The influx of capital provided by Markin offered but a brief respite. The difficult economic times and a marked decline in sales as well as the rising costs for raw materials crippled Lomberg Auto Body. To recoup his investment Markin assumed controlling interest in the company and reorganized it as Markin Auto Body Corporation. Still, the company’s primary customer Commonwealth Motors was on the cusp of imminent financial collapse. They were unable to pay for a shipment of taxi bodies already delivered which in turn pushed Markin to the brink of bankruptcy.
An order for a fleet of Mogul taxis by the Checker Taxi Company of Chicago, a consortium of independent operators offered a ray of hope. However, before production could be initiated demand for payment by suppliers and other creditors forced Commonwealth Motors to enter bankruptcy.
In a deft and complex move, Markin utilized the assets of Markin Auto Body and the pending order by Checker to secure adequate financing for the purchase of Commonwealth Motors from the bankruptcy trustees in October 1921. Then in May of the following year he reorganized the companies as the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company.
Fast forward six decades. On July 12, 1982, the last Checker rolled from the factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan and vehicles produced by the most independent of the independent manufacturers became another orphan. This is the beginning and the end of the story. In between are sixty years of fascinating vehicles, innovation, and a dizzying number of unanswered questions.
Did Checker ever build something other than taxis during the company’s infancy? That is the unanswered question behind a 1925 advertisement in the Automobile Blue Book, a leading route guide of the period. The text of the promotional piece reads, “A car must be sturdy, long-lived, economical on upkeep and performance, also easy riding to do Blue Book road drafting all over the country and the Checkers are giving satisfaction.”