Checker Cab - Definition and Overview

Metal die-cast model of a Checker taxicab

Originally, a Checker Cab was a taxi produced by the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company (later known as Checker Motors Corporation) of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and operating under the name "Checker Cabs" in New York and other American cities. The now defunct company was founded by Russian immigrant Morris Markin in 1922 and produced taxis until 1982.

Checker Cabs were best known for their yellow livery, the black-and-white checkerboard-pattern stripes that ran down their sides, and their roomy interiors, which in addition to the usual back seat, included small collapsible seats immediately behind the front seats to accommodate extra passengers.

Today, many taxi companies in the United States and Canada operate under the name "Checker Cabs," although they may have no historical affiliation with the original company, and most likely do not have any Checker Cabs (per se) in their fleet.

See also

• Yellow Cab

External link

• Checker Cabs (http://www.checkertaxistand.com/) at the Checker Taxi Stand
• Checker Car Club of America (http://www.checkerclub.org/)
• Newsday - 1999: Last Checker Cab Retired (http://www.newsday.com/other/special/ny-ihny0418story.htmlstory)
• [http://www.checkercabb.com/ Provider of classic checkers for movies/events etc