my grandfather bought a lime green with a white roof marathon with front and rear A/C, he still owns it today in 2024, that thing is one hell of a car that has the original chevy 350 that has only had the timing chain replaced, along with the transmission never being apart. The only other things that has been done to it was recently the A/C compressor was replaced along with being converted to whatever the new automotive refrigerant is. In fact, if you look at the Checker Car Club of America magazine about the Checker convention in Hershey, Pa. in 2016. In the back of the magazine you can read the article that my grandfather wrote about the car, you can even see the photo of it siting in front of the building in Kalamazoo. Its crazy to think that was the car my father was brought home in from the hospital in back in 1972. Hope one of these days that thing gets passed on to me. I really do love that car.

Worked as a mechanic for a guy that purchased used Checkers with over 100k on them. He repainted them, tuned them up and used them in Albuquerque, NM in the mid-80’s as taxis. Yes! Very easy to maintain and work on. I loved them and still do. Made to last and damn durable. I worked on many that had 200k miles and were still running strong. Can’t even imagine that with my current vehicle. Thanks for the memories!

Thanks for explaining how the Checker car was built using Chevy parts, etc. Back in the 1970’s a Checker car came into our garage. I was told it was actually a 1950’s Chevy with the Checker name on it. You cleared up that misunderstanding.

I carried groceries out to the Markins personal dark brown Checker sedan from the Kramers Foodland grocery store I worked at in high school. They didn't want or need assistance with their groceries, but being a car guy I needed an excuse to check out their big beautiful Checker. It was a stretched version with more back seat area, sort of like a short limo.

I was a college freshman in 1973 when I bought my ‘63 Marathon. It had never been used in taxi service. It had the Continental Six with three speed manual transmission column shift, with two speed rear axle overdrive. I drove it for two years and even worked the summer of ‘73 in ocean City Maryland. Boy was that back seat huge! Fun memories and this is a fun video. Thanks for posting it.

When I was a kid in the 60s a cab was a Checker. Period. End of story. I always wondered why cabs were these old, 1950s cars. I was surprised to learn they still made them new looking like THAT! It was strange when other cars appeared painted yellow with taxi signs on the roof.

I was in the Checker Motors factory right before they closed for good. I worked for Nordson Automotive and we supplied the automated sealant and adhesive applicators. When I was there perhaps 85% of the factory was dormant and all they had was few lines making some parts for other car companies. The empty offices had the old style wooden office chairs with a coat rack in each office. I remember thinking how said it was. They were dead, but did not know it yet....

I remember riding in Checker cabs around NYC with my dad in the 1970s and 1980s I remember this because he had a preference for them and would comment about it being a Checker. I think I even rode in some where there were some seats facing backwards so passengers could face each other but I'm fuzzier about that.

I owned a 1973 Checker A10. My father bought three in total, and he drove them with a team of drivers as a way to make a living, He passed away in 1974, and I got mine from an uncle who sold me one for $600. I drove that Checker to college in 1979 and sold it late in 1982. I had used a No Parking sign as a passenger side floorboard under teh rubber floormat. I also had teh rear driver's side door welded shut, due to rust at the latch. I saw it again years later in Tuskegee, about 1991. Have not seen it since. But I did see one near Houston Hobby Airport in February 2024. The one in TX was white, and seemed to be in good shape.

As a kid in the 60s until the 90s my dad owned a string of Checker Marathons and Superbas. My new sister came home from the hospital in a green checker limo (later my parents loved the glass partition behind the front seats that muffled our fighting), I learned to drive in a white Checker wagon, and the last one had a custom gold paint job (free because my mom did ad art for a tech school that had their students paint it). That one lived in the boonies of New Jersey and had a family of mice living in it that would pop out of hiding sometimes while we were driving! Checkers were boats with poor gas mileage and no steering feel, but they were very reliable and a ton of fun to drive around. I also rode in tons of checker taxis, since for most of my childhood in the 60s and 70s we lived in NYC. The little fold up jump seats in back were so cool!

