Marathon

This next car comes as a tip from Hugh who writes; What lasts 26.2 miles?It’s brown! It’s a wagon! It’s a SBC in a non-GM vehicle! Sounds like the Turismo trifecta to me. Yes indeed, this car does have all of the classic styled you’d expect from a car that started production in Kalamzoon Michigan in 1963 and continued with almost zero cosmetic/style changes through 1982. The biggest style change you’d find on a Marathon was the addition in 1974 of the cow-catcher 5mph bumpers that you see featured on this next beauty. Side note; I seriously wonder if 5mph bumpers had a net effect of saving money or cost more money to the consumer in the long run (contrary to popular belief, they had nothing to do with saving lives, but had to do with protecting the consumer and insurance agencies from costs associated with small fender benders). The 5mph bumper standard was reduced to a 2.5mph standard in 1983, but you have to wonder if all of the costs associated with these changes were just passed on to the consumer and the entire fiasco actually cost us more money. Food for thought. Find this 1974 Checker Marathon bidding for $4,262 in Sun City, AZ via eBay with a few hours to go.

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