It’s hard to argue that these are not the glory days for many types of cars. Muscle and sports cars? Crazy capable trucks? Mindbogglingly fast and smooth grand tourers? Salad days for sure. But what about hearses? We’ll look at this question with an overview of the current new offerings in the North American funeral car market and see what you all think. For people like me with a strange attraction to hearses, click through for an immersion in their stately world!
In my recent articles on the National Museum of Funeral History and the Professional Car show, we saw a good sampling of hearses from the WWI era to the 90’s. If you buy the premise that some hearses can be very attractive, even heavenly, then you may have thought about some questions such as, “Are new hearses still great examples of the art?” and “What is the last really good looking hearse?”
Let’s see how the current crop of casket bearers look. Below I’ll give a summary of what’s available in the new market and at the end I will give my opinions on the questions.
Superior Statesman. This is the entry level of three models that Superior makes. It is based on the Cadillac XTS, as are almost all new hearses. The reason for this is that Cadillac actually still makes a commercial chassis and puts a lot of effort into supporting the industry with their Master Coachbuilder program.
The XTS is not quite like the commercial chassis of yore, when Cadillac supplied an extra long frame from the factory and coach builders constructed most of the bodywork aft of the cowl to fit on top of it. That program ended in 1984. The unibody XTS has to be chopped and stretched, which does allow each builder to choose his own wheelbase.
FYI, in the funeral business they are called “coaches”, never hearses, and they carry “caskets”, never coffins.
Superior Crown Sovereign. The thing that quickly becomes apparent in reviewing the available hearses on the market is that the differences between models and even brands are rather subtle. You could play one of those “spot the differences in the pictures” games between Superior’s top and bottom models.
There are two big differences that I can see. The Statesman (entry model) at 258 inches is 9 inches longer than the Sovereign and Crown Sovereign (upper models), though sharing the same wheelbase. I don’t understand that, either, but it is definitely not a typo. Also, the upper models have an industry leading rear door that opens a full 270 degrees, while the Statesman makes due with 125 degrees.
Federal/Eagle Kensington. I’m not sure of the history behind it, but Federal Coach Co. and Eagle Coach Co. are the same company and sell very similar models under both brands with separate model names, except for the entry level Kensington which is shared by both. I actually think this is the best looking new hearse. I like its simplicity without landau bars, aluminum bands or other garnishments and the “limousine” style side glass appeals to me. This is probably more of a European style. The formal roof and landau bars that are more commonly seen are more of an American style.
You might think that new hearses would be smaller than the ones based on the huge Cadillacs of past decades. Not so. They seem to be bigger than ever, at least in length. Consider wheelbases.
1957 – 1970: 156in
1971 – 1976: 157.5in
1977-1984: 144.3in
2019: 156 – 158.7in
Even 1938, which was the first year Cadillac lists a commercial chassis in their models, they had a wheelbase of 161. That’s longer, but a giant portion of that was ahead of the windshield. 
Federal Renaissance/Eagle Echelon. This is another model that I think is nicer looking than most. It’s also a limousine style with a curve at the rear of the side glass that compliments the front door glass. Being a higher priced model, they couldn’t resist putting landau bars on but perhaps the factory would delete them for you. I particularly like the painted roof with no vinyl at all. It is also noteable for the standard large skylight in the casket compartment, for natural illumination. Or perhaps this feature has more metaphysical purposes by allowing the deceased to have a clear view heavenward.
Though the consumer Cadillac XTS is available with All Wheel Drive, I don’t believe any new coaches incorporate it. The hearses seem to all have the 304hp 3.6L V6, rather than the 420hp twin turbo 3.6L V6 from the XTS V-Sport, which is the only trim to offer All Wheel Drive. Too bad!
Federal Stratford/Eagle Icon. Every stretch hearse on the market that I could find is based on the Cadillac chassis, except for this one, for those funeral fish who want to swim in a different direction. The SUV-based Stratford is only 5 inches longer than Federal’s Cadillac models and actually shorter than S&S’s and Superior’s longest Cadillacs. The wheelbase, however, is several inches longer than any other on the market.
Besides being visually different, the Stratford has a real practical advantage with standard All Wheel Drive: a boon for snowy areas. The Eagle and Federal models are somewhat differentiated in their exterior and interior styling and the Eagle has a casket compartment skylight.
