It was marketed as a passenger car for consumers, as opposed to the similar Taxi, which was aimed at fleet buyers.

[3] With the exception of United States government-mandated 5 mph bumpers in 1974 and ongoing mechanical changes, the Marathon remained virtually unchanged during its 21-year production run.

[4] These continued to change as Chevrolet introduced modifications, peaking with the 1969 L-48 350 V8 which produced 300 hp (224 kW) (gross).

The company continued operations for an additional 27 years producing body stampings for General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, until January 2009, when it entered bankruptcy liquidation as a result of the downturn in the USA auto industry.

The size of the car (seating many passengers), the robust construction, the lack of yearly changes to the styling (especially the 1958 and later models, simplifying parts management), and the bolt-on rear quarter panels all contributed to the Marathon's ubiquity on the streets of Manhattan.

Also, in works depicting the Soviet Union or East Bloc countries, such as the film Gorky Park [citation needed] and the original Mission: Impossible[10] television series, Checker Marathons were used to depict Soviet-made GAZ-13 Chaika automobiles.

[11] In the late 1960s and into the early 1970s, some black SCV-plated (Stato Città del Vaticano - Vatican City) A12 Marathons were used to accommodate Pope Paul VI's entourage in motorcades.