Taking my new box truck for a spin on the highway while ago and passed a Prevost LeMirage coach pulling a trailer (probably an entertainer), painted the most god-awful shade of Canary Bird-S$%$t-Yellow that you can imagine.
Heck, in my old town taste that bad was flat unlawful. And noone would sell that color... if you wanted it you had to steal it in the middle of the night!
No accounting why someone would spend that kind of money on a vehicle that color...oh well, I'll take my pills and shut up now!
BusCrazyTom the Analog Dinosaur
No problem Tom!
We understand, Really!
Just to set your mind at ease, here is a couple of pictures of Will Smiths Bus, you remember him... From "Men in Black Fame"?
Will Smith's bus has got a neat trailer, but speaking for myself I've never understood the attraction of having the outside of your bus covered in corrugated iron - especially corrugated iron that has been polished to make all the bumps and rivets even more obvious.
If you want a tasteful bus it needs to be smoooooth.
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mike-stephenson.org%2Fbuses%2Fusacoaches%2FDSCN1720.jpg&hash=c241d43fb6c34ad55bec2aae7641094f0acb2f78)
Jeremy
There are a great many bus nuts who like the stainless look. I think stainless is okay when polished, but looks really bad on older MCIs that are dull and dent and still in charter service.
Most of the time I prefer the smooth side look like Jeremy. My Dina is smooth sided, but it was not a huge factor in the purchase decision.
Quote from: Jeremy on May 16, 2008, 12:17:02 PM
Will Smith's bus has got a neat trailer, but speaking for myself I've never understood the attraction of having the outside of your bus covered in corrugated iron - especially corrugated iron that has been polished to make all the bumps and rivets even more obvious.
If you want a tasteful bus it needs to be smoooooth.
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mike-stephenson.org%2Fbuses%2Fusacoaches%2FDSCN1720.jpg&hash=c241d43fb6c34ad55bec2aae7641094f0acb2f78)
Jeremy
Looks too much like a motor home if the stainless or brushed aluminum is covered up.
Richard
Quote from: Dallas on May 16, 2008, 11:28:06 AM
No problem Tom!
We understand, Really!
Just to set your mind at ease, here is a couple of pictures of Will Smiths Bus, you remember him... From "Men in Black Fame"?
Hi Dallas,
That interior shot is not from a Prevost.. It's from a S&S. Look close to the size of the kitchen/salon area slide compaired to the outside shot.
Also look at the S&S window in the kitchen, not the same!
Nick-
No doubt that smooth finished look has its points, but it's stainless that really has character-- even a bit dull and dinged.
No doubt that smooth finished look has its points, but it's stainless that really has character-- even a bit dull and dinged.
[/quote]
yea it's cheaper I believe Setra and Van Hool use metal and the new MCI and the H Prevost are a carbon fiber the carbon fiber looks like a S&S when involved in a wreck and when they have a fire it's gone.PS I love my mirror aluminum siding on my Eagle
Quote from: Nick Badame Refrig. Co. on May 16, 2008, 02:49:15 PM
Quote from: Dallas on May 16, 2008, 11:28:06 AM
No problem Tom!
We understand, Really!
Just to set your mind at ease, here is a couple of pictures of Will Smiths Bus, you remember him... From "Men in Black Fame"?
Hi Dallas,
That interior shot is not from a Prevost.. It's from a S&S. Look close to the size of the kitchen/salon area slide compaired to the outside shot.
Also look at the S&S window in the kitchen, not the same!
Nick-
Dunno, Could be!
Here's the website I got those photo's from:
http://www.geocities.com/silversideus/smithbus/index.htm
several different interiors on that page....only one of which I am sure is a prevost.
Many of the new buses use fiberglass, not carbon fiber which is spendy due in part to high demand.
Dina uses a bonded aluminum skin.
"yea it's cheaper I believe Setra and Van Hool use metal and the new MCI and the H Prevost are a carbon fiber the carbon fiber looks like a S&S when involved in a wreck and when they have a fire it's gone.PS I love my mirror aluminum siding on my Eagle"
For your information, the H model Prevost is definitely NOT carbon Fiber. It's fiberglass! I know, I own one!
A new seated coach would cost WAY more than the 1.2 million they cost now if it WERE carbon fiber!
As for them looking like a S&S? Not really! They look like a REAL Coach/Motorhome, not a bus! ;)
Sorry guys you were right about the fiber glass it's Volvo that has some carbon fiber in the glass made in Mexico and Prevost being Volvo I thought they would be the same too bad I guess that is why Volvo and Setra are so popular in South America hold up better on the rough roads
The really classy old buses have ribbed sides, classy and strong.
If you want to look like every other S&S on the road then go for the smooth look. The reason the smoothies have those wild paint jobs is to detract from the fact that they have no style, just a big fiberglas box with round corners!!
The last thing I want is a bus that looks just like every S&S on the road.
Taste is a personal thing - to each his own. I love oldies.
I suspect whether you like the 'metal sides' look depends upon what the history and heritage of that type of old bus means to you - if you rode to school on such a bus, or whether your Dad drove one etc. British buses never looked like that, so to me they just seem to be dinosaurs from another age, which no particular class or character.
On the other hand, I do love the shape of those old 1940s style Yank buses, with the rounded fronts, streamlined tails and curved glass everywhere - no doubt because British buses of the same era had similar styling.
I agree totally that many modern 'box on wheels' buses have no character, in just the same way that many modern cars don't - but then many modern buses do look good in my opinion, such as the one in the picture I posted above. It's not the 'smooth' or 'boxy' look specifically that makes some vehicles characterless, although it is true that vehicles which are typically thought to have character (for instance, a VW Beetle) also tend to be curvy. Not always though, as there are also many examples of vehicles that are both boxy and characterful - for example, the Series 1 Land Rover just oozes character for someone like me (but perhaps means nothing at all to an American):
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lroc.com.au%2Fimages%2FSeriesI_No4Large.jpg&hash=13f938cd4c4730a46308e9773a576da6af726f1a)
Jeremy
Personally, I like the classic look of the Land Rover, Also the Toyota Landcruiser FJ35-45, the Jeep CJ's 2, 2A, and Jeep M-38A.
But I also like the look of the polished metal on the side for a bus conversion.
However, Where we are right now, the bus company contracted with Midwest Coachworks of Overpeck, Oh. ( www.midwestcoachworks.com ) to convert an MCI 102C3 into an Executive/Entertainer coach for use at Nascar, Horse Races, Sporting Events, etc. The work done on the interior is to say the least, beautiful, with excellent fit and finish. Unfortunately, the 102C3 the bus company chose to use is a stainless sided coach, which makes it look dated, since it's no longer in vogue to have shiny sided buses for commercial work.
I would love to be here in a year or so and see what the revenue of this coach is compared to other companies smooth sided Executives.
The stainless on my Prevost was pretty battered after 20 years, so I decided to replace it all during the conversion............but stuff happens, and the quote for the stainless package was over 30k, so needless to say I went smooth sides and purchased aluminum skin, that only cost around 3k, by the time I paint my smooth sides, that saved me nearly 25k, you have to remember I still had to paint the upper sections even if I chose stainless. Saving money there paid for new tires, interior and my 3 heat pumps plus new shocks and air bags.............!