Federal/Eagle Chrysler Pacifica Funeral Van. Also available as a Dodge Caravan. This is what the funeral business calls a First Call vehicle, meaning that it is intended primarily for non-funeral duties of transporting the deceased from where they died to the funeral home. They have a special covered stretcher that secures into the back. If you were to hang out at Emergency Room ambulance bays, you would sometimes see these First Call cars come to pick up patients who are leaving the hospital after an unsuccessful stay.
Chevrolet Suburban. This is the Federal/Eagle version, though you can also buy them from Armbruster-Stageway (who will sell you a Cadillac Escalade if you prefer). These could serve as First Call vehicles or as an alternative to a regular hearse. Available with All Wheel Drive and considerably less ostentatious and expensive, one could easily see how some funeral homes would prefer these over a traditional stretched coach.
Armbruster-Stageway Crown Regal. A-S appears to be part of the same company as Superior and S&S, though again the exact history is not easily found online and their dimensions and designs aren’t shared with Superior/S&S. A-S makes one basic car, with a few cosmetic varieties. I like the wrap-around back window and limousine style side windows, though it is also available in coach style and with a conventional door-only back window. This is the shortest stretch coach on the market at 240 inches.
Armbruster-Stageway Regal Florette. This is the most interesting variety of hearse that I found. So you want a fully functional funeral coach and you want a flower car, but don’t want to buy two vehicles? A-S has you covered!
Specialty Hearse Metropolitan Cadillac Flower Car. Specialty Hearse is a Federal/Eagle dealer, but they have a body shop which will convert a Cadillac XTS into a flower car for you. You can also buy a very similar one from Armbruster-Stageway. The business end bears a strong resemblance to the flower cars of the past except it is not built on an extended wheelbase. Not a new practice, Specialty has been making standard wheelbase flower cars since at least the 90’s and other companies had been converting Coupe De Villes going back to the 60’s.
So why aren’t flower cars used much these days?
S&S Medalist. Sayers and Scovill has been building hearses since 1876, the only coach builder continuously operating for that long (albeit under other ownership in recent decades). It appears they officially go by only the S&S abbreviation these days and their product line is closely related to corporate cousin Superior’s.
The Medalist is the entry level model (of five) and shares dimensions and specs with the Superior Statesman (see above). It maintains the S&S trademark bodywork kickup at the trailing edge of the sides and lantern on the C pillar.
S&S Olympian. The S&S Olympian and Victoria share the shorter length and mega-opening 270 degree rear door of Superior’s high end models. The Olympian is unique, however, in its extra tall roof. It’s three inches taller than the Medalist, though it looks like more than that. Why that would be needed I’m not sure. Extra high caskets? double decker caskets?
S&S Masterpiece. Here is the crème de la crème of currently available hearses. Lest you think that commercial glass funeral coaches were a thing of the great memorial past, S&S presents their Masterpiece. In their own words, “In every profession there are those who rise above the rest; who strive for perfection in every detail of their service; for whom second best is never good enough. For individuals of this high caliber, the 2019 ‘Commercial Glass’ Masterpiece by Sayers & Scovill eloquently proclaims professional and community leadership.”
How in this age of comprehensive safety regulations did they pull this off? Look closely at the photograph and I think the answer jumps out.
Back to our original question. Do any of these new funeral cars hold a candle to the older models from the 90’s and earlier? I think not, and here’s why: the Cadillac XTS is poorly suited to make a good looking hearse.
Two main traits make it an unattractive base to build a hearse on. One is its cab-forward proportions. I generally am not a fan of front wheel drive cars with cab forward design, though I know some people like it, being space efficient and a sensible arrangement with a transverse engine. It makes for a very short hood, though, which I think is particularly unbecoming on a larger, luxury type car. Combine that with the long, long modern hearse coachwork and it just looks disproportionate to me. Stubby nose.
The other trait is the wedgy profile of the car. It has a very low hood/high deck shape. The window sills slope down towards the front and the body character lines accentuate that even more. The long hearse shape requires that those lines even out around the middle of the car and in some designs seem to head back downwards toward the rear. This gives the car a curved, convex look. High in the center, lower on the ends.
You might ask, “What about Lincolns?” Lincolns were not really used at all in the hearse business until the late 70’s. Unlike Cadillac and some others, they never produced an official commercial chassis. As Cadillac downsized and changed their commercial chassis in 1977 and 1985, Lincoln was used as an alternative and gained some popularity. Though Cadillac just seems like the “right” car to be a hearse, I think a lot of the 80’s and 90’s Lincoln hearses look quite good.
