2010 Lincoln MKT Funeral Coach by Federal

There's got to be a word that means ultra-ugly that can better describe this abomination. This is simply terrible. Windows are too small and low, the roof line is to high and those landau bows are misplaced.......and that just a start. The base car itself is no beauty winner, but surely they could have come up with something better than this. The whole vehicle is just plain horribly designed and executed. Danny commented that "the design might grow on you" but, so do warts...and they're not all that attractive either. And, yes, Kenn, there were professional car conversions of Edsels and even they were better-looking and more professionally executed than this thing. Let's hope that this isn't an omen of the future for this once proud industry.
 
Federal Coach closed the Fort Smith, Arkansas plant back in the Spring. The company is owned by the J.B. Poindexter & Co. Specialty Vehicles Group which also owns the Eagle Coach Company of Amelia, Ohio. Federal was derived from the old Armbruster/Stageway Company when Armbruster/Stageway’s manufacturing facilities and work force was renamed Federal Coach in the early 1990s following Armbruster's sale to Executive Coach Builders. Neither Federal or Eagle has been known for high quality craftsmanship or good design. As with most of these up-start builders, most of the designs eminating from these houses have been poor clones of the basic 1977 S&S Victoria - a style that was not regarded as trend-setting even when new and one that hasn't aged all that well either. So, in esence the answer to your question is they were independent companys but are not any longer. I'm surem now that they both come from the same plant and are owned by the same person or congolmerate, that an Eagle and a Federal are the same - poorly designed, engineered and built, badge-engineered cars.
 
I would disagree with the statement about Eagle... I know of several dealers who talked highly of the the days when the Kellerman's owned the company, and their attention to detail and quality....
 
Kent, I would agree with regard to the cars constructed under Kellerman's ownership. Eagle started out in 1982 as a small shop to do conversions of GM station wagons for Tony Mazzarella's professional car retail organization in Cleveland. From what I am given to understand, Tony financed and set up the operation with Kellerman as the front man and builder. Tony's son Bob was also quite involved for sometime in this enterprise. At some point, Kellerman completely took over the ownership of the company and slowly expande the firm's product range. The Kellerman products were well engineered and constructed vehicles with a fairly acceptable design but, were never really competitive with the Superior, S&S or Eureka products of the era. As a part of a larger conglomerate, and having been through the plant recently, I can tell you that they no longer adhere to the levels of quality, construction and craftsmanship that were an integral part of the Eagle firm when it was owned and operated by Kellerman and Mazzerella. Even the cutting edge Echelon Limited, which was announced in 2008, has some real quality problems. The side drip moldings often sag - even when they are being delivered - there are uneven door gaps and those rear quarter windows are Plexiglas! I observed several vehicles ready for delivery and would not have accepted them if I had ordered them. The quality formerly insisted upon by Kellerman simply no longer exhists.
 
I saw one of these hearses at the NFDA convention in New Orleans in October. They don't look any better in person. They look like cars that are put together with little thought for style. If you look at the pictures that Tony posted, notice when the rear door is open you can still see the t.v.'s mounted on the back of the front seats head rests. Who is gonna be watching those from the back of a hearse? The large tail light plastic that is slapped on the rear door is horrible to look at. The group of 4 of us walking around the convention floor stopped in shock at how ugly this car was. :puking:
 
I'm just not sure.................

Looks like Jim Vowell with no make-up on to me. Wait, never mind, I've never seen Jim Vowell not wearing make-up.
 
Kellermans still there

Keith Snyder said:
As a part of a larger conglomerate, and having been through the plant recently, I can tell you that they no longer adhere to the levels of quality, construction and craftsmanship that were an integral part of the Eagle firm when it was owned and operated by Kellerman and Mazzerella. The quality formerly insisted upon by Kellerman simply no longer exhists.
Click to expand...

Two members of the Kellerman family still work at the factory. The decline in quality control must make them feel a bit embarrassed I would imagine.
 
Why can't they push the Flex as their commercial chassis? That already could pass for a hearse and I know one exists as per the pictures I posted the last page.
 
The taillamp looks funny because the rear body is too vertical, so the lamp looks like it's smiling. I wonder if it wouldn't have looked better with a sweeping "swallow tail" like some 20s and 30s cars...more along the lines of the non-modified MKT?

The firm I work for has 2008 and 2009 Eagle Ultimates and 2005-2008 S&S Lincolns, and the Eagles are so much better built it's not even funny. Can't vouch for what their current production is like...I had all sorts of fun pointing out the defects in a 2009 Superior Crown Sovereign a competing firm bought new...doors are shaped differently from left to right, cracks at the top of the windshield posts within a week of delivery, aluminum trim with sharp edges so their porter kept cutting his hand...the list goes on and on.

We might as well get used to different kinds of coaches...kinda like when Packard and Henney went belly up, everyone adapted and the world kept turning.
 
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