Out of the Crypt

Passengers entering this vehicle usually don't see it from this angle, as their eyes are closed. The coachwork, which may look unusual, is British, and the chassis underneath it is Buick, not terribly common for a hearse. In the United States, most hearses now look something like this Superior Crown Sovereign, or the S&S Cadillac Medalist, both products of Accubuilt of Lima, Ohio, successor to old-line hearsebuilders Sayers & Scoville, Superior, Eureka and Miller-Meteor.

According to Gregg Merksamer, Publicity Director for the Professional Car Society and the CarPort's expert witness on automobiles funereal, Cadillac has the lion's share of the hearse business. The market is changing, however, and more and more funeral directors are using alternative vehicles, some converted from minivans. This Chevrolet Venture, for example, (rear view) converted by Eagle Coach Company of Amelia, Ohio, can be equipped with virtually any feature of a "big" hearse, including slide-out floor with rollers and polished bier pins . Additionally, a funeral home can order removable landau panels, making the "hearselet" less funebrious in "first call" service. Eagle, by the way, offers a full line of "specialty vehicles," including hearses based on the Chevy Suburban, no doubt popular in Texas.

The 1937 Buick hearse that instigated this feature was seen at Beaulieu Autojumble, the British equivalent to Hershey, in September 2002. Recently disentombed after decades of storage, it was being offered for sale. Although it attracted many onlookers, it did not seem to draw eager buyers. Its current whereabouts are unknown. Gregg reports, however, that Buick hearses are not unknown in the USA. In 1994, he spent a couple of days with this Superior Buick Sovereign commercial glass coach, while on a job writing its owner's manual. He reports the 260 hp LT-1 engine was "absolutely muscular," despite the car's extra ton of curb weight. Although the Buick Sovereign was discontinued when rear-drive GM cars disappeared for 1997, Buick funeral vehicles will continue. Eagle Coach has just announced a hearse version of the Buick Terraza.