Since the rear wheel drive Town Car was made through 2011, could it be the last great hearse? I don’t think so, personally, as the 1998 restyling wasn’t great for hearses. The rounded body style clashes with the squareness of the hearse rear.
The taillights particularly are hard to resolve with the hearse bodywork. Still, the long hood and front-axle-to-cowl length give them better proportions than the new Cadillacs. And the new Lincoln MKT hearses? Practical, but possessing looks that only its mother could love.
Hey there cutie, whatcha doin’?
So, I stand by my assertion that the 1996 Cadillac Fleetwoods are the last truly heavenly American hearses. At least to date. I wish Cadillac could support a commercial version of the CT6. That might look better, with its RWD proportions. If Cadillac actually builds the CT8, that could be a great hearse. A large, flagship rear wheel drive Caddy would make a great basis for a ride to the cemetery.
Here’s another question: hypothetically, what car would you like to see made into a hearse? Let us know what you think!
The Armbruster-Stageway Escalade seems to be the best combination of tradition and rationality; it’s a black Cadillac with a padded roof, but it looks like it’s supposed to be what it is, sidesteps the XTS’s wedge profile entirely, and is a conversion achieved without cutting-and-shutting.
I can only wonder why Federal-Eagle only lists theirs as a Chevy Suburban, or for that matter why Cadillac doesn’t offer a lowered 2wd Escalade as a professional-car chassis.
I personally liked the UK Coleman Milne models… If only because that’s the only way of getting a BA Falcon into Europe
I like the way you think 😉
The BA Falcon might be one of my favorite sedans ever. Wasn’t it for the super prohibitive taxes to get it road legal and I would try to get an XR6 Turbo imported
The 1993-1996 Cadillac Fleetwood hearses were very elegant and integrated the tail lights more cohesively than the sedan. However, the formal 1997 Lincoln Town Car outlived the Cadillac by one model year and to me is the last of the Big American, formal, rear wheel drive, traditional hearse.
If I were buying today, I’d have to purchase a Krystal Chrysler 300 C hearse for the American Gothic style and squared off design that recalls the traditional American designs better. I look at the modern Cadillac hearses and I see some sort of body arch in the center of the car that resembles a banana shape and looks disjointed. If I had to go Cadillac, I’d buy an Escalade and bring it to Counts Customs, have them lower the suspension and wheels to 1996 Fleetwood levels.
It is a shame that Chrysler did not do more with the 300/Charger/Magnum and offer a commercial chassis. As it could have essentially owned the (niche) market of large Rear Wheel Drive American Commercial Sedan since 2010 when Ford killed the Panthers.
Chrysler did release a 2006 Chrysler Imperial Concept that really could have been a home run with commercial fleet customers but it never made it to production. Chrysler did also release a 300 Executive Series around the same time with an extra six inches added to the rear cabin. They hardly marketed it and the only reason I know about it is from playing with the build and price tool on the Chrysler website when they offered it. Price tag back then $50,000 which is why they are thin on the ground.
It seems someone over at Daimler Benz dusted off the 2006 Chrysler Imperial concept prints and used them as the basis for the 2020 Mercedes-Maybach GLS though. So if you have a spare $500,000 or so buying one of these and turning it into a hearse complete with a custom built Chrysler Imperial body kit would be my ultimate modern “American” hearse. Hey, they’re even going to be built in Alabama!
It doesn’t look like Krystal makes that hearse anymore. I agree, the 300 would be a good car to use. Chrysler could have grabbed a good chunk of the funeral coach market if they had committed to a commercial model program. From when the 300 was introduced to 2011 (end of Panther production) was a turbulent time for Chrysler with the Daimler dysfunction, then Cerberus, then near bankrupcy, etc. Lost opportunity.
You make a good case, the 1997 Lincoln definitely deserves nomination as Last Great Looking Hearse.
Most of those Caddy variants are bent in the middle like a bucking bronco or a humping dog. Doesn’t look dignified. Organic design has its place on sporty cars, but hearses should be classical, which means rectilinear.
When helping my Father to arrange for his funeral services; I had to chuckle to myself when he firmly demanded that the undertaker transport him in a Lincoln funeral coach to the cemetery vault.
