Combination Car (hearse) on:
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A combination car was a vehicle that could serve either as a
Combination cars often include:
* Flashing lights (mounted or concealed) or a siren. Some cars used rotating roof beacons that could flash either yellow lights in processional mode, or both red and yellow lights in emergency response mode. Alternatively, a hole on the roof was often supplied where a beacon could be bolted on an intermittent basis, with a wire passing through to the driver's compartment where it could be plugged in when needed.
* Two-way radio
* Gurney (stretcher) or a
A combination car was a vehicle that could serve either as a hearse
A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately ano ...
or as an ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
, and had the capability of being swapped between those roles without much difficulty. This hybrid usage of the cars reflects an era when funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.
Services
...
s offered emergency ambulance service in addition to their primary trade, especially in smaller towns and rural areas.
Combination cars were often built on a Cadillac Commercial Chassis
The Cadillac Commercial Chassis is a chassis that was built by the Cadillac division of General Motors. Produced from 1931 to 1979, the Commercial Chassis was constructed as an incomplete vehicle intended for use by coachbuilders for final ...
and were customized by coachbuilders such as Superior
Superior may refer to:
*Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind
Places
*Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state
*Lake ...
, Miller-Meteor
The Wayne Corporation was an American manufacturer of buses and other vehicles under the "Wayne" marque. The corporate headquarters were in Richmond, Indiana, in Wayne County, Indiana. During the middle 20th century, Wayne served as a leading p ...
, Hess & Eisenhardt and Cotner-Bevington
The Wayne Corporation was an American manufacturer of buses and other vehicles under the "Wayne" marque. The corporate headquarters were in Richmond, Indiana, in Wayne County, Indiana. During the middle 20th century, Wayne served as a leading p ...
.
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Design features
Combination cars often include:
* Flashing lights (mounted or concealed) or a siren. Some cars used rotating roof beacons that could flash either yellow lights in processional mode, or both red and yellow lights in emergency response mode. Alternatively, a hole on the roof was often supplied where a beacon could be bolted on an intermittent basis, with a wire passing through to the driver's compartment where it could be plugged in when needed.
* Two-way radio
* Gurney (stretcher) or a casket
A casket jewelry box is a container that is usually smaller than a chest, and in the past were typically decorated. Whereas cremation jewelry is a small container, usually in the shape of a pendant or bracelet, to hold a small amount of ashes.
...
. The presence of ambulance technology made combos useful in the first call
"First Call" is a bugle call with three distinct meanings.
U.S. military use
At a U.S. military installation it is a pre-reveille "courtesy" signal, sounded around 05:50, originally to assemble the trumpeters to deliver the reveille that would b ...
role, as a gurney is also used in that function.
* Foldable seats on one side in the rear compartment where a first-aid person can sit while looking after a patient on their way to the hospital
* A cabinet where first-aid supplies can be stored
Decline
Usage of passenger car or station wagon derived vehicles as ambulances began to decline in the early 1970s and became impractical in the US around 1979. This was due to new federal regulations increasing the required equipment and interior space, as well as a major downsizing of the passenger cars upon which ambulances and funeral cars were previously built.In popular culture
*In the first 2 ''Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...
'' movies and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the Ectomobile
The Ectomobile (also known as The Ecto-1) is a fictional vehicle from the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. It appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), the reboot ''Ghostbusters'' (2016), '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' ...
(Ecto-1), is a modified 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor combination coach. In the 2016 reboot Ecto-1 is a modified 1984 Cadillac Funeral Coach instead.
*1980's The Hearse
''The Hearse'' is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by George Bowers and starring Trish Van Devere and Joseph Cotten. It follows a schoolteacher from San Francisco who relocates to a small town in northern California to spend the ...
and 1990's The Ambulance
''The Ambulance'' is a 1990 American comedy thriller film written and directed by Larry Cohen. It stars Eric Roberts, Megan Gallagher, James Earl Jones, Janine Turner, Red Buttons, and Eric Braeden as the Doctor. Kevin Hagen plays a cop. In hi ...
star combination cars in the form of a 1952 Packard Funeral Coach hearse and a 1973 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Lifeliner ambulance respectively.
*Sally Sykebil, (lit. "Sally Ambulance") one of the main characters in the 1993-1997 Norwegian children's TV series Pelle Politibil, is a combination car ambulance.
See also
*Ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
* Hearse
A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately ano ...
References
{{Emergency medical services Car body styles Commercial vehicles Ambulances Hearses