In 2002, Blue Bird was undergoing development of several prototypes of a conventional-body school bus on a Ford medium-duty chassis. The new-generation medium-duty Fords had yet to find a body supplier. Blue Bird's 10-year agreement with General Motors to become the standard supplier for the Blue Bird Conventional expired in 2003, which left the company anxious to find a Navistar chassis alternative (Freightliner, the parent company of competitor Thomas Built Buses, pulled its chassis supply). A prototype on an F-650 chassis was developed with new features unseen on conventional school buses.
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| - In 2002, Blue Bird was undergoing development of several prototypes of a conventional-body school bus on a Ford medium-duty chassis. The new-generation medium-duty Fords had yet to find a body supplier. Blue Bird's 10-year agreement with General Motors to become the standard supplier for the Blue Bird Conventional expired in 2003, which left the company anxious to find a Navistar chassis alternative (Freightliner, the parent company of competitor Thomas Built Buses, pulled its chassis supply). A prototype on an F-650 chassis was developed with new features unseen on conventional school buses.
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| - Fort Valley, Georgia
- LaFayette, Georgia
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| - Blue Bird Conventional
- Blue Bird/GM CV200
- Blue Bird/Navistar SBCV
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| abstract
| - In 2002, Blue Bird was undergoing development of several prototypes of a conventional-body school bus on a Ford medium-duty chassis. The new-generation medium-duty Fords had yet to find a body supplier. Blue Bird's 10-year agreement with General Motors to become the standard supplier for the Blue Bird Conventional expired in 2003, which left the company anxious to find a Navistar chassis alternative (Freightliner, the parent company of competitor Thomas Built Buses, pulled its chassis supply). A prototype on an F-650 chassis was developed with new features unseen on conventional school buses. The Blue Bird/Ford prototype was most notable for the introduction of a wide-angle Fresnel lens to improve driver sightlines in the loading/unloading zone around the entry door. However, the Blue Bird/Ford prototypes would not end in an a supply agreement with Ford. Although the Blue Bird/Ford never reached production, the body design of the Vision would carry over several features from the prototype. It features a patented "Safety View Vision Panel." This small window, utilizing a wide-angle Fresnel lens, allows the bus driver to see the critical loading/unloading zone.
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