page_title: Combination car
section_title: Design features
hierarchical_section_title: Combination car / Design features
caption_attribution_description: 1961 Chrysler New Yorker Briarean Combination
context_page_description: A combination car is a vehicle which could serve either as a hearse or as an ambulance, and had the capability of being swapped between those roles without much difficulty. This hybrid usage of the cars reflects an era when funeral homes offered emergency ambulance service in addition to their primary trade, especially in smaller towns and rural areas.
  Combination cars were often built on a Cadillac Commercial Chassis and were customized by coachbuilders such as Superior, Miller-Meteor, Hess & Eisenhardt and Cotner-Bevington.
context_section_description: Combination cars often include:
  Flashing lights (mounted or concealed) or a siren. Some cars used rotating roof beacons that could flash either yellow lights in processional mode, or both red and yellow lights in emergency response mode. Alternatively, a hole on the roof was often supplied where a beacon could be bolted on an intermittent basis, with a wire passing through to the driver's compartment where it could be plugged in when needed.
  Two-way radio
  Gurney (stretcher) or a casket. The presence of ambulance technology made combos useful in the first call role, as a gurney is also used in that function.
  Foldable seats on one side in the rear compartment where a first-aid person can sit while looking after a patient on their way to the hospital
  A cabinet where first-aid supplies can be stored
caption: 1961 Chrysler New Yorker Briarean Combination
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