This past summer I was following one of the Checker Airport Limousines down a country road in Michigan. It seemed fully loaded - I could count eight passengers and driver. Nicely restored car. A nice way to take ALL your friends on a Saturday afternoon ride.

I drove a hack in DC for years and you saw few Checkers. And they were during the 60's. We had them at Ft Knox too. Now, Uber drivers aren't even registered & the taxi industry is pretty much gone. Thanks for posting

As a young man in the 80’s growing up in NY, i had a neighbor that had an absolutely pristine Checker Marathon. It was maroon with a black vinyl top. It was a private cab driven by a little old lady in her late 60’s, early 70’s. We felt something special when we got a lift from that cab compared to other NY cabs. Theres also a guy out here in Arizona that has 3. Ones a short wheelbase limo. Very cool cars.

In December 1979 I took delivery of my first brand-new car: a Checker in French racing blue. It was a SUV before the genre existed, being taller than most traffic, extremely durable, and shockingly roomy inside. With almost perfect fore-aft balance and a limited-slip differential it could climb a mountain road past snow-bound front and rear-drive sedans without slipping a wheel. On ski trips with two couples we could carry the skis inside, flat on the floor, passing under the front seats. With the ski tails under a few blankets, both gals could sleep in back, one on the floor, one on the rear seat, as we motored along during the night. Each summer, Old Blue became a beach-buggy. I could place a huge cooler on the flat floor behind the front seat and carry 5 in back and 3 in front out to the sand, with a large trunk for chairs and umbrellas. The bumpers were indestructible, a virtue which was proven on several occasions. The roof was the perfect height and length for secure canoe carriage, and the stout chassis with skid plates made for a surprising off-road capacity. At one point my ex-wife damaged a rear fender. A replacement cost $79 in the early 1980s and was held in place with five easy to reach bolts. The only major flaw in my copy was the tendency for the body to rust in the seams under each corner of the rear window. I think this was made worse when Checker was required to abandon real lead for bondo on the welded body seams.

I can remember seeing the Checker Aerobuses at Logan Airport when I was a kid. My Dad drove Marathons when he was young for a local “in-town company “ in Winthrop, Mass in the 60’s. Lastly, I can still remember taking off with a few friends one aimless night when I was a teenager in 1989 and ending up in New York City. I saw those beautiful, iconic Checkers flying through traffic exactly like they were portrayed in every movie. It was quite a sight.

I rode in one as late as 2010. Close to Destin Beach, FL. Best cab i have ever been in. If i could find one would love to carry around grandkids in it. The driver looked like Wolfman Jack had it painted in a safari style. Had him on speed dial used his service alot. Loved it. Thanx for the memories

My family and I rode in a checker cab for the first time in 1970 from the old Pittsburgh international Airport to our new home in the North Hills suburb of the city. All 6 of us piled in! I ended up sitting on one of two of the fold-out seats in the back (like bar stools). I was small (8 yrs old) so it wasn't uncomfortable at all. I remember the 45 minute cab ride was at night but very smooth, I enjoyed it. A great Checker Cab memory. Great video, I learned a lot!

This is a nice video of a car built for longevity. This sounds like my 1981 Mercedes Benz W123 240d diesel. It is the Checker Taxi of Europe.

I owned a 1971 Marathon station wagon. I purchased it at a yard sale(!) in the mid 80s and drove it for several years. While certainly a fuel hog (mine had TWO gas tanks!) I loved it. It could easily handle blizzard conditions in a Southwestern Ontario winter.

My dad did maintenance work for a big real estate management company back in the 90s, and he's fond of recounting an old fella that he saw around town often daily driving a checker cab with steel girder bumpers and door armor - mostly because of how fast folks made way for him

I had a 62 Marathon. Completely removed the back seat, built a platform and squeezed in a queen sized mattress. Drove it back and forth across the country and up and down the Baja peninsula between 1967 and 1970. Never had to do a lick of work on her; one brake job in all that time. Bought in Norfolk , Va. for $250.00 and sold it in California for $500.00

My best friend's mom owned a grey civilian spec 1978 Checker Marathon, when the HOA got on them about it sitting around, I had to help them sell it. A guy offered the day after listing it to come down and buy it for more than asking price (I think it was $1k when I asked $800). Keep in mind this thing had a rough life, lots of rust and it did run, but basically needed to be completely gone through. It turns out he restores cars and rents them out to film studios. I'm glad it went to a good home, and I hope to maybe see it at some point on TV or in the movies.

