Misplaced Pages

#689310

67-687: The company was acquired by Collins Bus Corporation in 1998. On September 19, 2007, Collins announced plans to close the Mid Bus plant in Ohio and consolidate all manufacturing at the Collins facility in Kansas. In 1980, in the US, there were six major school bus body companies building large school buses, mostly making bodies for chassis from four truck manufacturers, joined by two coach-type school bus builders on

134-658: A campervan conversion produced by Auto-Sleepers converted in Willersey , Gloucestershire , known as the Auto-Sleepers Duetto was available. It was available with the high-top roof. The naturally aspirated diesel engines came in 70 PS (51 kW), 76 PS (56 kW) The turbo diesel version came in 85 PS (63 kW), 100 PS (74 kW) and in 1998 a 115 PS (85 kW) Intercooled version became available, All turbodiesels had an electronic fuel injection pump made by Lucas For

201-686: A pickup truck . The vehicle is also known as the Ford T-Series (T-150, T-250, T-350), a nomenclature shared with Ford's other light commercial vehicles, the Ford F-Series trucks, and the Ford E-Series chassis. As of 2015 , 8 million Transit vans have been sold, making it the third best-selling van of all time and has been produced across four basic platform generations (debuting in 1965, 1986, 2000, and 2013 respectively), with various "facelift" versions of each. The first product of

268-523: A Ford dealer in Stuttgart . "SIRA" combines " Sinpar " and "Rau" because Rau was the agent for French four-wheel-drive specialist Sinpar in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The SIRA Transit used a Sinpar transfer case and other parts, and was available with the 2-liter petrol four or the 2.4-liter Diesel, on either wheelbase. The 4x4 Transit was later offered in other markets as well. Codenamed VE6 ,

335-555: A big "Taunus" emblem as well as a small Taunus lettering which was also mounted on the back of the vehicle. New, however, was a small Ford logo underneath the right B-pillar. From 1957 onwards, with the launch of the Ford Thames 400E by Ford of Britain, the situation arose that Ford, together with the FK1000/FK1250 by Ford Werke AG, was now present on the continental European markets with two competing products. For example,

402-606: A decade before, Collins shifted production of Corbeil buses to its Kansas facility, repackaging it as a product range marketed in Canada. Both subsidiaries adopted the Bantam bodywork, marketed as the Mid Bus Guide and Corbeil Quantum, respectively. In 2010, American Industrial Partners formed Allied Specialty Vehicles out of four of its transportation holdings, including Collins and its subsidiary companies. Under ASV, Collins

469-455: A former Superior and Carpenter manager, Fred Barrington created Mid Bus, manufacturing Superior's smallest Type A bus under the new "Superior by Mid Bus" brand name. Initially, they had a seven other former employees of the large factory, and worked in a small shop on Wayne Street in Lima, OH. As other small bus products were added, Superior by Mid Bus was shortened to Mid Bus. In the mid-1980s,

536-781: A fully imported model was introduced. In August 1977, a facelifted version—codenamed within Ford as the "Transit 1978 + 1 ⁄ 2 "—but usually referred to as the Transit Mark II , debuted with a restyled, longer nose section which could now properly accommodate an in-line engine in place of the Essex and Cologne V4s - therefore the Pinto engine from the Cortina became the Transit's dominant power unit. The new frontal styling brought

603-534: A low-floor configuration Utilizes a wheelchair ramp (in place of lift) Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van , but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in some markets since 1995), cutaway van chassis , and

670-584: A new "Mark" number. The Mark II was available in 6 body styles: Van, Kombi, Chassis Cab, Parcel Van, Bus, and Crewbus all available in short-wheelbase (2690 mm) and long-wheelbase (3000 mm) versions. A selection of 5 engines was available: 1.6-litre OHC Petrol, 1.6-litre OHV Petrol (Kent), 2.0-litre OHC Petrol, 2.0-litre OHC Petrol (Economy) and 2.4-litre Diesel. On top of this were 32 door combinations, 6 axle ratios and options for 12 – 17 interior seats. All of these were available in any combination when purchased with Ford's highly customizable custom plan. At

737-423: A new nose and dashboard , along with the 2.0 L DOHC 8-valve engine as found in the 1994 to 1998 Ford Scorpio. It is similar to the earlier Sierra DOHC unit but without the distributor and uses the updated OBD II -compliant EEC-V level engine control unit . At the same time air conditioning , electric windows, central locking, electric mirrors and airbags were all made available as optional extras. In 1994,

