NFDA sneak peek

Via FB posts. Expo opens tomorrow.

Not new to forum but Armbruster-Stageway is still most aesthetically pleasing limo style offered today.

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Vaca Limousines of Guadalajara latest Buddhist inspired Nissan based offering with LaSalle front flare.

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Binz Mercedes.

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Hillier coach builders Australia new Chrysler 300. Note how far glass curves into roof.

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Debut of Platinum's brand new flower car named Cortege. Note ingenious contoured tinted glass in rear door for improved visibility.

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Your right the Armbruster-Stageway is the best looking coach being offered today in North America.
The Binz Mercedes is plain looking
The Hilers Chrysler 300 is odd looking ( I like the look of the front end but the coach part is .........different ! I will leave it at that

The Buddhist Nissan ..... I like the rear coach part but using a Nissan truck ??? hmmmmm
 
Easy there Mike - I didn't state Armbruster-Stageway was best looking of them all - merely limo style. :eek:

Many more photo updates once faster WiFi is procured - including debut of new Federal Renaissance model.
 
Thanks for the photos Attila, but they are absolutely horrible looking professional cars, in my opinion. What the hell do we have to look forward to?

When did style become a bad word?
 
GM simply has to come up with a commercial chassis again, including provisions for commercial glass to get rid of that horrendous low-slung windshield and then the sharply upcurved roof making the profile literally look like a door-stop. I am convinced they need to change the cowl and windshield at the chassis level in order to improve the looks of the modern day professional cars. I realize that modern vehicles have so many engineering and safety requirements with which they much comply -- which pro car builders never had to deal with prior to 1977, back then it was ALL about styling and vehicle utility -- and GM et al sneak out easily by providing basic sedan style vehicles, and provide certifications to aftermarket vehicle modifiers by which they sell basic sedans to be cut and modify from the cowl back (but don't allow to alter basic chassis features like cowl and commercial glass). This forces all modern pro car builders to come out with pretty much 100% obscene and horrific looking products one and all.

GM might very well be doing themselves a favor by reintroducing the commercial chassis, allowing for a less severe low angle/higher profile cowl and windshield, and therefore providing more rear headroom and a much less severe door hinge look.

If not, I am convinced the pro car hobby future will concentrate on mainly cars designed and built prior to 1977, with the newer cars less and less desired.
 
Oh, Abe, I wish you were right. But, unfortunately I think that ship has sailed. With the ungainly styling - mainly dictated by Cadillac's prohibition on changing the windshield or A-pillars due to safety-related air-bag issues - and the extraordinarily high prices that are being charged for what is being built, industry volume is now reportedly under 1,000 units a year. A more likely scenario would be for Cadillac to discontinue the production of the specially-equipped and de-contented platforms they now supply. There's probably not much profit in it and certainly a lot less volume than in the past. With new car selling slowly, there has been an increased demand for good used cars. Since you have to sell a new one to get a used one, good, late-model used cars are scarce and their prices have soared. The industry is in a state of flux and, with a couple of new players having joined the game, it will be interesting to see how things shake out. The new builders are simply attaining conquest sales from the established manufacturers without increasing overall demand or production across the board. In addition, to get Cadillac certification (to buy the chassis at a discounted rate) the new builders must abide by Cadillac's rules regarding construction so....it's more of the same from a styling perspective - no commercial glass, Stevie Wonder and Helen Keller designs and high prices.
 
now me I like the truck, dump the cheap looking wheels and put on some painted steel ones and baby moon caps. bring back some true carved sides, 8 columns and things with class and dignity. forget the cars. there junk that can't be worked around
 
I don't mind any of them. Time marches on. The cars of the 60's and 70's that everyone covets so much probably looked weird to those that refused to move on from carved sides and cars of the 30's and 40's.
 
and the extraordinarily high prices that are being charged for what is being built, industry volume is now reportedly under 1,000 units a year.

If Keith is right about under 1,000 units per year Industry wide ( or even a bit higher) I can see within 15 years that everyone will be driving Van or Truck based Coach's. Where I work we have 4 chapel's and one Coach ( 2010 Kingsley) the rest we rent and as soon as the lease is up on the Kingsley she will be gone too. I think the younger Funeral Directors ( that are taking over from the father) really don't care what it is, as long as it does the job. and most of the Families really don't care either.
We use mini vans for our first call and a Lincoln 4 door for the lead car, no more limo's or Flower Cars......whats next ?
I think for the most part the car-based coach's will be next, maybe not in 10 years but .......it will happen unless prices come down and can we really see that happening ? The only way I can see that happening is if they switch over to Vans that they don't need to stretch and modify much.
 
