Ilovectabuses

The newer buses have much better styling...especially in the back

all the buses that are out now are the same? I understand we had the NABIs, we have Novas and the new Flyer and all 3 are different makes but they are the same to me. All of them are low floor, DEF/regenerated buses with the same personality. Before, all buses had their own distinctive personality and look. GM and Flxibles were similar but very different..slanted windows, fishbowl front, slanted back....but the engines sound different, print scheme diffeent....etc. flyers had their own look. The MAN Americana to me was a box bus, the RTS TMC was a bus I thought was famous because you saw them in New York tv shows and they were very uncomfortable in the rear with no space because of the rear wheel well. The 5300, 5400 and 5500 series new Flxibles were great! I called those the bouncy buses because every time they run over a smooth hump or hard bump they bounce up and down for several seconds. Made weird sounds doing it at times as well. The breaks wouldn't release right away when the a/c was on...I think that's how all the newer Flx were. 5545 or some number, the destination sign code was different...the route number was bigger. The front sign wasn't in sync with the overhead sign on the passenger side. 5740-5764 all used the Alcoa aluminum rims, 5765-5769 all had the exhaust pipe underneath the bus....5745-5764 had a cut in the rear floor on the left side for some reason, a cummins sticker near the front door, there were other differences. I can't renember...6000 series had a more straight rear end and not slanted, yellow door handles for the front door and one entire vent piece on the rear wall, the seating was different than the 5000s... The new buses look the same and are boring to me

Wow, I thought I was the only one who paid any attention to how they sound for a minute and here you go understanding exactly what I'm speaking of!!! Amazing! You know, now that I think of it..after you mentions a few other bus numbers, I can't recall if you posted those numbers because I really don't remember but the MAN Americana had the normal bus tranny sound, then you had the 4003 and a few in its class that had the regular sound until 3rd gear and 4th gear were applied and both held the power band longer than it should. Listening to the way the engine sound gave me chills. I use to hope whoever drove the bus was running late do they can drive fast because that's the only way you would hear what I'm speaking of. In normal slow transit, running hot or whstever, the trans acts normal. There was another distinctive engine sound the Man Americana made but I wasn't too fond of. The 2nd gear seemed to be thrown off and the rest of the gears wasn't sequenced right. You know, if the 6300 series Flxible buses were still in service, those buses sound similar to the MAN Americana and the 4003 in some ways. That's the best example I can give. But you are right on the money!!! 5745-5754 all had the cummins voith combo but the gears changed 4 times. 5755-5765 changed 2 times after the first gear. Whenever I save my money, I'm going to look for the buses and hope that they aren't scrapped do I can buy it. GM....CTA pusses me off when they rehabbed not only the fishbowl GMC bus transmission but they did the same to the old Flyers. The old flyer buses had a transmission that was perfect! You may not have been able to hear all gears change unless the drive was running late or if the driver was on a route with no stop signs or red lights, less traffic and can roll like Ashland Av beteren Cermak Td and I-55. When u heard the final gear, again, I had chills...that's something u didn't hear often, lol! Once they rehabbed the trans, it was easier for the final gear to be heard making it boring. The GM was the same way. Before, GM had the normal 2 gear bus. Some buses sounded like the Volvo streets and sanitation garbage truck when the truck first take off...this was in the 90s though. I wish I would have recorded the sounds so you all would know exactly what I'm speaking of.

What's special about the MAN Americanas I mentioned was that the transmission held the power band longer between shifts on those bus numbers....so did the flxible buses...the transmissions were different, a few 3 and 5 speeds.

Yay! I hated the Novas....butt ugly styling

I just wanted to share my favorite buses. Not only because of the bus itself, it's the way they looks and sound. MAN 4003, 4054 and 4357 Flxible 5754, 5755, 5757, 5763 GMC 9799, most of the 1000 series (minus no overhead vents, the 9636, 7874, 9600 fleet maintenance series and the white paint scheme with the dark green strip on the bottom and dark brown interior on the inside Old Flyers before they changed the transmission, same with the GMCs And the NABI buses...I with they weren't defective