Editing Hearse (section)

===North America===
{{More citations needed|section|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Hearse-r.jpg|thumb|right|A. E. E Roberts Carriage Works hearse, circa 1900]]
Usually, more luxurious automobile brands are used as a base for funeral cars; since the 1930s, the vast majority of hearses in the United States and Canada have been [[Cadillac]]s and less frequently, [[Lincoln Motor Company|Lincolns]].

The [[Cadillac Commercial Chassis]] was a longer and strengthened version of the long-wheelbase Fleetwood limousine frame to carry the extra weight of bodywork, rear deck and cargo. The rear of the Cadillac commercial chassis was considerably lower than the passenger car frame, thereby lowering the rear deck height as well for ease of loading and unloading. The Cadillac hearses were shipped as incomplete cars to [[coachbuilder]]s for final assembly. Since the late 1990s, most Cadillac based funeral cars have been constructed from modified Cadillac sedans, until late 2019; The XTS chassis was discontinued from General Motors, and as such any new Cadillac hearse will be built on the XT5 SUV chassis, with the S&S Coach Company now building certain models of hearse on the XT6 platform. 
 
The fleet division of [[Ford Motor Company]] sells a [[Lincoln Town Car]] with a special "hearse package" strictly to coachbuilders. Shipped without rear seat, rear interior trim, rear window or decklid, the hearse package also features upgraded suspension, brakes, charging system and tires. This was replaced with the Lincoln MKT, which has also been discontinued, followed by the Continental which also was discontinued after a short run. 

The limousine style of hearse is more popular in the United States. It is common practice in the US for the windows to be curtained, while in other countries the windows are normally left unobscured.

Until the 1970s, it was common for many hearses to also be used as [[ambulance]]s, due to the large cargo capacity in the rear of the vehicle.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hearses served as ambulances at one time|url=http://www.bgdailynews.com/special_sections/bicentennial/hearses-served-as-ambulances-at-one-time/article_aa3b7068-fde2-11e1-9f10-0019bb2963f4.html|website=www.bgdailynews.com|date=13 September 2012|access-date=12 May 2018|archive-date=27 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427051505/http://www.bgdailynews.com/special_sections/bicentennial/hearses-served-as-ambulances-at-one-time/article_aa3b7068-fde2-11e1-9f10-0019bb2963f4.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ambulance and EMS History|url=https://www.alamance-nc.com/ems/about-us/history/|website=www.alamance-nc.com|access-date=12 May 2018|archive-date=12 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512112628/https://www.alamance-nc.com/ems/about-us/history/|url-status=live}}</ref> These vehicles were called "[[combination car (hearse)|combination car]]s" and were especially used in small towns and rural areas. Car-based ambulances and combination coaches were unable to meet stricter Federal specifications for such vehicles and were discontinued after 1979.
{{clear}}