Please Don’t Drive Me to My Funeral in This Ford Explorer Hearse Upbadged as a Lincoln
It doesn’t have to go down like this.
Hearses are solemn and strange at the same time. They carry caskets, obviously, but they're typically aftermarket re-bodies of existing cars that were never meant to haul such, erm, grim cargo. That means, in a lot of cases, they don't look quite right.
The hearse in question today is being sold by Parks Superior Sales and was built by MK Coach. Yes, it's a Ford Explorer (for the most part) but the so-called "Combination Coach" can be optioned with the grille from a Lincoln Nautilus. The result is a lengthened, mildly reworked Explorer that says Lincoln on the front. Very unusual.
Really, it's surprising how well a grille from a car that has so little to do with the Explorer fits. And for those wondering, no, the Nautilus is not the Lincoln vehicle that sits on Ford's CD6 platform along with the Explorer—that's the Aviator.
Why not just make an Aviator hearse in the first place? Strangely enough, MK Coach does make a hearse based on a Lincoln, but it's built atop the Nautilus instead. It's very similar to the Explorer in question but slightly bigger. According to a video made by Parks Superior Sales, the grille is an option in case a funeral home has a fleet of Lincoln vehicles and wants the Explorer to match. It's also offered without the glitzy grille, for the record.
Parks Superior Sales points out that this Explorer isn't just a hearse—it's a "combination vehicle." According to their website, that means it can also work as a casket-carrier, flower car, and more.
There's no price mentioned and it's unclear what options the base trucks are fitted with before being converted, but needless to say, it'll do the job. While that is technically true, I think I might write into my will that my hearse shouldn't be a re-badged Explorer. I think I would rather go for the real Lincoln, but then again, I will be dead. Maybe I'll just go with the Combination Coach.
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