The Biggest Checker Ever!

by ing_web_support | Jan 17, 2016 | History, The Checker Taxi Stand

Several blogs ago we discussed the Aerobus, produced from 1961 through 1974, the Aerobus was essentially a Checker wagon on steroids.  Available in 6 and 8 door configuration these mammoths shuttled passengers to and from airports and hotels until the gas crisis of...

The 1941 Checker Bantam BRC Jeep

by ing_web_support | Jan 9, 2016 | History, The Checker Taxi Stand

If you go to The Gilmore Museum in Hickory Falls, Michigan, you may find a somewhat surprising vehicle, the Checker Jeep.  At the Gilmore the fully restored Jeep has a big sign on the windscreen declaring it to be a Checker product. Yes, the Checker Jeep, unless you...

The 1922 Commonwealth Goodspeed Show Car

by ICTA | Nov 23, 2015 | Blog, History, The Checker Taxi Stand

Copyright © 2015 Joe Fay all rights reserved In 1917, Alfred Barley acquired the Michigan Buggy plant in Kalamazoo and started to produce a high-end luxury sports car,  his organization: the Barley Motor Car Company. Barley’s plan, build a sports car with smart...

The Con Man Who Started It All, W. A. Schaum Part 1 in the history of Checker

by ICTA | May 31, 2015 | History

Many have compared the early days of the US automobile industry as being much like the technology boom of the 1990s; such was the rapidity of growth and change. Automotive executives in the early twentieth century regularly switched companies and launched spinoffs and...

After The Con Man, Part 2 in series of Checker history

by ICTA | May 30, 2015 | History

  In the last installment we explored a story about a con man with many names, we’ll refer to him by his real name William Andrew Schaum.  Between 1901 and 1912 Mr. Schaum created no less than six car companies. All eventually failed, total automobile production...

Markin’s in Charge, Part 3 in a series of blogs regarding Checker Cab Manufacturing’s humble beginings

by ICTA | May 29, 2015 | History

Markin was born in western Russian in 1893. As a young man he had been employed in a Russian clothing factory and over a short period of time gained significant experience in manufacturing clothing.  A hard worker and driven at a young age, Markin would eventually...