Ford sedan and a foot shorter than the Model C prototype. The Dietrich styling was quite attractive and current. Unlike the Model A, its front end styling was well integrated into the overall design of the car, bearing a very close resemblance to the 1941 Chrysler. The two prototypes were tested for well over 100,000 miles. The taxicab was tested in real taxi service, accumulating over 35,000 miles and the sedan ran in tests totaling over 65,000 miles. According to Snow, quoted in Special Interest Auto Magazine in 1973, "The passengers commented on the excellent ride qualities and the drivers claimed it was easy to keep on the road, handled well in traffic and on the highway." Tested in the early winter, according to Snow: "In heavy blizzards under adverse road conditions, it performed exceptionally well, pulling out from curbs blocked with snow without difficulty." Although both vehicles tested well, in the end it appeared that the Model D would have a higher cost per unit to produce. Tests also indicated that maintenance cost for the more complex FWD Checker would be higher than Taxi operators would find acceptable. The Model D project was killed in 1946, which left Checker with a major problem. The company had not produced a car in close to five years and whatever Markin had done with the body tooling, there was none left from the Model A to continue production in the post war years. A new effort was initiated to quickly develop a modified version of the Model A; the resulting product would be the Model A2. Model A2 (1946) Checker rapidly developed a replacement for the Model A, combining the chassis and engine configuration of the original Model A with the Dietrich-designed body of the Model D. The resulting vehicle was called the Model A2. The body passenger compartment of the A2 is virtually identical to the Model D, the only difference being the length of the front clip, which was redesign to be configured for a front inline Continental 6-cylinder flathead engine and rear wheel drive configuration of the Model A. The Checker A2 dimensions were consistent with most large US produced automobiles at a total length of riding on a wheelbase of . The Model A2 was developed in less than one year and was introduced to the public on December 15, 1946, in Automotive Industries Magazine. Checker's partnership with