Roger Moore in “Live and Let Die”
From the files of the Checker Motors Corp we again find a public relations department content. This one is new to this writer, the “James Bond” taxicab! Again, as with many of these PR stories from Checker, one has to ask is this real? The following was posted in Glass Digest published in May 1966.
Bulletproof Glass Protects Cab Driver
Bulletproof Safe-Guard Divider
A new Taxicab designed to protect drivers from armed attack by a passenger includes a rapidly rising interior bulletproof window. The vehicle was shown in New York recently by Checker Motors Corp. By pressing a “panic button” under the dashboard of the new taxi, the driver would seal a would-be attacker in the rear section of the car in one and half seconds. The button raises a bulletproof interior partition window, locks both rear doors automatically, slides a steel bar across the backlight to prevent its being kicked out, activates a flashing amber distress signal on the roof and sets all directionals signals flickering.
In addition an aluminum armor place protects the driver’s seat from the rear.
Checker Motors said the “James Bond” cab would attract more drivers to night work. In the last seven years 13 cabbies have been killed on the job in New York. The interior glass is Multiplate, ¾ inch thick, manufactured by Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. at its Creighton, PA., plant.
Bond DB5
Clearly the cab as described is reminiscent of the famous James Bond movie car. The Aston Martin DB5 is among the best-known cars in the world thanks to special effects expert John Stears, who modified the DB5 for use by James Bond in the film Goldfinger(1964).
The Bond Astin Martin was equipped with bulletproof panels, ejection seats and various weaponry required in the spy business. The Checker as describe would not eject the would-be taxicab robber, but actually hold them in the cab secure until the authorities arrived. Many of the features described did become a reality when Checker introduced Safe-Guard taxicab in 1966. Features that did not make it from the James Bond taxicab to the Safe-Guard cab include the metal bar that shields the rear backlight and the door locking feature.
You have to credit the Checker public relations team, they were very creative. Who would have thought that Checker could link there taxicab products to one of the most popular big screen movie brands in 1966? The James Bond Checker sound like a real crowd pleaser.
To see all the actual features offered in the Checker Safe-Guard cab, check out the brochure below.