Checker Marathon cars are awesome. Love those things. Too bad they all disappeared overnight. Gone man, just gone.

I took auto body painting and repair in 87-88 in Northern Virginia. The school had the Checker cab that Mr. T drove in DC Cab which never won enough votes to get restored as the 69 Z-28 the instructor had did. That Z looked like it was made of glass but got sanded down with the repair panels cut out so it could be restored again. I've always wondered what happened to that Checker especially after learning about Mr T's personal life and what he stood for.

My first car was a 1964 Marathon! $185.00 in 1974. Three speed on the column. Loved that car. This was a fun listen.

Worked with a guy who owned a Checker in the 70's and rented(?) it out to another driver when he was working with me. He said it was awful. He had to cable the front fenders to each other across the engine bay because they were coming loose and he was afraid they would fall off. Thanks for the video.

I rarely have used cabs in the US, but when I did, the Checker was my favorite “back in the day”, because they were so easy to get in and out of. These days, the minivans are my favorites. And I’m finding that the older I get, the more I value the ingress/egress ease. (Some of those Asian cabs I can hardly fit in!)

My favorite Checker Cab moment on TV was F.R.I.E.N.D.S when Phoebe(Lisa Kudrow) inherited an old Checker Cab from a relative and everytime she hits the brakes, the rear seat passengers hits their heads on the plexiglass partition.😆😆😆

Like many folks,I’ve seen Checker Cabs,but I thought they were old 50s models from other manufacturers that were constantly rebuilt (I’m not a big car guy). Now I know the real history and I’m always thankful for that.

I own several Checkers and have great memories of plant visits and CMC employee support. Thanks for posting a very accurate video.

As a former "car guy," I've long had interest in Checker. While I realized most Checkers were used as cabs--in cities all over the country--I also knew, I think via National Geographic, that Checker had tried to sell cars in the consumer market. Your history here explained perfectly things I previously did not fully understand. Thank you for this interesting presentation! (I note the "Land Rover" book on the bookshelf behind you. That was the auto company I was involved with from the 1960's to 1986.) Andy McKane, 27 December 2022.

Great video...my father owned the ad agency for Checker Motors for many years so a lot of the marketing materials were actually created by him and his team. As a child, I met Morris and his son David a number of times and have great memories of visiting the Checker Motors plant in Kalamazoo in the mid 60's.

My dad bought one in the 80's and had it completely refurbished, it was like a new car. I drove it all the time, I loved it.

I drove a Checker cab in Chicago in the early '70s and remember the cars well. Their large size and boxy shape gave them plenty of room for as many as six passengers and their luggage. They were great cars built for a purpose. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

I remember Checker cabs and rode in them when I was young. The Checker car I rode in was a a boxy square car. An A 9 or A 12. They were sturdy but not glamorous. They were built to last forever. They were homely but way more sturdy than cars from GM or Ford. It it is too bad that there are no taxis made today that have that kind of practical made for the long haul approach.

In 1971 I was stationed at Ft Knox and these were how we got around. It was fifty cents to go anywhere on base ( I was in for 9 months that year and according to my SS records I made $4000 to give an idea of how much a private made). With two pull down jump seats mounted on the back of the front seat the drivers could get five of us in the back and another two in front, though sometimes they squeezed in more. Another service on post was fried chicken delivery, always thought that was a good idea, the only place I saw that again was in the 1972 movie The Mechanic.

The Checker Marathon will forever have a soft spot in my heart. Between 1968 and 1971 if I became sick at school it was a Checker Marathon taxi that brought me home. In 71 my mom bought a car.

