liens on the tools, so payment was required to move the tools to Canada. The tooling was transferred to Canada to make the Buick Lacrosse. On January 14, 2010, the Checker Motor Company ceased to exist with the sale of its Kalamazoo headquarters. It was purchased for just under $3 million by a holding company, the Jones Group, which was to sell off the assets and clear the 72 acres. Checker president David Markin was quoted in the New York Times, "It's finished. Our family is very distressed about the closing of the company, but it became inevitable." Private investment company Oak Point Partners acquired the remaining assets, consisting of any known and unknown assets that weren't previously administered, from the Checker Motors Corporation Bankruptcy Estate on January 31, 2018. Commercial vehicles Checker is best known for its taxicab, on which it built its business and reputation. In its early years Markin not only produced the vehicles but also ran Checker Taxi, a taxicab operator in Chicago that was in direct competition with the Yellow Cab Company, owned by John D. Hertz. During the 1930s Checker built trailers for Sears-Roebuck and truck cabs for Ford Motor Company. Checker also built four prototype Jeeps that were tested by the U.S. Army. They were developed in partnership with the American Bantam Company (a builder of Austin-based tiny autos) and featured four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. During World War II Checker built tank retrieval trailers, tank recovery vehicles and semi-, petroleum and other types of trailers. Checker designs changed infrequently; Markin held on to certain design features long after they were discontinued by major automobile manufacturers. For example, open front fenders were retained by Markin into the 1940s because it saved operators the expense of repairing minor dents. Taxicab models were designated by a letter series; significant modifications in models (new major systems, etc.) were designated by a number following the model letter. Checker's commercial vehicles were usually given letter designations instead of model names (most notably variations of the Checker Model A). An exception to this rule was the Checker Aerobus, an extended version of its cars, built on a stretched wheelbase allowing for each row of seats to have its own doors. The Aerobus was often associated with airports and train stations, although vacation resorts also used Aerobuses for transporting guests. Early taxis (C, H, H2, E, F, G) The early