Checker Taxi was a dominant taxicab company and national franchisor that was based in Chicago, Illinois. Checker Motors was an American vehicle manufacturer based in Kalamazoo, Michigan that built the iconic Checker Taxicab, sold commercially as the Checker Marathon until 1982. Both companies were owned by Morris Markin by the 1930s.
The Checker Taxicab, particularly the 1959–82 Checker A series sedans, remain the most famous taxicab vehicles in the United States. The vehicle is comparable to the London Taxi with its iconic, internationally renowned styling, which went largely unchanged from 1959 to keep production costs down.
