When the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Act of 2015 passed, many in the automotive world celebrated, and for reasons we fully understand: instead of having to go through the full-fat system of red tape to make a production vehicle that met every standard of legality, if production figures were going to be 325 individual cars or less, all the company would have to do to be legal would be to utilize an engine and it’s emissions gear that have already been certified by the EPA for conformity. In essence, it’s a win-win: Factory Five can sell kit Cobras rocking Coyote 5.0 mills from the Mustang, DeLorean Motor Cars of Texas is gearing up to crank out a small run of new-age DMC-12s, and of all the companies to resurface, apparently Checker is going to make a grand return, with an updated version of the Aerobus extended station wagon and a Marathon-like coupe utility, both of which will be GM-powered.
But is it worth it to you as a consumer and a hobbyist? We all know that people who are deeply attached to a particular brand or model of car will buy it so long as they can afford it…that’s why DMC is a solid bet right now, because between DeLorean freaks and fans of “Back To The Future”, they’ll sell each car they make. But can a company like Checker Motor Cars (not the original Checker Motors Corporation) actually make it? Would you even consider buying one at all, and why?
Bryan, that’s a really good question. Why would anyone buy a “new” Checker? If you own an old (real) Checker…sheet metal would be one reason I could think of. There are almost no clean Checker body parts left out there, and that sucks! I know from personal experience. Other than that it would have to be because you have cash to burn and you want a campy new/old toy. A stock Checker can be fun to a point, but they were such outdated vehicles. Though they were produced in to the early 80’s they were still essentially cars of the 50’s. Unless these “new” Checkers are updated drive train, suspension and chassis wise I don’t see much of a market for them.
Another thing is if it is an updated vehicle, it will still have to have the look of a “real” Checker from the past. I’m also into old Schwinn Sting-Ray bikes. When reissue Sting-Rays came out in the 90’s they just didn’t look correct, and so they are not collectable like the 60’s & 70’s bikes are. The Phantom’s on the other hand had the correct look and reissues of those bikes can still fetch prices over a grand or more! So the look will have to be correct to have any chance of sales.
Remember, I’m a checker owner. I drove mine in (almost) stock form as a daily driver for nine years. It was cool. But I enjoy it way more now as a hot rod than I did in its stock form. Better brakes, more power, better handling and ride. I saw these new Checkers talked about in the Checker Car Club of America newsletter. We’ll see if they even happen.
“all the company would have to do to be legal would be to utilize an engine and it’s emissions gear that have already been certified by the EPA for conformity.”
So if they want to be legal the new Checkers will at least have new certified engines
Anyone else want to build a Checker sleeper?