DTS on the way out

This is definately something I'm not going to lose any sleep over. While at the Barkes, Weaver, & Glick Funeral Homes in Columbus, Indiana, I was more impressed with the firm's Lincoln coach than I was their Cadillac.

It has been quite some time since General Motors has impressed me with their Cadillac lineup to begin with.
 
I also heard that DTS based hearses were on the way out, but I didn't think that Cadillac was pulling out of the market all together. I think it's a bad idea, but leave it to GM to make another wise business decision.:my2cents:
 
Don't count on it

David Smith said:
I don't think it will matter to companies like Accubuilt whether or not Cadillac continues to have a coachbuilder program. History has shown that plenty of beautiful coaches have been made without a manufacturer provided "special" chassis or package.
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I doubt Accubuilt will be interested in cutting a new Cadillac XTS in half if there's no Master Coachbuilder program around to back the warranty on the chassis.
 
All this Doom and Gloom is just speculation and assumption. If you want REAL answers, ask the people at Accubuilt, Eagle or Federal. And regardless of what Cadillac and Ford Motor Company come up with, if the coachbuilders want to stay in business, they will find some platform to build on.
 
strech my mini van

we use town & counry mini vans for our pumbing trucks. We need to keep the copper pipe inside the van to keep theives from stealing it off the truck. A few feet longer would help to keep the pipe from going from the hatch back up to the dash board. The vans with stow and go seats work great because you don't need to remove the seats they fold into the floor their is a u-tube for a town and country mini van for a pro car with a removable floor but I don't think they strech the van
 
Rick Franklin said:
In 1986 when Cadillac severly downsized the Deville, the coachbuilders adapted to what they were given. This is no different to then.
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Actually, it was 1985, but severly downsized you are VERY right. Here ia a couple pics of my 85 Superior Cadillac. The first pic it sits between a 74/5 Superior and a 68 M-M. The rear shot it sits between a 1991 Miller-Meteor Lincoln Paramount and a 1982 Eureka Cadillac in a lineup of my collection at the time. (And yes, the old website on the windows have been removed)
.Northland meet 2008.jpg

misc 17.jpg
 
Heard word that Accubilt is no longer recognized by Cadillac as a Master CoachBuilder...
I went to the Cadillac site and they are not listed as a CMC.
Problems with building limousines on the W29 chassis was the rumor...
 
When it comes down to it, if I had my own firm I would pick up a couple 94-96 Cadillac based coaches and go through them. I think once the 96 lineup went away the coach design went down hill. Plus they look classy as all get out. I'm biased though.
 
I agree Pat. Not only are the last RWD Cadillacs stately and elegant, they are super solid mechanically (I can't tear my Mom's 230,000 mile 96 Brougham from her) and fairly economical to operate.
 
"When it comes down to it, if I had my own firm I would pick up a couple 94-96 Cadillac based coaches and go through them. I think once the 96 lineup went away the coach design went down hill. Plus they look classy as all get out. I'm biased though."


My perference: 1996 S&S Cadillac Masterpiece limousine-style with extend table and 3-piece formal drapes.
 
XTS and ATS from Cadillac

Kim and I attended the GMADA Auto Show in Minneapolis last weekend. Naturally, the "stars" of the Cadillac display were the new XTS and ATS sedans. The XTS could make for a nice looking hearse IF the coachbuilders handle the glass and roofline correctly; two critical areas that often get overloooked in favor of slapping a coach body onto a vehicle.

(Karsnia photos)
 

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Tony Karsnia:

"My preference: 1996 S&S Cadillac Masterpiece limousine-style with extend table and 3-piece formal drapes."

You mean like Archambault Funeral Homes' 1996 Masterpiece he had custom built? You described its specs to a T. That car still exists BTW. I talked to Mr. Archambault about 3(?)years ago and he said someone had it and it was being stored in a garage somewhere in Mass. Anybody have any pics of it besides the one in Greggs book? We need to find where that car is hiding at.
 
Jay Maynard said:
Tony Karsnia:

"My preference: 1996 S&S Cadillac Masterpiece limousine-style with extend table and 3-piece formal drapes."

You mean like Archambault Funeral Homes' 1996 Masterpiece he had custom built? You described its specs to a T. That car still exists BTW. I talked to Mr. Archambault about 3(?)years ago and he said someone had it and it was being stored in a garage somewhere in Mass. Anybody have any pics of it besides the one in Greggs book? We need to find where that car is hiding at.
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I too hope someone has pics of this car. I thought I did, but only have pics of a 99 and newer in this style. :pirate:
 
Spring introduction

Kent Dorsey said:
Heard word that Accubilt is no longer recognized by Cadillac as a Master CoachBuilder...
I went to the Cadillac site and they are not listed as a CMC.
Problems with building limousines on the W29 chassis was the rumor...
Click to expand...

You can bet they'll be back on the CMC list when Cadillac begins making the XTS chassis available to the coach builders.
 
I talked to a rep from Accubuilt at the ICCFA convention last week. He agreed with me that the new cadillacs will make a nicer looking coach than the lincolin does, however he said they are worried because they information they have from General motors tells them that the Cadillac commerical chassis with be much lower quality and strength than the Lincolin. He said they won't know for sure until they get the actual chassis, but it doens't look good.
 
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