“I’m serious here, sir! I HATE Goddayum Cadillacs! Never owned one, don’t want my final drive in one!!”
They gladly agreed to his demand, at a slight extra charge, of course.
They had to borrow one from a competitor to honor my Father’s final automotive demand.
Good story!
I’m the same way. I’m a Mopar guy. I would rather have my final ride in whatever Chrysler minivan is out in 2060-2070 (if they still make them) than a Cadillac.
When Dad started to loose his formidable German-Russian temper; people would usually acquiesce to what he wanted. Although usually a calm, polite, soft spoken Baptist Mennonite; when his temper flared he was a “force of nature” to deal with!
His automotive opinions were often strong and strident (must be where I get it from?).
At this point in his life, well aware that the end of his earthy existence was coming to an end, riddled with cancer and suffering from the side effects of ill-advised, spectacularly unsuccessful chemotherapy, he was in no mood “to take any crappppp” from anyone.
I have to give the funeral representative kudos for having the experience, perception, the good grace and common sense to know when to give in to a customer’s unusual requests.
I’ve long been curious as to why American hearses have retained the rear side doors, when they seem to have no purpose. European hearses would seem to have dispensed with these long ago, if they ever had them at all.
I’ve wondered, as well, and assumed they’re there to allow access to storage behind the front seat, in the area of what was once the rear seat footwells.
An added bonus is that it’s less expensive than sealing them up. 😀
Looks like I may be right…
I have seen a few films where the hearse, oh, sorry, casket, is extracted through the enlarged rear passenger door. This seems to be too much of hassle, moving the front seats forward as to clear the space for the table.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz6QqtMErNc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHBPML-nnK0
It’s also too much hassle to weld the rear doors, fill in the gap with Bondo or lead, and polish the welds into oblivion…
Will those landau bars ever go away???? Yuk. And my favorite one is same one you like.
The Eagle Kensington seems to deal with the body side character line best, too. It doesn’t look like it slopes down towards the rear.
The picture of the Regal Florette brought to mind the George Strait lyric: “I ain’t never seen a hearse with a luggage rack”.
Funny! You could fit a lot on that luggage rack. Who says you can’t take it with you?
For me, there’s only One True Hearse.
GM/Caddy seems to sell the most. So you would think that on the GM Fleet page you linked, they would spell “hearse” correctly.
“Cadillac Master Coachbuilders modify XTS Professional Vehicle Chassis (W30 Extended Sedan, V4U Limousine and/or B9Q Hears)”
Such GM! Many quality!
Time to recalibrate their writing gages.
Haha, too funny Sierra! 😀
Of the modern ones the only one that isn’t awkward is the Chrysler Pacifica, because it is the real design with a hearse style face lift, not some distorted thing. I don’t understand why it’s only thought of as a first call vehicle. It must cost a third of what the others do, which would save some money for customers. Why not use it for the cemetery run? If you can slide a 4×8′ sheet of plywood in there you can fit a casket in it.
You make good points. I have never worked in the funeral business, but from what I understand funeral directors tend to be an extremely conservative and tradition-minded bunch. They often have strong opinions about what is and isn’t a proper hearse, and I would guess they feel that many of their clients, especially older ones, also have expectations of an appropriately stately and prestigious looking hearse.
Tatra87 shared in the hearse article yesterday that in Europe, they commonly use diesel vans for hearses which would not be too different from the minivan. Perhaps the US may go that direction, or like nlpnt commented above with more unstretched Escalades/Suburbans. Both of those options, while practical, would look “cheaper” to my eyes and my eyes aren’t nearly so sensitive as funeral directors. I think it would take a major culture change in the funeral industry to jettison stretched hearses.
Either a major culture change, or they’ll be forced into it. If the large sedans that hearses are based off of go away, they might end up in sort of a bind. Either they’ll have to go SUV/CUV/Van based like some of the “First Call” vehicles above (which in my opinion are better looking anyway), or possibly use an imported sedan. Given that I’ve never seen a non-American hearse in the US, they’ll probably do the former.
A hearse is a ceremonial artifact, not a utility vehicle.
Despite its many virtues, approx 99 percent of the public chooses to be seen in a vehicle that is not a Pacifica while alive. Generally minivans now are novelty alternatives to SUVs, not mainstream volume products
Why would they suddenly want to ride in a minivan when they’re dead?