I grew up in Chicago in the 70s, and my downstairs neighbor had a Checker as their family car. The car was an absolute beast, but I loved climbing around inside it. It had features and space that I could only dream of - my dad had a Pinto. 😂

I retired last year after 41 years as a fleet services mechanic for a large city fleet department. For the past 23 years I have been driving Ford Crown Victorias as personal transportation cars. I have owned 4 of them, counting my current one. Sadly one was totaled after owning it for less than a year. All were bought used, and I have put more than a million miles on them. My current 2006 model has just over 320,000 miles. For a "modern" car, these are by far the best transportation car available. They are big, have a V8 engine, rear wheel drive, body on frame construction, and a solid rear axle. Millions were made, and there are enough cars and parts to keep one going for at least another 20-30 years, especially when you include the Crown Vics sister car, the Mercury Grand Marquis. And having worked on them for the past several decades, I am completely familiar with them. But I hate computerized electronics on cars. I am a mechanic, not a computer technician, though I was forced to become one at work. I love MACHINES. For decades I have wanted a last generation Checker as a transportation car. I love their mechanical simplicity, durability, lack of electronics, and looks. I have found several for sale, but most of them have been modified, they are ridiculously expensive, and most parts are no longer available for them. With modern cars being so expensive, complicated, and so fragile that minor damage will often total them, something like the Checker is exactly what we need right now. I may wind up buying one anyway, just because I want it.

What a great video. Thank you so much for all your hard work on this. There used to be a cab company in my hometown that had a Checker cab. Believe it or not, I actually saw one of the civilian wagons at a car show a few years ago👍

My father tried to get an agency for selling checkers in around l967. He couldnt get it done. He had been a dealer for Ford for over 30 yrs. My father died a few years after this but I have always been interested in Checker Cabs b/c of my Dad. I really enjoyed this video. Thanks you very much.. Charley Kilmer

Back in 1978 me and a friend were driving a big rig cross countryHe got sick at 4am in Topeka Kansas in a truck stop.I called a cab to take us to the hospital and a guy showed up in a Checker.I didn’t expect that.Pretty cool👍

Amazing story, brings back a lot of memories. Thank you putting this piece together.

What a neat history lesson. I've gotta soft spot for checkers, my grandparents owned 1 in the the 80s it lasted till the late 90s. I remember the road trips from Michigan to Minnesota, I even learned how to drive on it also had my first little accident in it to. It was tuff just a little dent on the bumper and the other car front end crunched. That car held so many people and stuff, so much stuff 😁

My sister drove Taxi. It was a Checker marathon. Nice Car. I was a child in the early 60s and my sister in law watched me and she would call a cab here in Chicago to take us to a few places in the neighborhood. I remember once she had a cab from the era before the marathon body style. It was so roomy in the back with jump seats. We often got marathons with jump seats as well. As a child, the jump seats were really a treat. They had great heaters in them. Thanks for this video.

What an amazing history. Time well spent.

In the NYC 1970s I used to ride on the folding seats as a kid, even when I was alone in the cab. Then, after awhile I think they took those seats out for safety reasons, lol.

The REO Motor Car Co. was actually pronounced "Rio". An abbreviation of the founders name, Ransom E. Olds. Yes the founder of Oldsmobile as well. Great video btw, and thanks so much for sharing!

I used to work with a guy that had a couple of these things. He had a yellow one, kinda beat up, a little rusty, but it was considered a classic and was insured for over 10,000$

I drove a checker cab in Los Angeles in 1981, it was a 1964 model that was not taken good care of but I love how you could see down the road. I wish I could find one for sale right now

NATTC Millington, Tn. the Navy's avation training center in the 80s had a Checker Aerobus. It was part of the auto pool on base and was used to pick up and ferry after school working parties around base. That thing was a hoot. Big comfy seats that could seat 4, no power steering, and it was a land yacht of epic awesomeness!

Checker Cabs were once such a mainstay of all the big Metropolei and American culture in general. From the real world to film and T.V (TAXI! lol) I, sadly, have never seen one in the "flesh", but anytime I think of New York or somewheres like that; I still think of them as a part of the landscape of the big cities. Great show, sir! I learned a lot! I'm heading back to part 2 now! Thank you! :)

I drove a checker when going to college in NYC loved the size of car and when I was given it to drive it was relevantly new ....