SECTION 10

#1732787082690

804-615: A second unified platform ( Ford Escort ) was launched in 1967. With the discontinuation of the Ford Zephyr (British) and Ford P7 (German) in 1972 all Ford platforms for the European market are unified. Since 1994 (discontinuation of the Ford Granada name ) even the Ford model-names are the same for the European market. The German vehicle was not widely exported, and the "Mark 1" tag has commonly been applied, retrospectively, to

871-473: A subsidiary of Collins Industries , a publicly traded stock company, in 1998. On September 19, 2007, Collins announced plans to close the Mid Bus plant in Ohio and consolidate all manufacturing at the Collins facility in Kansas. Collins Bus Collins Industries is an American bus manufacturer headquartered in South Hutchinson, Kansas . Best known for production of yellow school buses ,

938-546: A turbodiesel Jaguar S-Type ; after weight reduction and aerodynamic modifications, she was only just unsuccessful, marking her fastest lap at 10m 8s. This version won the International Van of the Year 2001. The Durashift EST automatic transmission (optional on all rear-wheel-drive models) features controls mounted on the dashboard, a specially adapted manual mode, tow-haul mode, economy mode and winter mode. This

1005-480: A van built in Ford's Cologne plant in Germany. It was introduced in 1953 as FK 1000 (carrying 1,000 kg) with the 1.2-litre Ford sidevalve engine from the contemporary Taunus. In 1955 the engine capacity was enlarged to 1.5 litres. From 1961, this vehicle was called the Ford Taunus Transit . Production of this model ceased in 1965. On May 9, 1945, the day after the unconditional surrender of

1072-728: Is known as the ASM (automatically shifting manual) system in the Australian market. 2002 saw the introduction of the first High Pressure Common Rail diesel engine in the Transit, with the launch of the 125 PS (92 kW) HPCR 2.0-litre in the FWD. Production of the van started at the new Ford-Otosan plant in Kocaeli, Turkey which saw the end of all production at the Genk, Belgium plant which had been producing Transits since 1965. This coincided with

1139-490: The Bedford CA , Ford's Thames competitor, because of its restricted load area, failed to attract fleet users in sufficient numbers. Ford switched to a front-engined configuration, as did Bedford with their well-regarded CA series vans in the 1950s. Henry Ford II 's revolutionary step was to combine the engineering efforts of Ford of Britain and Ford of Germany to create a prototype for the Ford of Europe of today—previously

1206-596: The Focus and Ka . Developed by Ford in the United States, the main innovation is that it is available in either front- or rear-wheel drive. Ford nomenclature makes this the V184 ( rear-wheel-drive ) or V185 ( front-wheel-drive ) model. This model features the "Puma"-type Duratorq turbo diesel engine also used in the 2000 Mondeo and Jaguar X-Type , with the petrol versions moving up to the 2.3 L 16-Valve edition of

1273-721: The German Wehrmacht in the Second World War , production at Ford Germany in Cologne resumed. Because the production of civilian cars in the British occupied zone was restricted, Ford-Werke AG was limited to the production of trucks until 1948. Those trucks based on the slightly modified war models V 3000 S, B 3000 S and V 3000 A as they were already produced before and during the Second World War in

1340-462: The straight-4 engine. A demonstration of this model's speed with the smallest panel van body, rear wheel drive, highest output 136PS 2.4 Duratorq turbo-diesel engine and optional 6-speed manual gearbox was shown in series 6 of Top Gear in 2005, where German race driver Sabine Schmitz attempted to drive it around the Nürburgring in under ten minutes, matching Jeremy Clarkson 's time in

1407-682: The "F" from the well-known Ford emblem in the first and a "K" in the same font in the second oval. The Taunus emblem first depicted the Cologne Cathedral ; from 1953 on until its discontinuation in 1967, Cologne's city flag inspired the Taunus emblem. In 1961, Ford discontinued the entire truck production in Germany and took the FK brand off the market, due to serious defects and therefore strongly decreasing demand. The unrelated FK1000/FK1250 van, unaffected by these defects, continued to sell well and

SECTION 20

#1732787082690

1474-628: The "Ford" label as a brand. Most British Ford products carried no Ford emblem. The commercial vehicles produced at Ford-Werke AG were marketed with the FK logo, while the passenger cars produced from 1948 onwards were offered under the name Taunus referring to the re-produced pre-war model Ford Taunus G93A . Due to continental European habits, the original series and model designations "FK" and Taunus mutated into real brands, each with its own emblem and different models, comparable with Daimler Benz Mercedes models or General Motors Opel models. The FK emblem consists of two slightly overlapping ovals with

