Guest article contributed by: Caleb Wilde, Calebwilde.com
This thing is in the design phase by Lequios Hearses of Japan. And I’m gonna be Debbie Downer here. I don’t think it’d work … at least in America.
Americans like to go out in style in a Caddy or a Lincoln. They like their cars big and showy in life and death. Do Americans REALLY want their loved ones to be transported in the epitome of conservation, economy and weakness?
If you’d want to use a Prius Hearse for your loved one’s funeral, “Like” this blog post. If you’re like “naaah, give me a Lincoln” tell me why you’d opt for the big Linc.
Buy a second-hand Caddy. The mileage on our 2005 Northstar was 22-24 on the highway and it was roomy, beautiful and capable of hauling ove-rsidized caskets. Which is REALLY on the increase! $100,000 new; $35,000 used. And let me put in a plug for Southwest Professional Vehicles and Muster Coaches in Kentucky, and Butler Coaches in Indiana.
Buy a second-hand Caddy. The mileage on our 2005 Northstar was 22-24 on the highway and it was roomy, beautiful and capable of hauling ove-rsidized caskets. Which is REALLY on the increase! $100,000 new; $35,000 used. And let me put in a plug for Southwest Professional Vehicles and Muster Coaches in Kentucky, and Butler Coaches in Indiana.
I do not see a funeral home actually buying this…. I think it would be disrespectful to use this kind of vehicle to haul a deceased person to their place of interment. It would be like loading the President into the back of a Geo Metro instead of a limo. lol.
I don’t like the looks of a regular Prius; much less so the hearse model. And as for 40-50 year olds driving Cadillacs, I had one until recently and am considering buying another. My Deville which weighed 5500 lbs got 28 mpg on the hwy. So there.
I do like the way a traditional hearse looks much better, but maybe it is just because that is what we have been programmed to think… that the hearse is only supposed to look a certain way. I would give it a shot, but it would take some getting used to.
I don’t really think it’s all too bad. The real challenge is how your customers would react. If you are a funeral home is attached to a cemetery, and most of your driving was short distance under 10 MPH, a hybrid (even in a traditional style) could make a lot difference in fuel costs. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we would probably have people think it was great. I myself would rather be in some restored 40’s or 50’s Caddy or Packard or perhaps a motorcycle hearse, but that’s me.