Talk:Hearse

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Can one really get a Town Car on an Excursion chassis? I don't see that at the Ford Fleet site; I see you can get a Town Car in a hearse-builder package, or either a Town Car or an Excursion in a limo-builder package, and that's it. —Morven 23:09, Jul 8, 2004 (UTC)

New Zealand

Love the news story today - register your car as a Hearse and the road tax is $19 instead of $60 - one woman did this, and managed it - her definition of carrying the deceased? Bringing frozen chickens home from the supermarket!

S-shaped bars

Is there a specific name for the 'large metal S-shaped bars' found on American hearses? Auster1 15:12, 11 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Doohicky. Rklawton 16:25, 11 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Landau bar(s), named for the type of carriages they used to be found on. The bars were actually part of a folding-top mechanism, but the current ones are purely aesthetic.Improbcat 16:49, 25 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Hearses in Cultural References

Hey, I'm not a member, but I was wondering if someone could please add in that an old model Cadillac hearse was used by the Rogues gang in the film "The Warriors". Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 124.185.37.81 (talk) 11:29, 17 February 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Most Desireable Hearse?

The 1959 Cadillac Miller Meteor was not the car used in Harold and Maude. That was a 1959 Cadillac Superior. Completely different coach builders. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.101.39.243 (talk) 21:41, 24 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Black ambulances

In some countries, undertakes use vans which are sign-written as 'Private Ambulance' (often black) to transporting cadavers around. They also frequently have certain traffic and parking exemptions granted them. Does anybody here have inside knowledge; as this type of vehicles has fallen between the gap of 'hearse' proper and 'ambulance' proper. --Aspro (talk) 10:44, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

These are combination cars. Some funeral businesses run ambulance businesses on the side. This is common in Europe, and the funeral coaches employed are of the American type, with landau bars, vinyl roofs, and curtains. They are generally licenced as ambulances (licenced drivers may disobey local traffic laws when necessary) and their number plates carry an undertaker designation. There are one or two seats in the rear cargo area, and the "Seats" designation on the car registration is usually "2+1+2", "4+1" or "5" ("Beds" always carries a value of "1"). Some doctors use them as fly-cars. --69.158.124.43 (talk) 23:44, 4 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hearses in films

The Hearse enthusiasts section has some false information. ECTO-1 fron Ghostbusters was formerly an ambulance, not a hearse. The windows and sirens/lights are the proof. The famous hearse in Harold & Maude was built from a Jaguar E-Type (believe it or not) and not a Cadillac. --Ezn (talk) 05:02, 26 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

You're right and wrong, Ezn. The Ectomobile was a combination car. It was a Cadillac ambulance and funeral coach, since many funeral homes operated (and perhaps continue to operate) ambulance services in addition to first-call and funeral coach services. They would be painted white, black, brown, or silver, with a removable decal bearing the words PRIVATE AMBULANCE, and a removable, often "gum-ball" style revolving light. Coroner's vans were often also of this construction, except, usually, the revolving light was not removable. Generally, also, the decal was not removable and said CITY MORTUARY. Ever since the motor-coach's inception, they have had windows in the back in the "Limousine style". In the 70s, manufacturers, such as Sayers and Scovill, and Miller-Meteor, began to add leather and vinyl roofs and non-windowed rear compartments. That is now the standard funeral coach "look" in the United States, and, somewhat, in Canada, but it is not recognised elsewhere as such, because other locations continue to prefer the limousine style. I own a funeral coach in Great Britain, and people compliment me on my choice of mini-van. No curtains are employed, either; instead, the client is laid on the bier surrounded by flowers in full view of passing cars and pedestrians. --69.158.124.43 (talk) 23:36, 4 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Redirect to "professional car" or "funeral coach"

The word "hearse" is not politically correct. Please redirect to funeral coach. Just like we don't talk of graveyards, we talk of cemeteries; and we don't talk of burials, we talk of interments; and we don't talk about the onset of death, but the cessation of life. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.158.124.43 (talk) 23:52, 4 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Uh oh, guys, looks like the P.C. Police just showed up to put the kibosh on anything that could be considered remotely offensive. While browsing Wikipedia with your finger on the P.C.-button might seem worthwhile to you, your case here is simply frivolous. I don't know where you're from, but I can assure you that there is nothing improper about "hearse"; indeed this is considered the standard English term used to refer to this type of vehicle. "Graveyard" is frequently used to denote a smaller and perhaps historic burial ground, while "cemetary" has become an umbrella term, commonly referring to larger park-like facilities common today. Either is correct. "Burial," by definition, refers to placing the deceased in the ground, while "interment" can refer to either burial or entombment in a mausoleum or similar structure. And finally, many doctors and scientists surmise that "death" is merely a part of the natural process of life, even though it comes at the end. One could reason that as soon as you're born you begin to die. Regardless, if frank discussion of funereal customs is offensive to you, perhaps it would be wise to avoid these topics when browsing the internet. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.80.52.182 (talk) 04:59, 1 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I've never heard them called anything but hearses, and have never been remotely uncomfortable using or hearing this term. Disturbed286 (talk) 08:45, 9 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Hey, doesn't the above stink of joke? --174.91.70.110 (talk) 00:52, 22 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

History

The first half of the history section is poorly written, and poorly punctuated. I don't know enough about the topic to venture fixing it myself, but I would very much like to see improvements made. Disturbed286 (talk) 08:44, 9 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Surfers

Is it true that surfers frequently bought hearses because they could carry their boards in them? 68.110.237.188 (talk) 01:03, 16 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]