Originally, a Checker Cab was a taxi produced by the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company (later known as Checker Motors Corporation) of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and operating under the name "Checker Cabs" in New York and other American cities.

The company was founded by Russian immigrant Morris Markin in 1922 and produced taxis until 1982. The body style that came out in 1956 and was used until production ended is probably the one most people associate with Checkers. It's the one shown in the illustration.

Checker Cabs were best known for their yellow livery, the black-and-white checkerboard-pattern stripes that ran down their sides, and their roomy interiors, which in addition to the usual back seat, included small collapsible seats immediately behind the front seats to accommodate extra passengers. The Checker was legendary for its sturdiness.

Not all were taxis. Some were sold directly with some modifications to private individuals as personal vehicles. The company even marketed a station wagon based on the 1956 design as well as limousines, known as "Aerobus" and often used at airports. Checker had a showroom at the Kalamazoo plant for sales.

The city of Kalamazoo one time used several Checkers in its police department.

Today, many taxi companies in the United States and Canada operate under the name "Checker Cabs," although they may have no historical affiliation with the original company, and most likely do not have any Checker Cabs (per se) in their fleet.

Checker Motors today operates as an automotive subcontractor, primarily for General Motors, building mostly body components.

The Checker has long enjoyed a cult status.

On the original Mission Impossible television show, episodes that were supposedly set in Eastern Europe often used Checkers as vehicles, as was sometimes evident in closeups of the cars.