TheNEW Starcraft Conventional at a Glance
WITH PRODUCTION SCHEDULED TO BEGIN THIS FALL AND A PROTOTYPE NOT EXPECTED TO BE READY UNTIL THIS SPRING’S STATE SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCES, HERE’S A PRELIMINARY LOOK AT THE PARTNERSHIP:
• Diesel chassis powered by Hino Motors that runs on Selective Catalyst Reduction technology to achieve 2010 EPA regulations for 83 percent less NOx and 90 per- cent less particulate matter emissions
• All vehicle engineering performed out of Hino Trucks headquarters in Novi, Mich.
• The Type C will be “100 percent made to order,” according to David Wright, GM of Starcraft Bus, and the bus will be “built from the ground up,” meaning GPS and other electronic options will be available
• Average capacity of 66 to 72 passengers in 11 and 12 row configurations • Wheelchair lift-equipped bus will be available immediately • Ergonomic driver compartment with fewer controls on the steering wheel • Buses are to be serviced by qualified technicians at all Starcraft dealerships
• No plans are being made public on an alternative fuel path, but Hino said it will launch this year “a range of hybrid vehicles that will join the American market with fourth generation hybrid technology proved in markets overseas”
• Reportedly, the company is currently testing a new outboard charge electric • Starcraft has no plans at this time to manufacture a Type D school bus
Last year at this time, in the midst of WITH THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC
SAFETY ADMINISTRATION still waiting to see a prototype, Starcraft Bus is pushing ahead with plans to unveil by this fall a line of new Type C conventional school buses, and in the process introducing the industry to a Japanese partner that draws its roots to before World War II. Hino Trucks, a Toyota Group Company,
officially entered a partnership with Star- craft Bus to bring a new look to the North American market, with full production expected in time for the start of the 2010- 2011 school year.
the economic recession, the school trans- portation industry was chewing on data that showed bus production had fallen by three percent, bringing to light a total two-year production downturn of 20 per- cent. Te only segment that saw growth during the 2007-2008 school bus manu- facturing year, albeit by a mere fraction of a half percent, was that of the industry’s bread and butter, conventional Type Cs. Despite the fact that the total number
of all types of school buses produced had fallen to 1996-1997 levels, Type Cs remain the most popular school bus type available to school districts and contractors alike, a fact not lost on Starcraft, the subsidiary of Forest River Inc., a holding of Warren Buf- fet’s Berkshire Hathaway, which first en- tered the school bus industry one year ago with its new line of Type A small school buses. Te move made sense, as the com- pany had an established line of small white commercial buses and is the largest single purchaser of Ford diesel chassis.
Even before the 2009 bell rang, Starcraft
had already dispatched representatives to various North American truck shows to specifically look for partners in the Type C chassis arena, said David Wright, GM of Starcraft Bus in Goshen, Ind. “Hino was excited and interested in
pursuing Type Cs,” Wright said during the NAPT Trade Show in Louisville. “Tey were already wanting to go commercial. Tey’re a global player with financial strength and brand recognition — a perfect partner for Berkshire Hathaway. “Our dealers are really excited,” Wright
added. “Some are only currently Type A, so this gives them entry into the Type C market.” Te bus body will be built on Hino’s exist-
ing line of Class 6 diesel chassis at Starcraft’s new 100,000 square-foot facility, which re- cently opened as a dedicated production line for the company’s school bus lines. Te chassis are already being shipped to Goshen from Hino’s truck plant in Williamstown,
W.Va., meaning the new school bus would
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