Combination car (ambulance)

Last updated
1973 Cadillac ambulance DFVAC 1970s Cadillac Miller Meteor color.jpg
1973 Cadillac ambulance

A combination car is a vehicle that can serve either as a hearse or as an ambulance, [1] and has the capability of being swapped between those roles without much difficulty. [2] In use in the United States until the late 1970s, this hybrid usage of the cars reflected an era when funeral homes offered emergency ambulance service in addition to their primary trade, especially in smaller towns and rural areas.

Contents

Combination cars were often built on a Cadillac Commercial Chassis [3] and were customized by coachbuilders such as Superior, Miller-Meteor, Hess & Eisenhardt and Cotner-Bevington.

Design features

1961 Chrysler New Yorker Briarean Combination 1961 Chrysler New Yorker Briarean Combination.jpg
1961 Chrysler New Yorker Briarean Combination

Combination cars often include:

Decline

In the US, usage of passenger car or station wagon derived vehicles as ambulances began to decline in the early 1970s due to federal regulations and a major downsizing of the passenger cars that were used.[ citation needed ] The state of New York began in 1969 to require ambulances to carry certain equipment and to have trained personnel, limiting the use of combination cars. [4] The use of combination cars became impractical in the US around 1979.[ citation needed ]

References

  1. "Hearse Homecoming". www.popularmechanics.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2006.
  2. "Friends of the Professional Car Society – Official Website of the Professional Car Society, Inc". www.professionalcarsociety.org. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  3. "The (new) Cadillac Database Professional Cars on Cadillac Chassis 1967–1969". www.car-nection.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006.
  4. Stuart, Laurie (18 September 2019). "Fifty years providing an essential service". The River Reporter.