Auto City Classic - Checker

Few American vehicles are as instantly recognizable as a Checker. Built in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1922 until the line closed in 1982, Checker Motors produced the Marathon, Superba, and Taxicab — square-shouldered, body-on-frame sedans designed first and foremost for hard urban fleet duty. The styling barely changed from 1959 onward, which is exactly why collectors love them. They were assembled with off-the-shelf Chevrolet and Ford drivetrains, making engine and transmission service surprisingly familiar.

Surviving Checkers — whether retired taxis, civilian Marathons, or the rarer Aerobus extended wagons — are increasingly sought after as rolling pieces of mid-century Americana. Below you'll find the Checker categories we stock, with parts suited to keeping a Marathon, Superba, or ex-Taxicab on the road.