1541-605: The "pig snout". The underpowered Perkins proved unpopular, and was replaced by Ford's own York unit in 1972. For mainland Europe the Transit had the German Ford Taunus V4 engine in Cologne 1.3, 1.5, and 1.7- or Essex 2.0-litre versions. The diesel version's long nose front was also used to accommodate the Ford 3.0 L Ford Essex V6 engine (UK) for high performance applications such as vans supplied to police and ambulance services. In Australia, in 1973, to supplement

1608-511: The 1965 to 1978 pan-European model (see below). Whilst there have only been four basic platforms since 1965, the various facelifts and upgrades over the years have been referred to using a conflicting range of "Mark" numbers, with some sources counting a facelift as a new "Mark", some not. Ford's own historical look back at Transit production, published for the launch of the 1994 model, avoids the issue by referring to generations of Transit by years produced. This article attempts to make mention of all

1675-766: The 30th anniversary of the Transit in 1995 Ford released a limited edition model called the Transit Hallmark. Six hundred were made and were available in three colours with 200 being made in each. In Europe the VE83 Transit was available up to 2000, but in Vietnam it was built up to 2003 when it was exchanged in June for the new generation. The Transit, introduced in July 2000, was the third all-new design, and borrowed styling cues from Ford's "New Edge" designs, like

1742-476: The 6-speed MT-82 RWD manual gearbox . The five millionth Transit rolled off the Southampton line on Monday, July 18, 2005, and was donated to an English charity. The third-generation Transit received a facelift to the body, introduced in July 2006, including new front and rear lights, a new front end and a new interior featuring the gearstick on the dashboard and Ford's new corporate radio design. Besides

1809-468: The Bantam. A publicly traded company since 1983, Collins Industries became privately held in October 2006. 80 percent of the company was acquired by BNS Holding Inc, with the investment group American Industrial Partners holding the other 20 percent. In 2007, Collins purchased the assets of Quebec-based manufacturer Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil out of bankruptcy. As with its Mid Bus acquisition

1876-734: The British Ford Thames 400E was also assembled and improved as a left-hand drive version in the Ford assembly plants in Copenhagen , Denmark, as well as the German FK1000 was assembled in Azambuja , Portugal, too. In the French, Spanish, Italian, Swiss, Benelux and Scandinavian markets, both products were found. This turned out to be disadvantageous and cost-intensive especially after the fall of various trade barriers within

1943-603: The Cortina and for two years the Transit 75 was available with the 1.6 L Ford Kent cross-flow engine. High-performance versions intended for police or ambulance service used the 3.0 L V6 version of the Essex engine ; the 100 hp (75 kW; 101 PS) 3.0 was also available in some heavier duty models like the 3.5-tonne Transit 190. From September 1978, Australian variants could be had with locally built 4.1 L (250 cu in) inline 6-cylinder engines. In 1984,

2010-463: The Ford Transit was launched in 1965, based on a new unified platform . Two years later in 1967, Ford of Britain and Ford-Werke AG merged to Ford of Europe with the headquarters in Cologne , Germany. The brand Taunus was taken off the market. Ford forced the standardization of platforms and even model-names overall European market under the Ford brand and logo. After the Ford Transit in 1965,

2077-548: The Ford production facilities in the Third Reich . Those trucks were now called "Rhein" (V8-engined) and "Ruhr" (four-cylinder). At that time neither Ford of Britain nor Ford Werke AG were 100% subsidiaries of Ford Motor Company in Detroit ; before the Second World War each company had its own more or less protected market. After the war, several economical boundaries were abolished and local markets did not exist anymore in

Mid Bus - Misplaced Pages Continue

2144-756: The Nexbus using the Ford Transit 350/350HD chassis. By 2016, Collins retired the Mid Bus and Corbeil brands entirely, using the Collins brand across North America. For 2018, Collins introduced the Collins Low Floor variant of the Nexbus body. The first school bus derived from the Ram ProMaster body, the Low Floor is equipped with a flat floor and a folding wheelchair ramp.      In January 2024, REV announced it would be exiting

2211-598: The Transit back into line with the rest of Ford of Europe's passenger car range of the period with square headlamps and the black louvred grille, although the rear styling remained unaltered. The austere dashboard of the Mk1 with its single instrument binnacle was replaced with a full width plastic fascia with a more comprehensive instrument cluster and switchgear taken from the Taunus/Cortina Mk4. Many fleet owners experienced premature camshaft wear in early Pinto units in

