Checker Marathon

Checker Marathon also known as Checker Taxi, Yellow Checker Taxi.

The Checker Marathon model was for private consumer use. They appear identical to the yellow checker taxi made by the same company, except for the paint.

For decades, Checker was the taxicab of choice for New York City and many other American cities. Virtually any film set in New York City in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s will show a Checker Marathon. Many movies set in the 1950s and 1960s use Checker cabs built in the 1970s and early 1980s, since the bodies were virtually the same, and due to the lack of usable early specimens. Apart from taxicab use, Marathons were also bought by police departments, most notably in Kalamazoo, where Checker had its factory.

The image shows the last of the iconic Checker Cabs to be decommissioned in New York in 1999. In 2015 an article states its estimated value is between $10,000 and $15,000 USD as a collectors icon. The article states this particular taxi is famous for carrying notable passengers including Jacqueline Onassis, Muhammad Ali, Elizabeth Arden, and Walter Cronkite.

Checker Marathon engines used were originally Continental-built L-head inline-sixes later exchanged for Chevrolet sixes and small-block V8s for the 1965 model year. In 1969 a L-48 350 V8 which produced a gross 300 hp was available along with an optional Perkins 4.236 L diesel nonturbo engine. Due to stricter government regulation by 1973 power for the 350 had decreased to 145 hp and in 1975 catalytic converters became mandatory. New engines were introduced in 1980 with a 3.8-litre V6 replacing the old inline unit, and a smaller 267 4.4 L standard V8. More notably an optional Oldsmobile LF9 engine that was a 350 in V8 was available.