IC Bus Wins North Carolina Contract

Several weeks ago, we wrote in this space about the possibility of Blue Bird grabbing the North Carolina yellow school bus contract and shutting out local company Thomas Built Buses. Strike that, as IC Bus ended up the low bidder and winning the lucrative contract for nearly 900 new Type C buses.

Local North Carolina residents are sure to be unhappy, as there were press reports last month detailing the public outrcry before the contract was even finalized. Several media outlets quoted residents who were perplexed that Thomas of High Point would not be keeping the business in state especially in light of the economy and skyrocketing unemployment.

At that time, Blue Bird looked like it would win as it was the low bidder, a state requirement for awarding such bids. But a spokesman at the North Carolina Office of Public Instruction said Blue Bird retracted its proposal apparently after discovering some internal errors in calculations that procluded the company from actually meeting the price it quoted the state. That left IC Bus as the new low bidder, and with that the deal for the close to 900 CE Series school buses was inked.

However, Blue Bird did win a multi-award contract for activity buses along with IC Bus, though the exact number of buses is unknown because those purchases are up to local districts. But, last month, John O’Leary, president at Thomas, >said last month that losing the North Carolina award would not translate into job losses at home, despite the fact the company has laid off about 400 workers in the past year due to the economy.

The IC win, meanwhile, also means the advanced EGR MaxxForce diesel engine makes it onto the state specification list for meeting upcoming 2010 EPA emissions requirements. Both Blue Bird and Thomas are meeting the standard with urea-based SCR Cummins engines.

In a statement, John McKinney, president of IC Bus, gave the credit to a local dealer for the contract win.

“The team from White’s International has a keen understanding of the needs of this customer. They helped demonstrate how IC Bus could be a partner to them during and after the sale.” McKinney commented.

Navistar Points to CARB Research to Back Up Claims Against SCR

Navistar, the parent company of IC Bus, has taken its fight against selective catalyst reduction and for advanced exhaust gas recirculation as the right choice for meeting upcoming EPA 2010 emissions requirements in lowering nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions at the tailpipe to no more than 0.2 grams. Currently, Navistar is suing the EPA in federal appeals court as it contends the feds by allowing SCR in its regulations will being increasing public health risks due to urea, the additive used in SCR to reduce NOx in the engine that has been used for the past two decades in Europe.

The aggressive marketing performed by Navistar this year has drawn criticism from many in automotive and fleet circles, such as Oliver Dixon's "Spiral of Dispair" article earlier this week on The World Trucks Blog at UK's www.roadtransport.com. But then, Navistar offered a rebuttal by claiming that a June letter penned by Bart Croes, chief of California Air Resources Board research, to the Health Effects Institute, a Boston nonprofit organization planning tests on 2010 engines, that said that the use of SCR represents a "large departure from conventional emission controls by introducing a liquid additive containing an organic form of nitrogen." According to MYETTNEWS.com, The letter goes on:

“Some toxic air contaminants that have been identified with SCR technology include hydrogen cyanide, cyanic acid, nitromethane, hydrazine, acrylonitrile, acrylamide, acetonitrile, and acetamide,” Croes wrote in his letter. “It is hoped that any exotic substances emitted from SCR technology will be at levels insignificant to exposure health effects.”

Although we are encouraged by findings to date, which suggest that the technology can deliver significant reductions of many species of toxicological relevance, this work has also documented the increase in some emissions such as some metals, nitrous oxide and nanoparticles.”

In the August issue of School Transportation News, contributor Bob Pudlewski writes that fleets must individually decide which technology best suits their needs, but either one has an increased price tag.

The debate rages on.

CTO Responsible for MaxxForce Leaving Navistar

Automotive World reported yesterday that Dr. Helmut Endres is no longer with Navistar International Truck & Engine. Endres came to Navistar in 2006 and became chief technical officer and vice president of Powertrain Engineering, helping to develop and to design the company's MaxxForce engine line. Considered one of the world's leading He is one of the world’s leading authorities on diesel engines with a disciplined approach to design, validation, cost controls and product quality.

The magazine reported that Endres e-mail inbox is automatically replying to incoming messages by saying that he left the company this month.

Prior to coming to Navistar, Helmut worked for Volkswagon in Germany for a decade, leading a global team of 2,000 engineers. Among his accomplishments are the development of the high-performance V-10 TDI diesel engine in VW’s Touareg SUV and Phaeton luxury sedan, and the introduction of turbo-charged, direct-injection gasoline engines with low-fuel consumption as well as high power and torque.

