Commercial Auto Dealers

We’ve said it on this blog before: If you want to make a statement or get attention for your demonstration, hearses are some of the best props you can use. That’s exactly what one radio station in Trenton, New Jersey is doing for this unique (and much needed) demonstration.

The DJs at NJ101.5 FM plan to use several hearses to deliver thousands of empty wallets to the Statehouse tomorrow. Along with hundreds (or thousands) or listeners contributing to the effort, the station wants to make the point to Governor Jon S. Corzine that “there’s nothing left to pay.” Taxes are just getting out of hand and according to many in The Garden state, the new state budget is a “death sentence for the middle class.”

If history gives us any clue, the protest with the Cadillac hearses may get the governor’s attention. Last year, the same radio station staged a protest against the governor’s plan to increase tolls by “floating inflatable swine around the Statehouse dome in an attempt to show the proposal would only pass when pigs fly.” The idea was later dropped.

Can you blame the DJs and the New Jersey citizens for feeling like their money is being taken away as fast as they make it? Demonstrations like this are taking place all over the nation and people are just fed up with the taxes. What are your thoughts about the protests, using hearses in them and the whole tax situation in general?

Although many people think that the funeral industry is basically “recession proof,” there are still costs associated with the business. Unfortunately, the income for funeral homes does not always match the money it takes to run them.

That’s exactly why many funeral homes across the country are looking for ways to cut costs. Some of those ways include repairing their Cadillac hearses instead of buying new ones, turning the thermostat down and even doing their own laundry rather than having it sent out.

There are several factors contributing to funeral homes not bringing in as much money as they once did. People are opting for cheaper products and features which cut into the funeral home’s profit. When people choose cremations, shorter viewing times and cheaper caskets, the funeral home does not make as much as they do with the more traditional alternatives. In addition to that, the stocks and trust funds in which they hold the money for prepaid funerals are not doing so well these days.

According to an article in a Kansas City publication, one of the first cutbacks funeral directors make is on new Cadillac hearses. Since they can cost up to $80,000 and they do not have a high trade-in value, directors are starting to keep their old hearses and make repairs.

These are just a few cuts funeral homes are making. We’ll keep an eye on this and bring you more information in the days and weeks to come.

If you’ve ever seen hearses driving down the street, you probably would not think to yourself, “Hey, that would be a great vehicle for stealing an ATM!” But that must have been one of the thoughts these guys had.

Some thieves in Nashville, Tennessee used a hearse one night last week to rip an ATM out of its station on Myatt Drive in Madison. They wrapped a chain around it with one end attached to a hearse and pulled away quickly. The thieves were unable to retrieve the money from the machine as it broke loose from the chain during the getaway. The criminals then left the hearse about a half-mile from the crime and took off. Police found the hearse where the thieves left it. It had a chain attached to it. They are still searching for the suspects.

This time the thieves used a hearse to tear out the ATM. But Nashville Police say a similar incident occurred just days before that involving a stolen church van. This time, the scene of the crime was on Ellington and Briley near Nashville.

This is one of the most creative uses I’ve heard of for Cadillac hearses in a long time.