7Mary3 Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 I heard a rumor that Ford is looking to buy Blue Bird off of Cerberus. All I can find is Blue Bird is planning on using a Roush prepped LNG V-10 engine in some busses. I would have to say the rumor sounds like a long shot, as Cerberus ownes Blue Bird and NABI, and I would think they would want to sell them together. IF they are in fact for sale. Can't imagine Ford is stupid enough to get involved in public transportation.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vision street wear 2 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Haven't heard that rumor. Maybe it got started because we are supplying Bluebird with our V10 and 6R140. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausrutherford Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 I heard a rumor that Ford is looking to buy Blue Bird off of Cerberus. All I can find is Blue Bird is planning on using a Roush prepped LNG V-10 engine in some busses. I would have to say the rumor sounds like a long shot, as Cerberus ownes Blue Bird and NABI, and I would think they would want to sell them together. IF they are in fact for sale. Can't imagine Ford is stupid enough to get involved in public transportation.......... Not that I believe this at all...but Bill Ford did talk around a year ago how Ford was going to cope with traffic and the world car population leveling off over time. I guess buses would have to be included in that somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 (edited) You do know that all the major global automotive companies are involved in public transportation as well....right?Daimler (Mercedes Benz) VW, Hyundai, Toyota, Tata...etc etc etc Edited November 27, 2011 by twintornados Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Wild thought. If Bluebird is building their own chassis, might that figure in the move from Bluediamond to Avon Lake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Wild thought. If Bluebird is building their own chassis, might that figure in the move from Bluediamond to Avon Lake? Oooooo ... I like that thought ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe771476 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 I think I touched upon this in an earlier post. And Blue Bird is the only school bus body maker left for Ford to hook up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosetang Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Interesting if true, though I'd rather see Ford hook up with one of the nicer transit bus builders outside the US to build (not just "assemble") buses over here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausrutherford Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Interesting if true, though I'd rather see Ford hook up with one of the nicer transit bus builders outside the US to build (not just "assemble") buses over here. Pretty much all of those are tied up with other automakers already. NEOPLAN for instance is owned by MAN, which is owned by VW Group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moosetang Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Pretty much all of those are tied up with other automakers already. NEOPLAN for instance is owned by MAN, which is owned by VW Group. Actually I was thinking of New Flyer in Canada. They're owned by an America PE firm already, they make pretty great buses, and have an American market presence. If buying Blue Bird included all of NABI, that would be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Mary3 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 You do know that all the major global automotive companies are involved in public transportation as well....right?Daimler (Mercedes Benz) VW, Hyundai, Toyota, Tata...etc etc etc Not in the U.S.! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Not in the U.S.! With what I call highway buses, like Greyhound uses, in Canada, Setra is owned by M-B and Prevost is owned by Volvo Trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 Not in the U.S.! Not yet...... :reading: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Check out the BlueBird web site. Not too much detail but enough to make it interesting. Look at the instrument panels. Frames-huck bolt fasteners! When people say ..."Ford can't justify the kind of expenditure on class 6/7 for such small volume"....I say look at this-how many buses do you suppose BlueBird builds a year??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7Mary3 Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 Check out the BlueBird web site. Not too much detail but enough to make it interesting. Look at the instrument panels. Frames-huck bolt fasteners! When people say ..."Ford can't justify the kind of expenditure on class 6/7 for such small volume"....I say look at this-how many buses do you suppose BlueBird builds a year??? The real question is how profitable has Blue Bird been. After it was sold by the Luce family (who started the firm) it has been owned by a couple of organizations (including Henley's and Volvo Truck), spun off, and went bankrupt before Cerberus got ahold of it. Blue Bird is up against a couple of monsters in International and Thomas (Freightliner). Both can leverage school bus chassis development and manufacturing with medium duty truck. No idea what Blue Bird makes or looses since they are a privately held firm, but Cerberus isn't known for buying winners, are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 The real question is how profitable has Blue Bird been. After it was sold by the Luce family (who started the firm) it has been owned by a couple of organizations (including Henley's and Volvo Truck), spun off, and went bankrupt before Cerberus got ahold of it. Blue Bird is up against a couple of monsters in International and Thomas (Freightliner). Both can leverage school bus chassis development and manufacturing with medium duty truck. No idea what Blue Bird makes or looses since they are a privately held firm, but Cerberus isn't known for buying winners, are they? I think Cerberus buys what they think is basically sound and has potential. I was not aware of BlueBird's history, but at least looking at the website, it appears to be a company of substance. By no means am I a BlueBird "cheerleader". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe771476 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Type in Bue Bird bus in your browser and then click on the Wikipedia link. Very interesting especially about 3/4 of the way down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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