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Page 8 of 11
There were many
projects for future reference that had to be laid aside for the war effort.
Once the war was over, Checker was ready to resume its manufacturing of
taxicabs. Checker might have been way ahead of the times if the Model
"B" series would have ever gotten off the ground. It was a rear
engine, rear-wheel drive vehicle. There were only two built and were still
being tested by the end of 1945. Not much information exists except they were
not accepted well in the cab industry.
The Model ''C''
never got off the drawing boards, and was over-shadowed by the Model ''D''.
This car took to the road in 1946 and looked like nothing else in the industry.
There were big plans for this model. Fourteen different versions, to be exact.
Some of them were to include a coupe, convertible, ambulance, pick-up, and
panel trucks. The most unique feature was the front wheel drive and a
cross-mounted six-cylinder engine. This whole project was kept fairly quiet and
little was known about the car outside of Checker.
There were many
problems, mostly with the front-wheel drive unit. The production would have had
to be completely changed for one. There was a great need for new cabs after the
war, and Checker felt the time involved for changeover would tax them too heavily.
The decision was made to go back to the more conventional Model ''A''. They
combined the pre-war car with the New Model "D" designs and came out
with the Model A2 in February of 1947. This car stayed around until the end of
1955.
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