IIRC, Cadillac offered in-house design for a year or two under their Master Coachbuilder Program. This photo from GM Fleet shows an exceptionally handsome vehicle, based on the XTS.
Hmm… It’s got 6-lug wheels
My answer is put the classic Hearses BACK in service, maintain and retrofit as needed of course, but stop constantly replenishing the fleet with modern vehicles for this duty. What possible benefit does a new vehicle serve as a hearse? Aerodynamics? Too slow to make a difference. Space efficiency? I don’t think the passenger will complain. Torque? Uhh, no problem on the oldies. Environmental reasons? What’s more green than reusing! Heck, on the thought of retrofitting, is there a more perfect classic car candidate to convert to EV? Lots of that instant torque, plenty of places to put the battery pack, silent in operation, less maintenance for the operators and I can’t imagine any range anxiety.
Plus with the ever increasing cremation rate, I can’t possibly imagine there is a shortage in existing hearses(in and out of service) to necessitate a replenishing supply. Quite frankly when my time comes I’m opting for creamation simply to avoid the indignity of whatever passes for a hearse 50 years from now.
These modern cars as hearses remind me of modern churches, ugly and frankly a symbol of waste and corruption. Classic hearses look timeless, arguably more timeless than the cars they were based upon(finned Caddies), just as much as the old/traditional churches do, and convey a dignity and presence that you don’t get with the latest trends in modern design. Yes the classic hearses were obviously new cars in their time too, but they were from a time where cars could be found with baroque designs to match the duty. Nobody converted 1971 Satellites into hearses back then, they’d look as inappropriate and ridiculous for the job as almost every one featured in this article.
So Cadillac fins and traditional churches are now in the same basket, and both convey “a timeless dignity”? Sure, why not… 🙂
Fins = steeples.
“How come the funeral procession is stopped?”
“The hearse broke down. It is 57 years old you know?”
“How dignified!”
Theres a nice 38 Dodge hearse in regular funeral use locally, it seems to do the job just fine.
The U.S. Air Force still uses B52’s from the 60’s. If it’s good enough for them, why not!
A B-52 has eight engines. If one quits it can still limp along on seven. People paying big bucks for a funeral don’t want or need any more drama on an already miserable day.
Why are you so certain an old cadillac V8 is that undependable, and how is this any different than any number of failures that can happen to *any* car? Flat tire, etc. As long as it’s maintained there’s no reason it’ll be any less dependable.
Funerals are expected to be perfect. If a funeral homes hearse is an old shitbox their reputation is going south quick. Joe Average doesn’t give a flying fig about a classic hearse if its broke down with uncle Otis in the back awaiting burial. It’s the same reason that trucking companies don’t run B model Mack’s. Time marches on.
As a rule, a new 2019 vehicle is much more dependable than vehicles built 30 or more years ago ever were.
An old vehicle is worn out and used up at the micro level. Bushings, electrical insulation, internal rust, parts worn out of tolerance, etc. As a rule, the cash and labor required to dismantle, inspect/recondition/replace all parts, and reassemble a vehicle to make it “good as new” exceeds the cost of a new vehicle. Without that investment, an old vehicle is a series of surprise breakdowns.
Hey! The ignition switch doesn’t work!
Crap! The door handle came off in my hand! (Note: That’s a Volkswagen hearse.)
Junk like this is the bane of single parents trying to get to a second-shift job in a call center. For a professional selling an expensive service, it’s a disaster.
Entropy rules the universe.
Trucking companies run heavy loads across very long distances for very long hours and are subject to heavy wear and tear. Hearses are driven 15 mph within a few mile radius. that’s an apples and oranges comparison.
A coach built Cadillac hearse seems to run somewhere between $75,000 lightly used to $100,000 or more new based on my quick research(the figures directly from these coach builders seem to be conveniently hidden from public view). That kind of cost covers engine rebuilds/replacements, body work and complete suspension rebuilds on a mechanically simple and utilitarian 50-60s chassis a few times over unless they pulled the thing from a junkyard stack. It’s not brain surgery. For a business that makes the dead look presentable for ceremony you’d think having a well maintained old hearse would be a sign of your loved ones being in good hands. 😉
Regardless of “maintenance,” an older vehicle with more miles is less likely to start when you turn the key, and more likely to malfunction or completely stop while you use it. Any other expectation is foolish.