The 'New GM' Out of Bankruptcy, Still Committed to School Bus Market

As the industry has been closely watching the demise of GM, there seems to be some good news coming out of Detroit: the automaker is remaining dedicated to its small school bus business as it was emerging bankruptcy sooner than expected. A company spokesman recently told STN that the commitment to manufacturing chassis for the school bus market has not changed [Look for this article in the August STN issue].

Going forward, the big purchasers of GM cutaway chassis on the Chevy Express and GMC Savana platforms are Girardin Minibus and Trans-Tech. Thomas Built Buses also uses some GM. But in filing for bankruptcy, GM was separated from Opel, the German manufacturer responsible for much of GM's diesel expertise dating back to 1929. What could that mean for the diesel business?

Competition is stiff elsewhere, too. As GM's works hard to keep its head above water, the sharks are circling. That's not necessarily in the best interest of the taxpayers, which now effectively own GM, but it could be an impetus to truly a "New GM," as the company is now calling itself.

Speaking of competition, Collins Bus Corporation announced earlier this spring that it is developing a Ford gasoline-hybrid, as the automaker has slowly but surely been leaving the diesel market. Collins Bus as well as its line of Mid Bus and Corbeil products, have also traditionally built bodies on GM chassis, so it will be interesting to see how the recent deal with Azure Dynamics to develop the gasoline hybrid drive train for Ford will play out. Then there's potential Type A chassis production capabilities at Daimler Truck/Freightliner for Thomas and Navistar for its IC Bus line.

Meanwhile, Girardin Minibus is publicly, at least, reaffirming its relationship with GM because the auto manufacturer is staying true to diesel engine technology, at least in theory. As reported in the July issue of STN, Girardin said it is eyeing a GM diesel-hybrid to compete with Collins' gas-hybrid, the latter expected to be unveiled this summer. GM retained it's two-mode diesel hybrid technology originally slated for the Saturn VUE. This same technology could fuel GM's SUV business, which could in turn have strong implications for the school bus industry.

District Drops CNG, Says Diesel Will Save

Three years ago the Tucson Unified School District invested heavily in CNG-powered school buses, now the school district is change its tack with an $3 million diesel school bus order, the Arizona Daily Star reports:

... the CNG buses have drawn complaints from mechanics, who don't like the engines as much as they do diesel, and from drivers, who don't like the long trips to the airport fueling station ... but the biggest reason behind the switch is that diesel is cleaning up its act. With the federal government next year instituting stringent clean-air requirements, the new generation of diesel buses spits out only a fraction of the tiny pieces of dust, soot and fumes that its older kin does. Such emissions are now on par with clean-burning CNG-fueled buses.

Tom Mulligan, the district's transportation director, says given the improvements in diesel, the decision to switch makes financial sense. But Richard Kolodiej of NGVAmerica says that might not hold if diesel prices go back up, especially since districts can lock into natural gas prices for seven years. On the environmental side Patricia Monahan of the Union of Concerned Scientists says natural gas is still worth considering as a means to end petroleum independence and overall pollution reduction. But, she says:

"... I think school districts have a lot of hard decisions to make ...I wouldn't chastise the district for cutting costs, but there is an argument to still use natural gas."

So what's going on at your operation? Are you looking at CNG or propane? Is "green" diesel where it's at?

Also on the alt-fuel radar this week, IC Bus will get $10 Million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and test the next generation plug-in hybrid school bus.

School Bus Mechanic on the Benefits of Diesel Mechanic Colleges

John Wheelan is one of the most fascinating school transportation bloggers on the web. His blog, logically titled School Bus Mechanic, offers the insights from his 32 years in heavy-duty automotive industry. In his most recent post he highlights the benefits of diesel mechanic colleges:

Back in 1977 I entered Diesel Mechanic School at the local college. This was the start of my 4 year apprenticeship as a Heavy Duty Mechanic. This first step was called a pre-apprenticeship which would last 6 months. I had never touched a diesel engine before and had some automotive/small engine experience from high school.

...if you're interested in getting into this trade I would go down to the nearest diesel mechanic college or technical school and ask some questions about the curriculum and cost ... I'm content now after working in this trade for 32 years and find myself telling a lot of stories about experiences and aha moments & wouldn't trade it for the world!

Well worth reading the whole story at his blog.