Checker Motors Corporation

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Checker Motors Corporation logo (from the mid-1960s)

The Checker Motors Corporation is an automotive supplier in Kalamazoo ( Michigan ), which until 1982 Checker Cab - Taxis created. Checker was founded in 1922 by Morris Markin through the merger of Commonwealth Motors Corporation and Markin Body Manufacturing Corporation (a body manufacturer).

history

The Russian immigrant Morris Markin , a clothier from Chicago ( Illinois ), brought a body builder in Joliet (Illinois) in his possession when the owner could not repay a personal loan of $ 15,000 to Markin. The company manufactured bodies for Commonwealth Motors , which sold their cars to taxi companies under the brand name Mogul .

Checker Taxi - a Chicago taxi company with no connection whatsoever to Markin - hired a large number of Mughal taxis from Commonwealth. With Commonwealth nearly bankrupt, Markin merged the two companies to fulfill Checker Taxi's order in Chicago. He named the resulting company the Checker Cab Company .

John D. Hertz started his taxi business in 1910, producing and using the yellow taxi vehicles himself. Since he produced more "Yellow Cabs" than he needed for his taxi service, he rented the surplus vehicles in his "Yellow Drive-Ur-Self" department (a forerunner of Hertz car rental ) to other owners. Markin saw the success of Hertz and began gradually buying up Checker Taxi cars until he took over the company entirely in 1937.

Markin also followed Hertz's business principles in other ways: the drivers had their own uniforms and had to open the doors to the passengers. Competition in the taxi business was fierce in the 1920s; the drivers fought each other for customers. The battle between the two taxi companies culminated in a bomb attack on Markin's private home. Since the decision was Markin, where to buy -Automobilfabrik in Kalamazoo (Michigan) and relocate Checker there.

Under Markin, Checker became the first taxi company to hire African-American drivers and the first to require their drivers to take all passengers, not just whites.

Hertz had sold his taxi business Yellow Cab to the Parmalee Transportation Company and when his first-class racehorses were burned in 1929, he left the taxi business entirely. Markin bought Hertz's shares, then another third of Parmalee's shares, taking control of Parmalee and Yellow Cab.

Hertz had given up his taxi business. Its automobile production went to GM , which they wanted to sell, however, and therefore made Markin a cheap offer. But Markin refused. GM did not give up the taxi production, but entered the taxi business under the name Terminal Taxi Cab , and so a second taxi war broke out in New York between Terminal and Checker. To end it, Mayor Jimmy Walker set up the New York Taxi Cab Commission , which then stipulated that all New York taxis must be built specifically for this purpose and no longer be converted into private cars.

Markin sold Checker Cab to Errett Lobban Cord , but bought the company back in 1936. In 1940 Parmalee (with Yellow Cab and Checker Cab) became the largest taxi company in the United States. The income of this taxi company exceeded that of the Checker car factory, and in 1961 the decision was made to enter the market for private cars as well.

In 1964, New York State fined Markin and Checker for controlling both the construction and operation of the taxis, thereby gaining an unjustified competitive advantage. Instead of allowing Checker drivers to buy other brands of cars, he began selling New York taxi licenses.

In 1977, seven years after the death of Morris Markin, retired GM President Edward N. Cole bought into Checker to revitalize the company and develop a new, modern Checker vehicle. Cole's plan was to purchase partially assembled Volkswagen from the VW plant in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania . Cole wanted to take the Volkswagen to the Checker factory in Kalamazoo, cut it apart in half, use a center section as an extension, raise the roof, and sell it as a taxi. A little later, however, Cole died in a plane crash near Kalamazoo.

Checker Taxi (1982) in green and cream with “Checkerboard” equipment

Since the Marathon model was outdated, could no longer be sold in reasonable quantities and there was no money for the development of a new model, Checker said goodbye to automobile manufacturing. The design of the marathon was from the mid-1950s, which gave Checker a number of problems as the years progressed. There have been some minor changes. At first, impact energy-absorbing bumpers were added when this was required by federal law. Then the steering column and steering wheel were exchanged for specimens that were shock-absorbing in the event of an accident, when the safety regulations required this. The folding emergency seats at the rear were also left out, as they no longer met the safety requirements.

The heavy cars, built according to the technical standards of the 1930s, had very high gasoline consumption. The engine compartment was sized for the Lycoming engine, which took up a lot of space. When production of this machine was discontinued in 1960, the Checker got a six-cylinder in-line engine from Chevrolet . This engine and the optionally available Chevrolet V8 were installed until the late 1970s. When Chevrolet stopped building in-line engines, Checker switched to a small V6 engine, which Chevrolet also used for its own vehicles.

Some V6s were converted to propane gas operation . Many press tools for the body were worn out after 20 years. Therefore, the sheet metal parts had to be manually adjusted by the bodybuilder during assembly. This applies above all to fenders and doors, as they were often damaged in minor accidents in taxi operations and had to be replaced. The last cars were made in model year 1982; the last copy left the assembly line on July 12, 1982.

In 1989, Checker Motors and Checker Holding Company were merged with International Controls (Great Dane Trailers) . The company later changed its name to GRA Holdings . In 1995, the company was split into three wholly owned subsidiaries: Yellow Cab (operates and rents cabs in Chicago), Chicago Taxiworks (taxi repairs and other services) and CMC Kalamazoo . Other subsidiaries include American Country Insurance Company (property and casualty insurer), Great Dane (largest US manufacturer of truck trailers, containers and chassis), and South Charleston Stamping & Manufacturing Company (manufacture of body panels). The company was renamed Great Dane Ltd. Partnership renamed and now owned by CC Industries in Chicago.