When I was a little guy, my dad had a Checker A9 that was our family car. We had it from 1959 to 1966. My sister and I loved that car, because it gave us a built-in playroom while we were on long trips.

Very interesting. I always thought Checker Cabs were 50s era Chevy Bel Airs. There was one that was used as a race car at a local racetrack in the early 1970s. It was painted yellow if memories serves, with the roof cut off, and a full roll cage. Those were the days.

Well done John! Always loved the Checker. Now we know the rest of the story of a great iconic vehicle.

I am 54 and live in Canada so I never was able to ride in one. It has always been a interesting story to me. I remember watching the show Taxi as I was growing up. That is where my love and interest of the Checkers Taxi cars started.

Thanks for the great video, Back in the 80's I drove cab in Rochester Minnesota home of the Mayo clinic and drove a Checker cab, what a trip let me tell you my cab was "ultra reliable" It never broke down and in the cold Minnesota weather it "always started" it had a massive interior and was super easy to inter and exit with an ultra high head room capacity!! I'd own one in a minute!! Mine had a 250 cu. in. in line chevy six cylinder and was not a speed demon but I always got my fare where they wanted to go!! Handled perfect and rode like a cadillac!! Great car, wish I had one now!!!!!

I grew up in an area that was an active oil field. The men that drove around and kept an eye on the pumps drove Checkers. They were the only ones I ever saw that weren't taxis

UPS came to town (Canada) in the seventies. They were restricted to only using cars, so they bought Checkers, painted them brown and fueled them with propane. Was very common to see them on the highway between Toronto and Montreal. Today it is a free-for-all....everybody uses trucks.

Interesting timing watching this because a classmate visiting North Carolina where I now live came to visit me last month at work. Growing up in a small town her family owned none other than a black Checker as their family sedan. And we talked about that car. I rode in it twice as a boy and it was huge inside. I always assumed it was a retired taxi painted black not knowing these were offered to the public. Thank you for the history lesson.

I worked a auto salvage yard where the owner had several Checker Marathon Cabs. He came into the yard one day to show me the heavy duty design on a early and late 50s Checker the bumpers brakes suspension chassis and body metal was of heavier manufacture of any vehicle I ever observed as passenger transport. 😊

I had a '65 Marathon with the Chevy 230 six. I consistently got 20 mpg. Enjoyed the car, but the tiny non-powered drum brakes were undersized and required a heavy foot to stop. Regardless, it was a nice car to tool around in and had enough power to drive with freeway traffic as well, as long as yu allowed for stopping distance.

Drove an old orange Checker in Albuquerque in the 80s. It got around and never left me stranded.

its awesome that the last yellow checker taxi IN N.Y. retired in 1999 with a hair under a million miles. I never saw a civilian marathon on the road in Boston.

I drove a Checker for Yellow Cab in San Antonio back in 1970. Later used my Chauffeur's license to drive for the city's bus system. Later still, I got a real job with the US Army in '72. 😃

Great video, I forgot about Checker. 25 years ago, my grandparents bought be a book on cars from the 50's and that's where I learned about them. Checker cabs were also used in a few videogames too.

I remember checkers from NYC in the 80s. Great video. Thanks for the memories and a whole bunch of info I never knew!

I believe not too long after Checker stopped making cars, I read a comment in a syndicated newspaper column from either New York or San Francisco that said something like "All cabs should be Checkers", or similar. That's because they were so easy to get in and out of, compared to regular American passenger cars. Wide back doors, lots of headroom and legroom, and a floor at a convenient height.

Thank you for a walk down memory lane. My uncle had a blue Checker around 1960 to 63. I Rembrandt thumping the fender with my fist and the sturdy thumping sound it made. He owned 30 acres of land east of Cleveland and farmed it for fun in addition to his regular job. Never worried about it when he tracked mud in it because he just open the 4 doors and hose it out.

