Checker Motors Corporation was established by Morris Markin in 1922 through a merger of “Commonwealth Motors” and “Markin Automobile Body.” Checker Motors Corporation was a Kalamazoo, Michigan based vehicle manufacturer and subcontractor that manufactured taxicabs used by Checker Taxi and also marketed a few family sedans. The first shipment of a Checker from Kalamazoo was on June 18, 1923 stood out as a major landmark in the history of the company, which by then employed some 700 people.

In its peak production year of 1962, Checker rolled out some 8,173 cars; the great majority of those were taxis. the last Checker Cab rolled off the line in Kalamazoo on July 12, 1982. Checker saw its sales drop significantly in the late 2000s when sales at GM and other automakers plummeted along with a substantial rise in gas prices. In 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy.