Recent from talks
Checker Taxi
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Checker Taxi
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 1959–1982 Checker A series sedans, remains one of the United States’ most famous and recognizable taxis.[citation needed] The vehicle is comparable to the London Taxi with its iconic styling, which went largely unchanged from 1959 to keep production costs down.
Motorized taxicabs began to appear on the streets of major cities from the early 1900s. Particularly in Chicago, where numerous railroads had terminals, there was considerable need for on-demand, point-to-point chauffeur-driven transportation. Hotels, department stores, and office buildings embraced the amenity, but often limited access to their facilities to a single cab company. Kickbacks were common, and the system favored larger operators, who had the financial resources to "play the game".
The Deschaum Motor Car Co., founded 1908 in Buffalo, New York, was the earliest ancestor of what would eventually become Checker Motors. With new investors, ownership, and locations, the name changed in succession to the De Schaum-Hornell Motor Car Co. of Hornell, New York (1908–10), the Suburban Motor Car Corp. of Ecorse, Michigan (1911), the Palmer Motor Car Co. (1913), Partin-Palmer Manufacturing Co. (1914), and finally the Commonwealth Motor Co. (1915), as reorganized after the bankruptcy of Partin-Palmer. In 1919, Commonwealth moved to Joliet, Illinois.
By 1920, there were two dominant taxicab companies operating in Chicago: Yellow Cab and Checker Taxi. Yellow Cab Company was founded in 1910 by John Hertz who subsequently established an independent vehicle manufacturing business, the Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company, in 1917. Checker Taxi did not own its own cab-manufacturing company, but principally used the Mogul Taxi, a purpose-built cab model manufactured by Commonwealth Motors using its sturdy chassis under a body built by the Lomberg Auto Body Manufacturing Co. Commonwealth's strapline was based on chassis strength: "The Car with the Foundation" used 5 in (130 mm) chrome-nickel alloy steel channel to build its frame. The Mogul Taxi was equipped initially with a four-cylinder Herschell-Spillman engine, later changing to a Buda four. Morris Markin, a clothier from Chicago, Illinois, earned a fortune by supplying uniforms to the United States Army in World War I; he made a $15,000 personal loan to Abe Lomberg and took over the auto body manufacturer after Lomberg defaulted on the loan, renaming it to Markin Automobile Body in 1920.
At the time, Commonwealth Motors was on the verge of bankruptcy, but had an order from Checker Taxi (a privately owned cab company by George Hilsky in Chicago and New York City that had no affiliation with Markin at the time). Markin acquired Commonwealth Motors via a stock swap in October 1921, and merged it with Markin Automobile Body, forming the Checker Cab Manufacturing Co. in order to honor the contractual commitment on 28 February 1922.
For a short period, Checker continued manufacturing both the Mogul Taxi alongside conventional passenger cars; the first taxi under Checker rolled off the Joliet assembly line on June 18, 1922. However, Markin eventually began emphasizing the taxi line after introducing the Model C to Chicago operators. Markin was responsible for introducing the checkered beltline decoration that became the firm's signature design. Cabs were manufactured in Joliet briefly before production was shifted to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1923, where Markin had negotiated to take over two recently-vacated factories from Dort Motor Car Company and Handley-Knight; the first Checker taxi rolled off the former Handley-Knight assembly line on June 23 or July 15, 1923. Meanwhile, Markin also had lured engineers Leland F. Goodspeed and James Stout from Kalamazoo-based Barley Motor Car Co., manufacturer of the rival taxi Pennant. The sturdy Checker cabs gained the acceptance and loyal following of Checker Taxi operators in Chicago. The Model H was an improved Mogul Taxi, and production continued as the Model H2, introduced late in 1923 after production had shifted to Kalamazoo.
Markin began buying up Checker Taxi operators' licenses in 1924, gaining full control of the company in 1937. Markin followed Hertz's business plan in having drivers open doors for the fares, and outfitted each driver with a uniform. Checker became the first cab company to hire African-American drivers and the first to require that drivers pick up all fares, not just European-American ones.
