in Pennsylvania. They were going to ship the Volkswagens to the Checker Motors factory in Kalamazoo, cut them in half, insert a section to lengthen the car, raise the roof and then sell the reconfigured vehicles as taxis. Less than 90 days after joining Checker, Cole died when his plane crashed near Kalamazoo in May 1977. In August 1977, the Checker-VW project was introduced in Road & Track magazine. The project was scrapped shortly after when it was determined that the Volkswagen was not suitable for taxi service. X-body project In the early 1980s, by way of a series of financial transactions, David Markin monetized CMC. Potamkin and Cole's widow were paid out and both exited the company. Markin had total control of CMC again and the funds available to produce a new Checker. Moving beyond the Rabbit/Golf project, Checker's next attempt at a new taxicab was initiated via a partnership with General Motors' Fisher Body division. In 1980, General Motors introduced the X-Car line which was a major departure from traditional GM design. It was a front-wheel-drive platform with a transverse engine, similar to the BMC Mini concept. The new Checker was to be front wheel drive, ironic as this concept was first tested by Checker in the mid-1940s with the Model D project. The planned partnership would have Checker purchase Chevy Citation “bodies-in-white” and then Checker would assemble them for taxicab use. The project did produce one prototype Citation test mule, but the project was short-lived. Reported in the July 16, 1981 “Coachman”, Fisher Body's divisional newsletter, GM could not assure Checker a continued supply of Citation bodies for a time period that met Checker's requirements. Remember that by 1981, Checker had used the same body for 25 years. GM's planned obsolescence policy would exit the Citation by 1985. Checker had planned on the Citation/Checker taxicab to be introduced in 1982. Clearly, Checker could not afford to spend significant dollars on a design that would be obsolete a mere three years later. Galva II Checker's final attempts at introducing a new taxicab came in early 1981. CMC signed a contract with Autodynamics to develop a new model. The project was called Galva II, an extension of the project originally begun back in 1974. Autodynamics developed a design that would use the latest GM components developed under the GM X car program. If successful, Checker could retrofit GM components