Matthew Parij

As I have said before in many other posts, I don’t have any interest in the GM chassis & cowl. Only the Ford B-Series and the International S-Series and 3800 chassis & cowls suit my fancy.

The reason why I am writing this post , however; is because even though this Blue Bird Conventional may be on a GM chassis & cowl (as the result of General Motors and Blue Bird signing an agreement where Blue Bird would be exclusively the one and only user of their chassis & cowl, keeping other School Bus body manufacturers such as Thomas, Carpenter; and Wayne off limits from that point forward), it is a 36 passenger Conventional.

At the time this bus was produced, smaller size Conventional-style School Buses were already rare, as the majority of customers were purchasing either the already dying Type B buses built on the P-chassis; or Type A cutaway buses for their smaller size School Bus needs by this time.

Even in this day in age where the School Bus industry has been shrunken by a great deal, for the most part-has been consolidated; and there aren’t the chassis manufacturers that there used to be, you can still order a 36 passenger Conventional.

Source: Public Surplus: Auction #1806419

I do not like this kid staying at the Watson Lake Campground in the Yukon Territory being pictured wearing an icky, yucky tank top.

Let’s just hope that this kid is not athletic, and doesn’t play any sports.

https://goo.gl/maps/qfsh2UVzPhw

Recently, Phil McGraw had interviewed murderer and college frat boy Austin Harrouff on his talk show by the way of FaceTime on Phil McGraw’s laptop computer and Austin Harrouff’s cellular telephone. Phil McGraw and his production crew did not travel to where Austin Harrouff is being housed to interview Austin on the spot and film the interview while Phil McGraw would be doing so.

Austin Harrouff needs to be transformed from being fit and muscular to being fat and overweight.

Austin Harrouff should also comprehend that the automotive world, and the worlds of ham/amateur radio and commercial radio and television are more important and more interesting than the world of sports and fitness.

I am very disappointed that General Motors had sold their European business arm to PSA.

Now, because of this; PSA will not only own what was GM’s European operations; but also Chrysler’s European operations that were originally part of the Rootes Group that they had sold in 1978 to PSA to buy themselves a month’s worth of additional time before Lee Iacocca had become the CEO of Chrysler in 1979.

It looks like my idea of a compact van that would be developed by Opel, Holden; and Subaru to compete with the Volkswagen Transporter, Renault Trafic, Mercedes-Benz Vito/Viano/V-Class/Metris; Toyota Alphard, and the Nissan Elgrand is dead for good because of the sale of GM’s European operations to PSA.

See this earlier post regarding my idea of a compact van that would be developed by Opel, Holden; and Subaru:

An Opel/Holden/Vauxhall/Subaru Van On The Legacy/Outback Platform

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) and PSA Group (Paris:UG) today announced an agreement under which GM’s Opel/Vauxhall subsidiary and GM Financial’s European operations will join the PSA Group in a transaction valuing these activities at €1.3 Bn and €0.9 Bn, respectively.

Source: Opel/Vauxhall to join PSA Group

This Blue Bird School Bus (I am not sure if it is a Conventional or a Transit-style School Bus) that is owned and operated by the Kenston Local School District serving Chagrin Falls, Ohio; is more important than the students pictured inside of this bus, the High School’s organization that these students belong to; and why these students are being transported on this bus.

Even though I have never been fond of the GM chassis & cowl, this is a Superior conventional on a GM chassis & cowl that had been purchased second-handily by the government of Contra Costa County, California; repainted it the green color that it currently is, and had pressed it into service as an airport employee shuttle bus to shuttle ground support equipment workers from one point on the tarmac to another.

1971 GMC BUS – Contra Costa County Surplus

Source: Public Surplus: Auction #1791452

I never really knew that in the beginning of Thomas producing their Front-Engine Transit model, that Oshkosh had provided the puller chassis prior to Thomas producing their own puller chassis.

Oshkosh’s Bus, Step Van; and RV chassis division would be later purchased by Freightliner, owned by Daimler-Benz; and just a few years after Daimler/Freightliner purchasing Oshkosh’s Bus, Step Van; and RV chassis division, Daimler/Freightliner would purchase Thomas; and from that point on, both companies (Thomas and the former Oshkosh Bus, Step Van; and RV chassis division) would be under the umbrella of Daimler-Benz.

1995 Thomas School Bus – DO Bus #18 – Tempe Union High School District Surplus

Source: Public Surplus: Auction #1792606

A Carpenter conventional on the Ford B-Series chassis & cowl that had been repainted purple, located in Southfield, Michigan.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4639316,-83.2208044,3a,15y,97.16h,88.2t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssdfDYqA1_5yiXHLZLwzVng!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4643856,-83.2202349,3a,15y,188.04h,88.22t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1saAUv2jwHoOCMh0OKVqzNSQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1