Would-be passengers got a good look at the Nissan’s NV200 minivan — New York’s “taxi of tomorrow,” during its recent stint on display at the New York International Auto Show last year.
This Checker Marathon turned up in a New Jersey suburb far from the mean streets of New York.
As expected, opinions positive and negative have rolled in, and more than a few people are waxing nostalgic for a de facto official Big Apple taxi of the past: the Checker Marathon.
The big, roomy Checker sedan was one of the visual elements that came to represent New York in the 1970s and 1980s. When directors of film, television and commercials wanted to convey the New York mood they’d use shots of the ubiquitous cabs.
Opening credits for the long-running ’70s sitcom “Taxi” were set against memorable footage of a Checker cab. The vehicle also played a strong supporting role to Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle in the 1976 film ”Taxi Driver.”
Like graffiti-swathed subway cars and streets buzzing with illicit trade, the Checker was an element that symbolized an edgy and exciting, though often darker and more dangerous version of New York for which some people pine today. But the sturdy car’s seemingly friendly face and big interior often made it a refuge from the dicey streets.
Checker Marathon’s faded from the scene in the 1990s and about the only ones you see today are film props or collector cars adorned with “not for hire” signs. The one in the photo turned up in a suburban New Jersey driveway.
Looking back on numerous rides in Checkers I’m sure people’s selective memories are better than their actual passenger experience. After all, the clunky cars often rode and ran poorly. Their swing-out jump seats — jump stools, really – were favorites for a grade-school kid in the 1970s but I wouldn’t be thrilled to sit on one today.
If the Nissan van, which enters service next year, really winds up being the only taxi on New York streets, I’ll miss the diversity of today’s fleet. But I won’t miss the Checker Taxi in NYC.
I drove a checker back when they were popular. They required a lot of maintenance and they were a bit uncomfortable to drive. Not to mention, they enormous amounts of gas they guzzled. Also, they could fit 6-7 passengers plus the driver. I don’t consider that a plus. Four passengers is enough for me!
So, unless these things can be brought up to current day standards I vote no way!
I drove one of them then and love it , this car have tons of leg room if the stool is not in use. it probably can fit a wheel chair inside. the trunk is enormas. unlike the Altima where 2 cary on can fill up their trunk. of course the whole car need to be update with todays technology and hybrid system. The nissan nv200 is not in anyway smaller than this and such a big van cannot take 5 passenger. what good is it.
Only if they would be made in the USA and made by Union workers & not by a state who believes in the ” right to work law”. That is just my opinion though. But really I dont like them to big and to much room to be slammed around.
Just a slight correction — the cab versions of the Checker were not called ‘Marathon’. That was the name given to the civilian model. The cabs were A11′s, and the Marathons were A12′s.
I own a 1980 A12 Marathon and I love it. Rides beautifully and gets 20mpg from its 229 V6.
Excuse me, but if you were to drop a four or five cylinder turbo diesel in a Checker, you would be hard pressed to find a vehicle that could match the overall durability, reliability and efficiency.
Checkers routinely racked up three, four and five hundred thousand miles and a diesel equipped version would easily top a million or many more.
Make it a diesel-electric hybrid and it’s GAME OVER for ANYTHING else because then you would have a large, roomy tank that can take the punishment, offer tons of room and would last forever while getting ridiculously good gas mileage.
I do not understand how it is someone hasn’t already thought of it.
For most taxi companies, such a vehicle would outlast the personnel who drove and maintained them. It would be the last vehicle they’d ever have to purchase.
The Checker Cab is awesome! It gives NYC it’s taste in style with what we were back then and today. Drop a diesel-electric system, upgrade the chassis, some modern technology and better seats, and you’ll get a car that will make that Nissan look like a Ford Pinto. Mercedes back then in the 90s built tank-like cars and still do, so how about using some of their learnings on a new platform?