An American icon slowly faded away

The checker Taxi cab

when I was a teen in the early 2000s I would often watch re-runs of a TV show titled "Taxi" on nick at nite and I noticed the type of cars in the show. The main Taxi cabs used were visually similar to a 58 chevy IMO. when I finally figured out what kind of cars they are and I read up on the history of the car I found the story of the checker motor company.

A true American car company having its origins in Kalamazoo, MI. The company produced the Taxi cab also known as a Checker Marathon from 1960-1982. The amazing part is that the car kept the same shape and design the whole production run with only changes made to keep pace with federal safely standards.

Any car produced for that length of time while remaining pretty much the same basic car says much about the design and craftsmanship.

I can remember seeing one lone checker cab in the nearest city to me up to 2003 when the operator retired and the car retired with him to leave the streets to the much more modern appearing Ford crown Victoria.

Everyone I know who I showed a pic of a checker to would react the same "I remember those" yet few people I know really noticed their gradual disappearance.

A true testament to the American ability to produce a car with outstanding quality and durability

Remember these?......the cars that were part of millions of people's lives ......whether they noticed or not ;)