Prevost (bus manufacturer)
Bus and coach manufacturer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prevost (/ˈpreɪvoʊ/, French pronunciation: [pʁevo]), formally known as Prevost Car, is a Canadian manufacturer of touring coaches and bus shells for high-end motorhomes and specialty conversions. The company is a subsidiary of the Volvo Buses division of the Volvo Group.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Headquarters | Sainte-Claire, Quebec, Canada |
Key people | François Tremblay (president)[1] |
| Products | Coaches RV (Conversion Shells) |
| Parent | Volvo Buses (1995–present) |
| Website | prevostcar |
History
Summarize
Perspective
 | This History reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage. (July 2021) |
Early years (1924–1951)
Prevost Car was founded in 1924 by Eugène Prévost (1898–1965), a cabinet maker specializing in church pews and school furniture, who in 1924 was asked to build a custom bus body for a new REO truck chassis.[3]: 1924 Prévost's company received several repeat orders, but Prévost limited production to one bus body per winter.[4] Between 1937 and 1939, its first bus manufacturing plant was built in Sainte-Claire, Quebec,[1][3]: 1937 with a capacity of ten vehicle bodies per year.[4] Initially the vehicles were built with metal panels over a wooden frame. In 1945 this changed, and body panels and frames were made of metal.[3]: 1945
In 1943, the company was awarded a large contract to build buses for the Defence Ministry of Canada.[3]: 1943 After the war, the company resumed commercial sales in 1948 as Les Ateliers Prévost, and established vertically integrated manufacturing facilities with a foundry, die-casting, plating, and other metal and woodworking shops for bus fabrication;[3]: 1948 it was awarded another large contract for 100 motorcoaches from the government of Canada in 1951;[3]: 1951 for the commercial intercity coach market, the company marketed the Interurbain and Prévocar in four different sizes.[4] At about the same time, Prevost also was building city transit buses, marketed as the Citadin.[5] Eugène Prévost served as the president from its founding in 1924 until 1957;[1] production exceeded 100 vehicles per year in 1949, 1950, and 1952, making it the largest Canadian builder of intercity coaches;[4] however, production crashed to just three buses in 1956.[6]
Normand era (1957–1995)
The company was acquired by Paul Normand in 1957, who renamed the company to Prevost Car.[3]: 1957 Prevost dealerships were opened in America and Canada starting in 1967.[3]: 1967 Normand served as president until 1968, when he was succeeded by André Normand, who served as president until 1995.[1] In 1969, two American businessmen, Thomas B. Harbison and William G. Campbell, formed a partnership with André Normand and the three jointly become the company's owners. These three men, in turn, sold Prevost to Volvo Bus Corporation and Henlys Group in 1995.[3]: 1969 [7]
Under the Normands, Prevost Car introduced the LeNormand in 1957, an intercity coach with modern features including stainless steel side panels, pneumatic suspension, and a diesel engine.[6] In 1961, Prevost Car introduced the Travelair, a 25-foot gas and diesel-powered passenger coach for short trips, and replaced the LeNormand in 1962 with the Panoramique, a 40-foot intercity coach which served Grey Goose Bus Lines.[3]: 1961 [8] This was succeeded by the Champion (1966),[3]: 1967 which had an integrated frame[8] and competed with the GM Buffalo bus. A transit bus version of the Panoramique was developed and sold with a dedicated body featuring a rear door, but this version was discontinued in 1968 when the company shifted to market exclusively motorcoaches.[9] An upgraded version of the Champion was introduced in 1968 with taller side windows, rounded at the top,[8] and this model was renamed Le Prestige in 1973.[3]: 1968 For the Class A motorhome market, Prevost began selling Champion conversion shells to upfitters starting in 1970.[3]: 1970
The Champion/Prestige line was succeeded by the LeMirage in 1977,[3]: 1977 which also were sold as conversion shells starting in 1978.[3]: 1978 [10] Le Prestige production stopped in 1981.[3]: 1968 After expanding the factory in 1980,[3]: 1980 wide-body versions, at the contemporary North American coach standard width of 102 in (2,600 mm), were introduced as the XL Series in 1984, including the LeMirage XL, Marathon XL, and Astral XL;[3]: 1984 the Marathon XL was marketed as an economical model for intercity routes, while the Astral XL was marketed to tour bus operators, with glass roof panels.[11] A long-wheelbase XL was introduced in 1992 with a nominal 45-foot length, the XL-45 Entertainer,[3]: 1992 and a similar premium touring coach was introduced in 1994, the LeMirage XL-45.[3]: 1995 [12]
One year after the XL buses debuted, in 1985, Prevost introduced the H5-60, an articulated bus, at the annual meeting of the American Bus Association; this was the first model in what would become the H-Series.[3]: 1985 Starting in 1989, Prevost added rigid body models, including the H3-40 (1989),[11] H3-41, and H3-45 (1994).[3]: 1989 [12]
Volvo era (1996–present)
Georges Bourelle served as the president from 1996 to 2003.[1] Volvo assumed sole ownership of Prevost in 2004,[3]: 2004 and Gaétan Bolduc took over as president until 2015. He was succeeded by François Tremblay, who has been president of Prevost since 2016.[1]
The LeMirage XL-II began production in January 2000.[3]: 2000 [13] For 2006, the XL-II was revised to become the X3-45, which featured a longer wheelbase than its predecessor.[3]: 2006 [13] Beginning in 2011, the Prevost X3-45 was made available in a transit-style configuration as a commuter coach.[14] The New York City Transit Authority was the launch customer for this configuration. Previously, 20 transit-style buses of the Le Mirage predecessor model had been built for GO Transit in the late 1990s. In 2019, the X3-45 was redesigned, getting a new headlight setup and a new rear end.[14] It continues to be available in intercity and transit configurations.
