The Blue Bird Corporation is an American bus manufacturer headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. Best known for its production of school buses, the company has also manufactured a wide variety of other bus types, including transit buses, motorhomes, and specialty vehicles such as mobile libraries and mobile police command centers. Currently, Blue Bird concentrates its product lineup on school buses, school pupil activity buses, and specialty vehicle derivatives.
A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus. Various configurations of school buses are used worldwide; the most iconic examples are the yellow school buses of the United States which are also found in other parts of the world.
Freightliner Trucks is an American semi truck manufacturer. Founded in 1929 as the truck-manufacturing division of Consolidated Freightways, the company was established in 1942 as Freightliner Corporation. Owned by Daimler AG from 1981 to 2021, Freightliner is now a part of Daimler Truck subsidiary Daimler Truck North America.
The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the top trim level from the Chevrolet C/K series, the Silverado is offered as a series of full-size pickup trucks, chassis cab trucks, and medium-duty trucks. The fourth generation of the model line was introduced for the 2019 model year.
The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford Motor Company since the 1948 model year. The F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks positioned above the midsize Ranger but below the larger Super Duty in the Ford truck lineup. Alongside the F-150, the F-Series also includes the Super Duty series, which includes the heavier-duty F-250 through F-450 pickups, F-450/F-550 chassis cabs, and F-600/F-650/F-750 Class 6–8 commercial trucks.
The Chevrolet Express is a series of full-size vans produced by General Motors since 1996. The successor to the Chevrolet G-series van, the Express is produced in passenger and cargo variants. Alongside the standard van body, the line is offered as a cutaway van chassis; the latter vehicle is a chassis cab variant developed for commercial-grade applications, including ambulances, buses, motorhomes, and small trucks.
Thomas Built Buses, Inc. is an American bus manufacturer. Best known for its production of the first ever rear engine Type C school bus. Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages. Currently, its production is concentrated on school buses and activity buses, along with their commercial derivatives.
The Wayne Busette is a minibus that was assembled by Wayne Corporation from 1973 to 1990. During its production, many examples of the Busette were produced as school buses. One of the first examples produced with a cutaway van chassis, the Busette mated a purpose-built school bus body with a dual rear-wheel van chassis. In North America, this configuration is now preferred by manufacturers for many other types of minibuses in addition to school buses.
Cutaway van chassis are used by second stage manufacturers for a wide range of completed motor vehicles. Especially popular in the United States, they are usually based upon incomplete vans made by manufacturers such as Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors which are generally equipped with heavier duty components than most of their complete products. To these incomplete vehicles, a second stage manufacturer adds specific equipment and completes the vehicle. Common applications of this type of vehicle design and manufacturing includes small trucks, school buses, recreational vehicles, minibuses, and ambulances. The term "cutaway" can be somewhat of a misnomer in most of the vehicle's context since it refers to truck bodies for heavy-duty commercial-grade applications sharing a common truck chassis.
The Chevrolet Kodiak and GMC TopKick are a range of medium-duty trucks that were produced by the Chevrolet and GMC divisions of General Motors from 1980 to 2009. Introduced as a variant of the medium-duty C/K truck line, three generations were produced. Slotted between the C/K trucks and the GMC Brigadier Class 8 conventional, the Kodiak/TopKick were developed as a basis for vocationally oriented trucks, including cargo haulers, dump trucks, and similar vehicles; on later generations, both cutaway and cowled-chassis variants were produced for bus use.
The International DuraStar line, known as the 4000 series prior to 2008 and the DuraStar Series from 2008 to 2018, is a line of medium-duty trucks produced by Navistar International since 2001. Introduced as the successor to the International 4000 series of 1989–2001, the 4000 series was renamed the DuraStar in 2008. Developed as a Class 6-7 product range, the 4000/DuraStar was slotted below the 8000/TranStar regional-haul semitractor, with the Class 5 International TerraStar (2010–2015) serving as the smallest International conventional-cab product range.
The Blue Bird Vision is a school bus that is manufactured and marketed by Blue Bird Corporation in North America and exported worldwide. In production since 2003, the Vision became the first cowled-chassis bus built on a proprietary chassis designed and manufactured by the same company. While it is sold primarily in a school bus configuration, the Blue Bird Vision is also offered with various commercial and specialty seating and design configurations.
The bus chassis variant of the International S series is a cowled bus chassis that was produced by International Harvester from 1979 to 2004. Produced primarily for school bus applications, the chassis was also produced for other applications, including commercial-use buses and cutaway-cab buses. In addition, the cowled chassis formed the basis for front-engine and rear-engine stripped chassis produced for bus applications.
A hybrid electric truck is a form of truck that uses hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology for propulsion, instead of using only a combustion engine.
The Wayne Lifestar is a product line of buses that was manufactured and marketed by Wayne Corporation and its successor company Wayne Wheeled Vehicles from 1986 to 1995. Produced nearly exclusively in a school bus configuration, the Wayne Lifestar used a transit-style body configuration with a front-engine chassis. Marking the return to transit-style production, the Lifestar adopted the single-piece body stampings of the Wayne Lifeguard in its construction.
The Blue Bird Micro Bird is a bus body produced in the United States and Canada by Blue Bird Corporation. First introduced in 1975, the Micro Bird body is combined with a cutaway van chassis, with passenger capacity ranging from 10 to 30 passengers. While most examples are produced as a school bus, the Micro Bird has been sold in various configurations, including commercial-use minibuses and as a MFSAB. MFSABs are alternatives to 15-passenger vans; examples have come into use by child care centers and other organizations due to updated safety regulations.
Motiv Power Systems is an American manufacturer of all-electric chassis for medium-duty commercial vehicles, based in Foster City, California.
Bollinger Motors is an American automobile manufacturer of electric vehicles based in Oak Park, Michigan.