I for one like almost all the new offerings. But in my opinion I think the Platinum limo style and the Federal limo style are the best looking. I was surprised to see how nice the Federal limo styles look, because the ones from previous years did not flow as well.
 
There's a problem with those of you choosing to compare new coaches to old. There is no comparison - which is a given. Try comparing new coaches to one another instead. That's the only feasible, working approach. Coach builders are far more drastically limited by manufacturers nowadays. FHs & FDs still require coaches regardless of opinions regarding current crop as a whole.

So do these flying cheese wedges look great? Not so much. Are there some that have more thought into them than others? Yes. Do they look better than some of the other new hearses available? Absolutely.

Keep in mind with so many similar offerings from different companies two key factors which differentiate are fit/finish and price point. More on this later.

[Some images borrowed from FB posts.]

Let's start with Vaca's latest, a true abortion on wheels. Too many styles melded together. Clunky overall. Fit/finish isn't anywhere near US offerings either. Never bothered asking price as impression was received that Vaca is more into making one-off creations. They likely display looking for that odd FD looking for something truly special.

If head of casket goes in last, wouldn't headliner be upside down?

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While immersing in 'hideous', if price points are same (and these are very close to Cadillac brethren), how many of you would opt for a Superior Lincoln Diplomat, S&S Lincoln Majestic, Federal MKT, or an Eagle Kingsley over a comparable XTS base procar? These behemoths are *huge*, chunky, with no dignified presence nor design flow. Note obscene Majestic rear loading door hinge.

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Lest anyone think I'm being biased against Lincoln platform, Cadillac does not survive unscathed in this department. Only Beldar Conehead could be proud of the absurd roof height (and subsequent taper) of an S&S Masterpiece/Medalist or Superior Statesman. Gnarly. Double FAIL for Masterpiece in limo style category.

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Moving along into limo styles... Much buzz about new Federal Renaissance. Their display model was a rough non-working example. Fit and finish were lacking and it definitely showed. Seems rushed to make deadline. With so much excitement and other dealers taking/anticipating debut, perhaps my expectation was too high. I was underwhelmed to say the least. From 20' it isn't bad. Not showing in pics are horrid gigantic inward, concave roof scallops. (Which an intentional light color helps hide.) Simple things like window moldings didn't line up. Known issue with same sunroof leaking in Eagle Echelon. (Percentage of them problematic I can't say.) Rear window does align with taillight - small plus.

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For those who don't know, the same person who purchased Eagle later purchased Federal before moving Federal to same production facility as Eagle. In doing so, Federal went from a lesser priced option to receiving an uptick in quality, ruffling some Eagle dealers feathers. Federal now introducing a new limo style has made some Eagle dealers likewise unhappy (both being SVG parent company), further muddying waters between the two identities while potentially cutting into Eagle dealers' protected territories sales (while increasing protected Federal dealer territory sales).

Will Renaissance quality improve from model exhibited? It has to. Will that 'fix' really poor roof design? No.

Next we'll look at comparably priced similar Platinum Phoenix-R limo style.
 
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Maybe I can get Jeremy, Bill, Paul, and many other funeral directors to weigh in, but here's my guess:
Many funeral directors are going to trade when the CPA tells them it's time to, or in fewer cases, the funeral director says, "It's time to do something"... I am amazed over and over at fd's who will trade a nice looking 5 year old hearse back to the dealer, to get the latest thing out there because their new lease price is only $100 more than their previous monthly lease payment. If their interest does not lie in cars or hearses, then most of the time all they see in the builder photos is something that can be parked outside the chapel with the thought, "we have the most modern cars...".
This line of thought has trickled down to another line of thinking that everything needs to be black or white, the creativity and identity of the 60's, 70's, and 80's is quickly a thing of the past.
To me, those Accubilt limousine style offerings look like a highly inebriated design staff took their "they'll never build this" joke drawings and presented them, and some idiot said, "IF we build it they will buy...".
There are a handful of fd's who will know what they want and what they like, I know of a particular fd lately who did not trade because he said all of the offerings back doors looked absolutely horrible.
Many of you know I recently traded the '97 (lookout NORTHSTAR!) S & S for a '08 S & S that I am thrilled with, I see nothing in the 2014 or 2015 offerings that I think looks better than the 2008 - and there's one thing for sure - if I am going to write a check each month - it will be for something I like...
 
Wow! That Federal limousine style coach's interior looks like a bad party limousine!! Simply awful inside and out!
 
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