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| CATEGORIES ABOUT CROWN COACH CORPORATION | |
| companies established in 1914 | |
| 1991 disestablishments | |
| defunct bus manufacturers | |
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Crown Coach Corporation ( 1914 - 1991 ) was a School Bus manufacturer based in Los Angeles, California , eventually moving factory operations to Chino, California in San Bernadino County . Both factories have since been razed. The property in Los Angeles is now a manufacturing center and the office and paint shed of the Chino property stood for a while longer and were eventually torn down as well. General Electric supposedly owns the site. Since a large number of 30-plus year old Crown school buses are still in service, replacement parts are supplied by West Coach, a company started by a group of former Crown Coach employees. Crown Coach was the creator of the original large, flat nose (transit style or "Type D"), high capacity school bus. Their first example appeared in 1932 . That vehicle still exists. Beginning as a motorized Truck builder, Crown expanded into passenger vehicles and quit building trucks. Working with Tanner Grey Line of Los Angeles, Crown designed the well known art-deco 'Twinkie' shaped coach that eventually led to a school coach utilizing unibody construction, mid-ship underfloor mounted commercial truck engines (often by the Detroit Diesel company or Cummins) and off the shelf parts, which made them economical to operate. Starting with steel skins, Crown later switched to rust resistant aluminum panels. As regulations changed, the coach evolved into one of the safest, most reliable school buses. They were so well built that one of the factors that forced Crown to shut down was their product's extremely long life. Districts would send in their aging Crowns for rebuild and repaint and be returned looking nearly new. The service life of the average school bus is approximately ten years. There are many Crowns over 20 years old still plying the roads of California, and in private use as converted coaches. Many Crowns retired by school districts in the U.S. continue to serve in Mexico as local transit buses, private charters, and even cross-country tour coaches. From 1951 to 1985 , Crown Coach Corporation was also a manufacturer of fire apparatus under the ''Firecoach'' brand. PRODUCTS
SEE ALSO SOURCE http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/c/crown_coach/crown_coach.htm |
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