The Checker Marathon sedan had the sex appeal of a bus, but longwas one of the most recognizable domestic cars. If you needed ataxicab, it also was one of the most desirable autos.
The boxy four-door Marathon was from Checker Motors, of Kalamazoo,Mich. It was the last taxicab from that small company, which endedvehicle production in 1982. But the Marathon was so rugged that itwas used long after the assembly line shut down. Always popular, itwas so tall and roomy you could quickly enter and leave it withoutducking your head much.
Checker Motors was headed by taxi czar Morris Markin. A colorfulimmigrant clothing manufacturer in Chicago, Markin began makingtaxicabs in 1922 when he founded Checker. Markin was said to have ataximeter for a heart. He died in 1970, when his son, David, tookover the company.
Markin set up manufacturing operations in Kalamazoo to escape thevicious Chicago "taxi wars," which led to the bombing of his Chicagohome in the 1920s. The Kalamazoo plant was small, but versatile. Forinstance, Checker could make hundreds of engineering changes annuallyto its vehicles in response to feedback from taxicab fleet owners anddrivers. And it could produce niche vehicles such as the 1969-70Medicar, which was a Checker with items such as a raised roof thatallowed easy wheelchair access.
The no-frills Marathon was Markin's kind of car. Never mind thatit looked dumpy, the Marathon was a no-nonsense vehicle thatseemingly lasted forever. No car-based taxicab has come close tomatching the Marathon because it was designed to be a pure taxicab.
Checker offered passenger versions of taxicabs in the late 1940s,when all new cars were desirable. But demand for the cab version wasso strong that Checker didn't seriously promote its vehicles as"civilian" cars until 1959. That's when it introduced the passengercar version of its taxicab. Called the Superba, it soon was renamedthe Marathon. Markin only allowed minor changes, such as trendy quadheadlights. Of course, the "hire light" was deleted.
The Marathon's basic design arrived in 1956 as the "A8" model andlasted with various modifications until production ceased, with about100,000 made. That gave it the longest production run of any car madein this country, even beating the Ford Model T.
The Marathon became a familiar sight because it was widely used.During part of the 1950s, fully 9,055 of New York's 11,787 taxicabswere Checkers. And Checkers were as familiar a sight in Chicago as aCTA bus.
During World War II, Markin considered a front-drive taxicab, butfinally decided on a conventional rear-drive design. The new postwarmodel was the A2, which partly resembled a 1940s Cadillac. Foldingjump seats gave it seven-occupant capacity. It was basicallyunchanged until arrival of the A8 in 1956. The A8 looked fairlymodern and had a better suspension. Its fenders and grille could bereplaced in minutes.
The upright Superba had a stark interior, although you could getpower steering, brakes and an automatic transmission.
The "last-forever" six-cylinder engine from Continental Motorgenerated up to 122 horsepower. Chicago cabdriver Tom Copocy got morethan 358,000 miles from his Checker's Continental six-cylinder,although Checker switched to more modern Chevrolet six-cylinder and V-8 engines in 1965. By 1969, even a 300-horsepower Chevy V-8 wasoffered, although most Marathons then had a 155-horsepower four-cylinder or a 235-horsepower V-8. Checker's best year in that decadewas 1962, when 8,173 cars_mostly taxicabs_were made.
New federal auto regulations caused Checker Motors to have a hardtime in the 1970s. David Markin wasn't as interested in taxicabs ashis deceased father. So in 1974, he recruited Ed Cole, the dynamicformer General Motors president, to help run the company. Colestarted a new-model development program, but died in a freak airplanecrash in 1977.
Increased competition for taxicab business from big U.S.automakers made it even harder for Checker Motors to compete in thelate 1970s. And higher labor union demands and a poor economy werethe final nails in its coffin in 1982. By then, the Marathon wasancient_although its strikingly honest design still made itappealing.
No comments:
Post a Comment