Old cars weekly story

Rocky Fluegge

PCS Member
This was a interesting story in the new old cars weekly. Just to make it easy i will retype it as they had it.
Hard times hit the stretch limousine business, and with it the community of Fort Smith Ark., where stretch limos are built. Federal Coach, formerly headquartered in Fort Smith and now owned by J.B. Poindexter & Co. Specialty Vehicles Group, is being consolidated with Pointdexter, Eagle Coach Co. of Ohio. 140 workers at Arkansas location are being phased out this spring as operations move to Eagle Coach's facilities in Amelia, Ohio. An article in the March 21 Southwest Time Record in Arkansas attributed the decline of stretch limousine sales to the appeal of less-opulent vehicles following the terrorists attacks of Sept 11 2001, coupled with the struggling economy. In addition to stretch limousines,Federal Coach made hearses and buses. The bus line was sold last year to Starcraft in Goshen, Ind Hearses, while also decreasing in numbers due to the growing popularity of cremations, will continue to be made at the Amelia, Ohio manufacturing facility.
 
I had never made the connection between the rise in cremations and the drop off in hearse orders. I am one of the guilty, as I long ago selected cremation. As for Federal, I drove in a procession couple wks ago right behind a Federal Lincoln carrying a dear friend, and can only say that the coach was, well, ugly, as was the "Lincoln" MK-something-or-other leading it. Good that Henry Leland is not around to see these things. One old man's opinion here.
 
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