1971 Checker A12 Marathon from North America - Comments

I launched the car off a "humped" road crossing and landed on a raised manhole cover (the road was being fixed and I was driving too fast) cracking the frame cross-member beneath the engine.

The only bad habit is fuel consumption. With heavy springs, good shocks, and a fast ratio steering box it handles fine. Small block Chevy V8's can make as much power as you want to pay for.

I enjoy driving it every day.

Hmm--you say you bought this car in 2000, at which point Checker had already been out of production for almost two decades, and before that you had a Studebaker Lark, which was last built nearly twice as long ago.

Either you have a penchant for old, oddball cars... or this is just another made-up review.

I can assure you that all of these reviews are legit. I found CarSurvey.org last spring and passed it along to other Checker owners (I have the 77 A11). We're a close-knit group, so word travelled and resulted in multiple posts in a short time. The writing styles are similar because the cars are so similar- Checker had practically the same body from 1958 to 1982. Owners often keep their cars a long time, or get another one soon after if they do let it go. And yes, we do tend to have "a penchant for old, oddball cars." Many owners also have Studebakers, AMC's, and other "orphaned" or older vehicles (the newest car I own is 20 years old). So no, there's no conspiracy. Just loyal owners with similar experiences.

I retired my Checker from taxi service in 2002. The odometer has turned over several times, but the engine, transmission, differential, paint, dash, door panels, handles, straps, cranks, headliner, and trim, etc. are still original. Added A/C, carpet, and recovered the seats in 2000. Instead of 200 miles a day, it'll probably be more like 20 now. Some are keepers.

Checker was known for building VERY durable cars before Japanese companies came on the scene and kicked everything up a notch.

So, yeah, people who wanted something that would REALLY last in the 50's 60's and 70's often bought Checker cars.

It's funny that you owned a Studebaker previously; although my Dad never owned a Checker, he always considered buying one... he ended up buying a Honda in 76 and has stuck with those ever since, but he still likes the idea of the old Checker, and he did happen to buy a Stude brand new back in 1951. It was one of those old fangeled Bulletnose Champions. So yeah moral of the story, power to those quirky people with oddball cars who know a good thing.

I make no claims of ever having owned a Checker, but I wanted to share about one that a family in my hometown owned when I was growing up.

I'm not positive what year it was, though I think it was a 1964 Checker; it was fitted out as a real limousine, with elegant gray broadcloth upholstery in the rear compartment and a window between driver and passengers. Their handyman (who doubled as the family's driver when they used the car) told everyone that it was hideously underpowered, which makes me wonder if it had a six cylinder engine, but it made quite a show since it appeared to be about a mile long, in gleaming jet black with whitewall tires and full wheel discs.

The owners had other cars and mostly used the Checker to drive them to the nearest city or airport. They were wealthy and had moved to our small town in North Carolina from Canada, though they also owned a hotel in Ft Lauderdale, Fla. They left our area to live in Florida full time around 1970 and I have no idea what happened to that very distinctive Checker limousine.