2278-410: The Transit is proving to be the perfect getaway vehicle", describing it as "Britain's most wanted van". The adoption of a front beam axle in place of a system incorporating independent front suspension that had featured on its UK predecessor might have been seen as a backward step by some, but on the road commentators felt that the Transit's wider track and longer wheelbase more than compensated for

2345-592: The Transit sold well in the Netherlands, it was not enough to save the factory, which closed in December 1981. The Transit was introduced to replace the Ford Thames 400E , a small mid-engined forward control van noted for its narrow track which was in competition with similar-looking but larger vehicles from the BMC J4 and J2 vans and Rootes Group 's Commer PB ranges. In a UK market segment then dominated by

2412-572: The V4 engined models (the 'pig snout' diesel/V6 models remained unchanged), and the introduction of a safety padded dashboard. Overall production of this platform therefore lasted for over 20 years before finally being replaced by the all-new VE6 platform in 1986. The van was produced initially at Ford's Langley facility in Berkshire, England (a former Second World War aircraft factory which had produced Hawker Hurricane fighters), but demand outstripped

2479-606: The West Coast. Most also made some smaller buses of various types. With the baby boom years which swelled the ranks of school children in the past, the manufacturing industry faced serious over-capacity as companies vied and competed for lower volumes of purchases. In 1981, when Sheller-Globe Corporation , a diversified industrial conglomerate closed down its large Superior Coach Company bus factory in Lima, Ohio , two former Superior managers, Lynn Metzger and Gary Geren along with

2546-459: The York diesel engine was redesigned into the 2.5 L "DI" (direct injection) unit. At this time this generation received a minor facelift including a grey plastic front grille with integrated headlamp surrounds, wraparound indicators, longer bumper end caps and multifunction rear lights incorporating fog, indicator, reversing and side lights for the panel van. This facelift did not commonly result in

2613-567: The apparent step backwards represented by Ford's suspension choices. Drivers appreciated the elimination of the excessive noise, smell and cabin heat that resulted from placing the driver above or adjacent to the engine compartment in the Thames 400E and other forward control light vans of the 1950s and early 1960s. The Transit was also assembled in South Africa between 1967 and 1974, the last Transit to be sold in that country until 2013, when

2680-736: The bus manufacturing business. The company reached an agreement to sell Collins to Forest River for $ 303 million. In 2023 Collins launched an all-electric school bus using the Ford E-Transit chassis, The first ever battery electric Ford Transit School bus with access for 25 students, a wheelchair lift is also an option to allow handicapped riders. Chevrolet/GMC G30 Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana MFSAB Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana MFSAB Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana MFSAB Flat floor MFSAB Dual rear wheel Ford Transit Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana MFSAB Offered in several alternative-fuel configurations: First school bus produced with

2747-650: The capability of the plant, and production was moved to Southampton until closure in 2013 in favour of the factory at İzmit , Turkey. Transits were also produced in Ford's Genk factory in Belgium and also Turkey. Transits were produced in Amsterdam for the local market from the mid-1970s until the end of 1981. This factory had ample capacity, since the Ford Transcontinental produced there had little success (total production 8000 in 6 years). Although

Mid Bus - Misplaced Pages Continue

2814-595: The common naming systems. The first generation Transit, or the Transit Mark I in the United Kingdom, was introduced in October 1965, taking over directly from the Thames 400E . This generation had the longest production run of any Transit to date, staying largely unaltered for 12 years until the major update of 1977, with only one minor facelift for the 1971 model year, which saw updated front end styling on

2881-523: The company acquired the Minuteman product line from AmTran (formerly Ward Body Company ) and in the early 1990s, the tooling and product rights to Busette from Wayne Corporation . They also developed products of their own design to expand the product offering. After a succession of larger facilities in Lima, around 1995, the company moved to a much larger facility in Bluffton, Ohio . Mid Bus became

2948-601: The company produces buses for multiple applications; all bodies designed by the company have been produced for cutaway van chassis . Collins was founded in 1967 by Don Collins Sr. as E-CON-O Conversion; originally a part of Collins Industries, the company exists today as a wholly owned subsidiary of manufacturing company Forest River . All production is sourced from the company's 94,000 square-foot facility in South Hutchinson, Kansas . In 1967, Don Collins founded E-CON-O Conversion in Kansas City, Missouri, becoming one of

