Hearse Funeral Vehicle

In recent decades, high capacity funeral homes have implemented designated "first-call" vehicles, used exclusively to transport the deceased to the funeral home. These vehicles are often converted full-size station wagons that may or may not feature a traditional landau roof and bars, although in recent years, following the end of the full-size station wagon era, the preference has shifted towards minivans with slide-over landau bar panels for the third row windows. Many first-call vehicles have the appearance of a hearse, but will not accommodate a full-sized casket in length or height. The blue Mercury in the gallery is a retired first-call vehicle.
Perhaps owing to the morbid nature of the hearse, its luxurious accommodations for the driver, or both, the hearse has a number of enthusiasts who own and drive retired hearses. There are several hearse clubs.
Amongst enthusiasts, the 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor hearse is considered one of the most desirable due to its especially ornate styling and appearances in feature films, notably an ambulance version (Ecto-1) in the movie Ghostbusters.
In the 1971 movie Harold and Maude the character Harold, played by Bud Cort, drives two hearses: originally a 1959 Cadillac Superior 3-way; and then later a custom hearse he makes from a 1971 Jaguar XK-E 4.2 Series II. The Cadillac hearse is now privately owned in central California and is preserved, looking essentially identical to the way it did in the film. Only one Jaguar "hearse" was built and was destroyed as part of the film's storyline. Several "Harold and Maude" fans have since built similar hearses from E-Types and photos of them can be found online. Jane Goldman, wife of British TV and radio personality Jonathan Ross, owns a similar style "hearse" built from a Jaguar XK8 convertible.