Hub AI
Checker Taxi AI simulator
(@Checker Taxi_simulator)
Checker Taxi
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 1959–1982 Checker A series sedans, remains one of the United States’ most famous and recognizable taxis.[citation needed] The vehicle is comparable to the London Taxi with its iconic styling, which went largely unchanged from 1959 to keep production costs down.
Motorized taxicabs began to appear on the streets of major cities from the early 1900s. Particularly in Chicago, where numerous railroads had terminals, there was considerable need for on-demand, point-to-point chauffeur-driven transportation. Hotels, department stores, and office buildings embraced the amenity, but often limited access to their facilities to a single cab company. Kickbacks were common, and the system favored larger operators, who had the financial resources to "play the game".
The Deschaum Motor Car Co., founded 1908 in Buffalo, New York, was the earliest ancestor of what would eventually become Checker Motors. With new investors, ownership, and locations, the name changed in succession to the De Schaum-Hornell Motor Car Co. of Hornell, New York (1908–10), the Suburban Motor Car Corp. of Ecorse, Michigan (1911), the Palmer Motor Car Co. (1913), Partin-Palmer Manufacturing Co. (1914), and finally the Commonwealth Motor Co. (1915), as reorganized after the bankruptcy of Partin-Palmer. In 1919, Commonwealth moved to Joliet, Illinois.
By 1920, there were two dominant taxicab companies operating in Chicago: Yellow Cab and Checker Taxi. Yellow Cab Company was founded in 1910 by John Hertz who subsequently established an independent vehicle manufacturing business, the Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company, in 1917. Checker Taxi did not own its own cab-manufacturing company, but principally used the Mogul Taxi, a purpose-built cab model manufactured by Commonwealth Motors using its sturdy chassis under a body built by the Lomberg Auto Body Manufacturing Co. Commonwealth's strapline was based on chassis strength: "The Car with the Foundation" used 5 in (130 mm) chrome-nickel alloy steel channel to build its frame. The Mogul Taxi was equipped initially with a four-cylinder Herschell-Spillman engine, later changing to a Buda four. Morris Markin, a clothier from Chicago, Illinois, earned a fortune by supplying uniforms to the United States Army in World War I; he made a $15,000 personal loan to Abe Lomberg and took over the auto body manufacturer after Lomberg defaulted on the loan, renaming it to Markin Automobile Body in 1920.
At the time, Commonwealth Motors was on the verge of bankruptcy, but had an order from Checker Taxi (a privately owned cab company by George Hilsky in Chicago and New York City that had no affiliation with Markin at the time). Markin acquired Commonwealth Motors via a stock swap in October 1921, and merged it with Markin Automobile Body, forming the Checker Cab Manufacturing Co. in order to honor the contractual commitment on 28 February 1922.
For a short period, Checker continued manufacturing both the Mogul Taxi alongside conventional passenger cars; the first taxi under Checker rolled off the Joliet assembly line on June 18, 1922. However, Markin eventually began emphasizing the taxi line after introducing the Model C to Chicago operators. Markin was responsible for introducing the checkered beltline decoration that became the firm's signature design. Cabs were manufactured in Joliet briefly before production was shifted to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1923, where Markin had negotiated to take over two recently-vacated factories from Dort Motor Car Company and Handley-Knight; the first Checker taxi rolled off the former Handley-Knight assembly line on June 23 or July 15, 1923. Meanwhile, Markin also had lured engineers Leland F. Goodspeed and James Stout from Kalamazoo-based Barley Motor Car Co., manufacturer of the rival taxi Pennant. The sturdy Checker cabs gained the acceptance and loyal following of Checker Taxi operators in Chicago. The Model H was an improved Mogul Taxi, and production continued as the Model H2, introduced late in 1923 after production had shifted to Kalamazoo.
Markin began buying up Checker Taxi operators' licenses in 1924, gaining full control of the company in 1937. Markin followed Hertz's business plan in having drivers open doors for the fares, and outfitted each driver with a uniform. Checker became the first cab company to hire African-American drivers and the first to require that drivers pick up all fares, not just European-American ones.
Recent media