3015-415: The company purchased Waldon Manufacturing, renaming it after its Lay-Mor street sweeper. During the 2000s, the existence of Collins would transition significantly, shifting from a parent company to a subsidiary within a transportation conglomerate. Although specializing solely in small buses, in 2000, Collins offered the widest product line of any American bus manufacturer, with three different versions of

3082-486: The engine ahead of the driver. Another popular development under the bonnet was the equipping of the van with an alternator at time when the UK market competitors expected buyers to be content with a dynamo . A 43 bhp (32 kW) diesel engine sourced from Perkins was also offered. As this engine was too long to fit under the Transit's stubby nose, the diesel version featured a longer bonnet - which became nicknamed as

3149-511: The first time. The new version (Ford nomenclature V347 for front-wheel drive and V348 for rear-wheel drive) won International Van of the Year for 2007 despite tough competition from several all-new rivals. This Transit arrived in Mexico to replace the Freestar after the 2007 model year. This was the first Transit with a five-cylinder engine available (in the 3.2L 200PS version). Mid-2006 saw

3216-399: The first to develop a school bus derived from a van. Utilizing a Ford Falcon van ( Econoline passenger van), Collins shifted away from designs based upon utility vehicles such as the Chevrolet Suburban and International Harvester Travelall . In 1971, Collins renamed E-CON-O to Collins Industries, coinciding with the expansion of its product range into ambulances. In 1972, the company

3283-458: The introduction of the Transit Connect (also produced in Kocaeli), a smaller panel van based on the C170 (Focus) platform and aimed at replacing the older Escort and Fiesta based models. Despite the name, the Connect has no engineering commonality with the full-size Transit. 2003 saw a new instrument cluster with a digital odometer. 2004 saw the launch of the first RWD HPCR, the 135 PS (99 kW) 2.4-litre variant that also introduced

3350-431: The last of the 1978–1985 Mk.1 facelift model, although in 1989 the high-performance 3.0 Essex V6 petrol was replaced by the Cologne 2.9 EFI V6, mainly because of emissions regulations as the Essex V6 design was nearly 25 years old by then and still used a carburettor. The third generation Transit was developed under the "Triton" code name. A subtle facelift in 1992 saw the fully independent front suspension adopted across

3417-417: The merged Ford of Europe , the Transit was originally marketed in Western Europe and Australia. By the end of the twentieth century, it was marketed nearly globally with the exception of North America until 2015 when it replaced the Ford E-Series van. Upon its introduction in North America, the Transit quickly became the best-selling van of any type in the United States, minivan sales included. That mirrors

SECTION 50

#1732787082690

3484-526: The modular ambulance ) and Capacity of Texas (a terminal tractor manufacturer) in 1985. During the 1990s, Collins Industries grew to become the largest manufacturer of Type A small school buses in the United States. In 1998, the company would acquire its largest competitor, Mid Bus (a successor of the bus manufacturing operations of Superior Coach Company ). To expand into the transit bus segment, Collins acquired World Trans, Inc, basing their vehicles on cutaway chassis and rear-engine chassis. In 2000,

3551-437: The newly founded EEC . For this reason, such a situation with internal competition and parallel developments was very unsatisfactory for the Ford headquarters in Detroit. The aim was to not only standardize the vehicle production ( world car ), but also merge the company structures in Europe. Under parent's dictate, Ford of Britain and Ford-Werke AG started the "Redcap-Project" in the commercial vehicle sector in 1963, from which

3618-407: The range, whilst a redesigned floor plan allowed the use of single, rather than paired, rear wheels on the LWB derivative, further increasing payload—these models are identifiable by the slightly more rounded front headlamps. In Australia, the third generation Transit did not go on sale until March 1994, after a 13-year absence from that market. A major facelift to the Transit in 1994 gave the Transit

3685-555: The same way that they existed before. With this, Ford of Britain and Ford-Werke AG suddenly became more competitive on the whole European Continent than local market subsidiaries of their parent company in Detroit. Production of light commercial vehicles began in late 1948, when 148 half-ton delivery vehicles were built. In 1951 Ford Werke AG launched the commercial vehicle series FK , standing for Ford Köln, with different-sized vehicles (FK2000 with 2 tons payload, FK3000 with 3 tons payload, FK3500 with 3.5 tons payload, etc.). The FK series

3752-427: The second generation Transit platform appeared in January 1986 and was notable for its all-new bodyshell which was of "one-box" design ( i.e. the windscreen and bonnet are at close to the same angle), and the front suspension was changed to a fully independent configuration on SWB versions. Initially fitted with Chubb AVA locks, Tibbe barrels were fitted soon after. The engine range was carried over largely unchanged from