The H-Series was facelifted in 2002 and again in 2009.[3]: 2004 [13] The H-Series received a new sound system, plus GPS and destination sign options.[citation needed] For the 2024 model year, the H3-45 was redesigned with a new front end and interior facelift.[15]
For the 2008 model year, Prevost introduced the Volvo D13 engine from their parent company as a replacement for the then-current Detroit Diesel Series 60 offering.[14] The Volvo I-Shift semi-automatic transmission was introduced as an alternative to the Allison B500R transmission. A set of new interior color schemes was also introduced.
In 2009, Prevost began distributing the Volvo 9700 coach in Canada and the United States.[3]: 2009 [13]
As of June 2019, Prevost operates 15 parts and service centers in North America, nine of them in the United States.[16]
Models
Summarize
Perspective
Current
| Photo | Model | Production | Length(s) | Configuration(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) H3-45 (3rd Generation) |
H-Series[17] [user-generated source] |
1985–present | Intercity Coach | Also available as a conversion shell. 147 H5-60s were completed.[11][18] | |
| H3-40 (1989–1994) | 40-ft | ||||
| H3-41 (1994–unknown) | 41-ft | ||||
| H3-45 (1994–present) | 45-ft | ||||
| H5-60 (1985–1992) | 60-ft (artic) | ||||
 X3-45 (2nd Generation) |
X3-45 | 2005–present | 45 feet | Intercity Coach
Transit Coach |
2nd generation model introduced in 2019 Also available as a conversion shell |
 Volvo 9700 (North American Model) |
Volvo 9700[19] [user-generated source] |
2009–present | Intercity Coach | Assembled in Mexico by Volvo |
Former
| Photo | Model | Production | Length(s) | Configuration(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 LeMirage XL-II |
LeMirage | 1976–2005 | 40- and 45-ft | Intercity coach | Replaced by X3-45[20] |
| Champion | 1967–1981 | 40-foot | Intercity coach | 41 to 50 passengers | |
| Marathon | ? | ? | Intercity coach | 47 to 53 passengers | |
| Prestige | 1968–1981 | 40-foot | Sightseeing intercity coach | 41 to 50 passengers | |
| Panoramique | 1962–1966? | ? | Intercity coach | 41 to 49 passengers | |
| V48-S | 1965–? | ? | Motorcoach | ||
| 50-PI-33 | ? | ? | Passenger coach | ||
| 19-S (Travelaire) | 1961–1967 | 19- and 25-ft | Transit bus | [9] | |
| 33-S | 1960s | ? | Passenger motorcoach | 33 to 37 passengers | |
| Le Normand | 1957–1960 | ? | Intercity coach | ||
| Prévocar | 1953 | ? | Intercity coach | ||
| Skycruiser | 1948–1949 | ? | Motorcoach | ||
.jpg) Suburban intercity model |
Citadin | 1948–1959 | 30- and 35-ft | Transit bus | 33 to 37 passengers; 96 in (2,400 mm) wide[5] |
| Interurbain | 1943–? | ? | Motorcoach | First rear-engined bus.[21] | |
| Suburbain | 1939 | ? | Motorcoach | Last wood-bodied bus.[21] | |
| Motorbus | 1924 | ? | ? |
Ground Force One
Ground Force One is the nickname given to two heavily modified X3-45 VIP conversion coach owned by the United States Secret Service and used by the President of the United States and other high-ranking politicians or dignitaries.[22] Prevost built the coach as a conversion shell, the Hemphill Brothers Coach Company fitted out the interiors of the coach, and it is assumed that other features, like armor plating, were added by the Secret Service.[23]
References
External links
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