Steel, rubber, and plastic deteriorate with time and environmental exposure, regardless of whether they’re used.
Shit, the brake pedal just went to the floor!
It’s not rocket science.
“What possible benefit does a new vehicle serve as a hearse?”
My take is new-car reliability. Every funeral director lives in fear of a coach that leaves a funeral procession stranded on the road. We all know that old cars have a thousand components that can fail unexpectedly. It can happen to a new car too, but if it happens the funeral director won’t get the blame. If it happens to an old coach he will because “they shouldn’t rely on those old vehicles” or “they should have maintained it better”.
A funeral director’s hearse is like a farmer’s combine. You don’t need it until you do, and when you do you really, really, really need it. And in those times failure is unacceptable.
Funeral homes’ success is HIGHLY dependent on customer service and public image. Vehicle breakdown during a funeral is a worst case scenario for both. As fleet vehicles go, I’ll bet that the average mileage for a hearse being sold by its first owner is by far the lowest of any other type of fleet vehicle.
I suspect that depreciation of an asset on taxes has some effect on purchasing a new hearse along with the maintenance issues. A hearse, or any commercial vehicle can be written off as a business expense over several years, but not permanently. After 5 years or so, there is likely more in tax savings in a new hearse than there is in maintenance costs for upkeep of the old one.
To a Funeral Director, it’s just a tool. It functions as marketing for the funeral home as well as transportation of the deceased. Having an old, classic hearse may appeal to this crowd, but Joe Average wants Grandma hauled to Boot Hill in a new model Cadillac, thank you very much.
Though I won’t wade into the “old vehicle vs new vehicle” discussion, I found another interesting point in XR7Matt’s post. Funeral vehicles are generally used locally for short trips, and return to a home base at the end of the workday. They are similar, in that way, to local delivery vehicles. Electric vehicles, it seems to me, would be well suited to this type of use. A clean, quiet ride to one’s final earthly resting place.
Theres a company called Brahms in the UK which convert Nissan Leafs to hearses… and look, the “passenger” gets to ride alongside the driver!!!
That reminds me of Top Gear’s description of UK fire services using Smart cars.
“My house is on fire!”
“I’ll be right there.”
“I ?!?!?”
Here’s the hearse that’s going to take me out to a field to be buried naturally:
Nice! Good thing you won’t be the one to have to pedal that up the hill behind him.
Paul, I think you should let that poor fellow take you up that hill with a Gator. It will look perfectly fine carrying you, a couple of shovels, and a roll of sod.
That’s what I want too.
I was a bit surprised when Chrysler stretched their K-Car into a limousine. What was next, a hearse? That may have been too much even for Lee Iacocca!
Thanks for this informative piece. I’ve been curious about the hearse market. You’re right, a CT6 hearse would look a lot better than an XTS one. I wonder if we’ll see one now that the XTS is leaving production (CT6 is in limbo but likely to move production to Lansing Grand River).
An alternative for you Paul might be parked right in your driveway. I grew up in a rural area and one funeral procession I never forgot was when one old timer was carried to the cemetery in the back of his old pickup.
His family said his thought was that the old girl had always brought him faithfully home all those years and it was fitting that it did it one last time
There are quite a few Chrysler 300 hearses in Australia, makes for a fine looking hearse in my opinion, are these not common in the US?
Wow, those are like nothing we have on the U.S.!not only are 300’s not widely used, but the whole style of the coachwork is completely different.
Reminds me of this.
I wouldn’t want to be caught dead in any of these new hearses. The styling just doesn’t work. Make mine a early 50’s Caddy or maybe a C/B Olds.
Here in south west London, converted Jaguar XJs and Mercedes Es are typical hearses, though classic cars and horse-drawn also have advocates. Or if you’re on a tight schedule, there’s this:
Just the ticket for a Triumphant funeral. I like it.
I think the current Jaguar XJ lends itself particularly well to being a hearse, for a modern vehicle. Like Philip said I would say Jaguars, Mercedes and Volvos are the most common hearses in the UK. All hearses here are the glass type so you can see the coffin, which will normally have flowers on top of it and alongside. If somebody has served in the Armed Forces they will usually have the Union Jack flag draped over the coffin as well.
That looks cool!
Given my long term case of Panther Love; this would be my choice of funeral carriage vehicle.
It looks identical to the one that transported my Father to his mausoleum wall slot.
Those made really good looking hearses!