3819-402: The styling changes, the powertrains were revised. The old petrol engine was replaced with one from the Ford Ranger , the front-wheel-drive diesel went from 2.0 to 2.2 litres capacity, and all diesel engines gained high-pressure common rail ( TDCi ) systems. The powertrains were changed to meet new emissions legislation. Additionally, the facelift introduced CAN bus electronics to the Transit for

3886-402: The success the Transit has achieved in Europe, where it has been the best-selling light commercial vehicle for forty years, and in some countries the term "Transit" has passed into common usage as a generic trademark applying to any light commercial van in the Transit's size bracket. Predecessor of the British and German-built Transit, the first production Ford to wear the "Transit" badge was

3953-691: The time this gave the business sector an unprecedented amount of flexibility, which was a major factor in the vehicles' ultimate success. In 1981, for mainland European market only, the Transit Clubmobil was introduced by the Hymer company. This was fitted with a 1.6 / 2.0 OHC engine, and featured a custom interior – captain style swivel seats in velour, pile carpet, motorsport steering wheel, unique Ronal 14" alloy wheels, unique side windows, folding back seat, luggage box, unique front spoiler, tinted glass, power assisted steering, spare wheel carrier and rear door ladder. In 3 years of production 150 were produced and less than 20 are thought to still exist. In late 1982,

4020-426: The time. Another key to the Transit's success was the sheer number of different body styles: panel vans in long and short wheelbase forms, pick-up truck, minibuses, crew-cabs to name but a few. The engines used in the UK were the Essex V4 for the petrol -engined version in 1.7 L and 2.0 L capacities. By using relatively short V-4 engines Ford were able to minimise the additional length necessitated to place

4087-403: The two Essex V4 engines that were available the Transit was released with the long-nose diesel front used to accommodate an inline 6-cylinder engine derived from the Ford Falcon . The Metropolitan Police reported on this vehicle in 1972 via a Scotland Yard spokesman that "Ford Transits are used in 95 per cent of bank raids . With the performance of a car, and space for 1.75 tonnes of loot,

SECTION 60

#1732787082690

4154-430: The two subsidiaries had avoided competing in one another's domestic markets but had been direct competitors in other European markets. The Transit was a departure from the European commercial vehicles of the day with its American-inspired styling—its broad track gave it a huge advantage in carrying capacity over comparable vehicles of the day. Most of the Transit's mechanical components were adapted from Ford's car range of

4221-400: The well-equipped Transit Ghia was introduced to some markets, only as a nine-seater bus. This offered a velour interior, full carpeting, tinted windows, and sunroof. Externally it can be identified by chrome dog-dish hubcaps and extra lamps in the grille. In 1982, a four-wheel drive version was added to the German market, called the SIRA-Ford Transit. This was developed together with Rau GmbH,

4288-412: Was now offered under the successful Taunus brand with the model name Transit in addition to the cars Taunus 12M/15M and the Taunus 17M . A comparable program to Volkswagen, that offered its vehicles VW Beetle , VW 1500 and VW Bus the same way on the continental European market. The "new" Transit Taunus van was now labelled with the Transit model name (instead of the FK logo) in big chrome letters and

4355-481: Was part of a conglomerate including fire/emergency vehicles, recreational vehicles, transit and school buses, and industrial vehicles. In 2015, Allied Specialty Vehicles was renamed the REV Group. On March 29, 2012, Collins unveiled the Nexbus series, replacing the long-running Bantam series; the first Nexbus was produced on May 16, 2012. In place of the former Guide and Quantum, all three Collins brands adopted Nexbus branding. In 2014, collins starting manufactured

4422-457: Was relocated to Hutchinson, Kansas (its present-day location). In 1982, Collins introduced its first bus with a wheelchair lift; in a shift away from van conversions, the company adopted bodies for cutaway van chassis , introducing the long-running "Bantam" product line. In the mid-1980s, the company would diversify its product ranges. To replace the Collins van-based ambulances, the company acquired Wheeled Coach Industries in 1984 (inventor of

4489-414: Was successor of the "Rhein" and "Ruhr" trucks. In 1953, the FK series were rounded off with the light delivery van FK1000/FK1250 (1ton/1.25tons payload), in competition to the Volkswagen Type 2 VW Bus , the DKW Type F89L Schnellaster or the Tempo Matador . As usual in the Anglo-Saxon countries in those days, Ford's marketing experts attached more importance to the model/series designation than to

#689310