Checker Motors is now a subsidiary of CC Industries and primarily supplies body parts to General Motors.

commercial vehicles

Checker taxi
Checker Aerobus
Checker Bantam Jeep prototype

Checker is best known for its taxi vehicles. In the 1930s, Checker also built trailers for Sears-Roebuck and driver's cabs for Ford . Checker also made four prototypes of the jeep that were tested by the US Army. They had all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. During World War II , Checker built vehicles and trailers for recovering tanks, and tank trailers and trailers for other purposes.

The Checker designs changed little; Markin stuck to certain design details long after major automakers abandoned them. The cars had open fenders until the 1940s, as this, according to Markin, saved the taxi owners the repair costs for the traces of small bumps. The taxi models were designated with combinations of letters; fundamental model changes (new main systems etc.) were indicated by the following combinations of letters.

Commercial vehicles were also given combinations of letters instead of model names. One exception is the Checker Aerobus , an extended version of the taxi that was built on a long chassis and had separate doors for each row of seats. The aerobus is often associated with airports or train stations, but holiday organizers and hotels also had these vehicles to transport their guests.

Private vehicles

From 1922 to 1959 Checker manufactured almost exclusively taxi vehicles; Upon request, some copies were made for private use. However, when Checker saw the demand for taxis drop, they entered the private car market.

In 1960, Checker introduced the Superba , the first private model of its own. In 1962 the marathon followed , which replaced the Superba Special.

Checker automobiles could easily be sold on the grounds of their longevity and unchanged design. Checker advertised its cars as 200,000-mile cars when many US automakers did not guarantee mileage.

When the marathon was completely out of date and there was no money for new developments, Checker Motors made its last car in 1982 after the Markin family decided to exit the auto business instead of engaging in union demands.

Models

model Construction period cylinder Displacement power wheelbase
Model c 1920-1921 4 cyl.
Model C-44 1922 4 cyl. 40 bhp (29 kW)
Model H-2 1923 4 cyl. 22.5 bhp (16.5 kW) 2972 mm
Model E. 1924-1926 4 cyl. 22.5 bhp (16.5 kW) 2972 mm
Model F 1926-1927 4 cyl. 22.5 bhp (16.5 kW) 2972 mm
Model G-4 1927-1928 4 cyl. 22.5 bhp (16.5 kW) 2972 mm
Model G-6 1927-1928 6 cyl. 27.3 bhp (20 kW) 3169 mm
Model K-6 1929-1932 6 cyl. 27.3 bhp (20 kW) 3226 mm
Model M 1931-1932 6 cyl. 61.5 bhp (45.2 kW) 3099 mm
Model T 1933-1934 8 cyl. 98 bhp (72 kW)
Model Y-6 1935-1936 6 cyl. 80 bhp (59 kW)
Model Y-8 1935-1939 8 cyl. 148 bhp (109 kW)
Model a 1940-1941 6 cyl. 80 bhp (59 kW)
Model A-8 1956-1958 6 cyl. 3636 cc 80 bhp (59 kW) 3048 mm
Model A-9 1959-1962 6 cyl. 3636 cc 80 bhp (59 kW) 3048 mm
Superba A-10 1960–1962 6 cyl. 3636 cc 80–122 bhp (59–90 kW) 3048 mm
Superba A-12 1963 6 cyl. 3636 cc 80–141 bhp (59–104 kW) 3048 mm
Marathon A-12 1963-1964 6 cyl. 3636 cc 80–141 bhp (59–104 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1965-1968 6 cyl. 3700 cc 140 bhp (103 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1965-1967 8 cyl. 4553 cc 195 bhp (143 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1967-1969 8 cyl. 5260 cc 250 bhp (184 kW) 3048 mm
Marathon A-12 1968 8 cyl. 4939 cc 200 bhp (147 kW) 3048 mm
Marathon A-12 1969-1970 6 cyl. 4020 cc 155 bhp (114 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1969 8 cyl. 5260 cc 235 bhp (173 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1969 8 cyl. 5630 cc 300 bhp (221 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1970 8 cyl. 5630 cc 250 bhp (184 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1971-1972 6 cyl. 4022 cc 145 bhp (107 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1971-1972 8 cyl. 5630 cc 245 bhp (180 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1973-1982 6 cyl. 4022 cc 100 bhp (74 kW) 3048-3277 mm
Marathon A-12 1973-1982 8 cyl. 5630 cc 145 bhp (107 kW) 3048-3277 mm

Web links

Commons : Checker Motors Corporation  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

literature

  • Betty Cornfeld: The Checker Cab: In Memoriam. In: Quintessences: the Quality of Having It. Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, New York 1983, p. 94.
  • Beverly R. Kimes, (Editor), Henry A. Clark: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1945. Krause Publications, 1996, ISBN 0-87341-428-4 .
  • John Gunnell (Ed.): The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Krause Publications, 1987, ISBN 0-87341-096-3 .
  • Consumer's Guide (Ed.): Encyclopedia of American Cars from 1930. Publications International, 1993, ISBN 0-7853-0175-5 .