That Classic NYC Taxi Cab Design Isn’t From New York – It’s From Kalamazoo

The year is 1976, and you're seated with a bucket of popcorn to watch Robert De Niro play the deranged taxi driver Travis Bickle as he works the night shift in New York City in the now classic film Taxi Driver. The long, yellow Checker cab in which much of the movie takes place is instantly recognizable and helped make the taxi car synonymous with NYC and big city life.

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But what many don't realize is that this iconic taxi car is not actually from any of those big cities. Instead, those cities have Michigan to thank for their taxi fleets, as one Michigan city was the manufacturer of nearly a quarter of all Checker cabs in the country during its peak.

Checker Motors Corp. in Kalamazoo and the "Checker Cab"

Despite its affiliation with NYC, the Checker cab was popular in many big American cities at the time, such as Chicago. But they weren't made in any of them; instead, they were manufactured in a plant in Kalamazoo at Checkers Motors Corporation.

READ MORE: A Michigan Man Spent 38 Years Building a House Out of Bottles

Morris Markin, long-time president of Checker Motors Corp., saw success through simplicity. While he'd been making and fixing cabs since the 1920s, the classic Checker cab design was introduced in the 1950s with the Model A8 and later Model A12 in 1962. Thanks to a few changes to the car's overall design, CMC became highly successful, and its cabs were very durable.

The success of these models led to an expansion across the country and achieved decades of success. Over 60 years in business, more than 250,000 vehicles and 25 models were produced. The A12, with this grill and double headlights, remains the most iconic of all the models.

Checkers Cab: Gone, But Not Forgotten

Despite the popularity of its cars and design, the taxi cabs experienced a period of decline in the 70s, primarily due to rising gas prices and mechanical obsolescence, according to the Kalamazoo Public Library. The final Checker cab, which is green instead of its usual yellow, was made in 1982 and is on display at the Gilmore Car Museum. There is also a cab viewable at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum.

Despite closing in 2009, the Checker cab and its various models remain highly respected, with organizations such as the non-profit Checker Car Club of America (CCCoA) and Checker Motor Cars working to keep the car relevant.