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Totally unrelated to the original Meteor firm, the Meteor Motor Car Co. (aka Caserta Professional Vehicles/Car Sales of Piqua,
Ohio) was started by Thomas Caserta in 1996. Caserta, a former 18-year
Miller-Meteor employee, produces
a handful of new
Meteor Carmelita coaches on Mercury Grand Marquis sedans each year at his West Ash St.
dealership in
Piqua, Ohio. The Carmelita is made by stretching the rear
quarter-panel of a standard-wheelbase Marquis by 13" which allows just
enough space for a full-sized casket to fit behind
the driver's compartment bulkhead.
Tom Caserta started out at Miller-Meteor in 1962, and after Cotner-Bevington
was acquired by Divco-Wayne, he was sent there to streamline production
methods. His efforts had a big influence on the popularity of C-B coaches in
the late '60's, as it was he who made the decision to make the list of
standard features in Cotner-Bevingtons so complete as to include
air-conditioning, radio, full wheel-covers and whitewall tires, etc. Export
sales are a common thing for his products.
© 2004 Mark Theobald - Coachbuilt.com, with special thanks to Bernie DeWinter
IV.
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