Last Ride: Classic Hearses at the 2018 Woodward Dream Cruise

Andy Hotten Associates had been making stretch limo, station wagon, and convertible modifications of Lincolns (and other Ford products) for years, and so was very well placed to capitalize on the fact that Lincolns remained full-sized for a few years after Cadillac shrunk its largest Fleetwood models. Four hearse variants were offered at the new models' unveiling in April 1978 near the factory in Toronto: the Landau, Viceroy, Westminster, and Verona. Each featured a 30-inch wheelbase stretch (to 157.0), a full-length raised roof, a side-hinged rear door through which a casket could be loaded onto a rolling table, and air-assisted rear load leveling. Although it looks as if AHA could have just sliced a Town Coupe aft of the A-pillar and married it with a four-door Town Car sedan from the B-pillar forward, we're told that most everything aft of the A-pillar on this model is built of custom formed steel. Because Cadillac hearses are so very common, going out in a Lincoln this long, lovely, and well built somehow seems more exclusive and fabulous.