Great video and solved a mystery to me as to what Make/Model those custom nosed Cabs were in a 40's street video I caught. Checker Cab never entered my mind !!! thanks! and yes, those gave them distinctive looking front

As a Kalamazoo native, I recall a story from a neighbor that worked at Checker who told me about Checker packing up all of the equipment here in Kalamazoo into semi's and hauling it all to a location down south. Basically left town and didn't tell their employees. Probably to break the Union I assume.

Remembering fitting a four piece rock band into two Checker cabs in those punk rock days

I've worked in auto parts my entire career, and maybe 15 years ago I dealt with a customer who had not one, but two Checkers. I had no concept of the limousine background of Checkers, so when I saw that one of this guy's cars was a limo, I figured it was a taxi cab someone had modified. It was basically a stretched taxi with a front, middle, and rear set of doors, black and silver paint job, and if I recall correctly it was an early '80's model. He told me it was a former airline limo. His other Checker was a standard taxi-type body, but a legitimately civilian-duty version. Not knowing much of anything about them, I do remember that they were Marathons. When I say I didn't know much about Checkers, I actually had a little experience with them. In 1988 I was "enjoying" Army basic training at Fort Lost in the Woods, Misery, er, Leonard Wood, Missouri. After graduation and before moving to Fort Ben Harrison, Indiana for schooling, one particular day I had to get across post, and I took my first and last ride in a genuine Checker cab. I can't remember if it was yellow or not, but I do remember the cavernous passenger space inside, making it seem like a much bigger car on the inside than it was on the outside. I remember that it had fold-down jump seats, and the biggest trunk I'd ever seen. I and another Private I didn't know had a nice conversation with the driver, an older man who informed us that the car had a little over 300,000 miles on a Pontiac V6. I dimly recall that he might have said that the engine had been transplanted in the far past and that the original engine was a different make. Not sure about that. Now that I think about it, that was actually the only taxi ride I've ever had in my life, and I remember as he drove off that if it weren't such an ugly car I wouldn't mind having one (hey, I was 18 and this was the era when aerodynamic swoopiness was replacing the stodgy three-cube styles). Age has changed my opinion on the looks, and I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I could find a decent example. Thank you for this very interesting video (and trip down Memory Lane)! PS - edited to tell you I subscribed.

I'm from Indianapolis, but lived in Grand Rapids in the mid 80's, and drove by the Kalamazoo Checker plant a few times. Their "test track" was north of the plant and on the southwest corner of North Pitcher St and E. Mosel Ave. It was right next to the chain link fence and is still visible on Googe Maps. Wish I could have seen them checking out a Checker.

Thanks for making this video. I’ve always wondered who made those cars that looked like the were from the 60’s but were cabs everywhere well into the 90’s or later it seemed. The story of the yellow cab company and the taxi cab wars are just as exiting and interesting, now that this wormhole has opened

I remember riding in checker cabs in the 60’s and 70’s, they were BEST way to go if and when you rode in a taxi 🚖.

Great video, nice work! My dad and grandpa would buy old cabs, fix them up, repaint them, and use them to cart us kids around! One survives to this day and runs and drives in their memory. Original GM 229 V6 with 3-speed Hydramatic transmission. If you're ever in Cleveland, Ohio you could take it for a drive.

Hey I love your channel and can't wait for more. You're a natural storyteller!

I recall that some Checker cabs in NYC that continued to be used into the 1980's & 1990's had an x shaped paring of chains inside of the back window to hold them together. The potholed streets of NYC were very bad on them. They did have the advantage of room, bolt on fenders, a full chassis so easier to do body work on. Most of the fleets had moved from Checkers in the early 1970's, mostly to Plymouth and Dodge mid-sized models with the slant-6 motors as cheaper to buy, maintain and fix. Checkers were more commonly used by single owners. I also recall the 6 to 8 door 'airport limo/station wagons operating at JFK and LGA airports, mainly operated by company serving persons going to/from south eastern Connecticut.

New York City. I grew up in Manhattan. That car was a major part of our city.

Thank you for making this. My Grandfather retired from Checker Motor Company in the late '70s. I remember picking him up from work with our Grandmother at the gate. This video takes me back!

Nicely researched and presented. I used to drive one in Boston in the ‘60’s. A real tank.