Prevost (bus manufacturer)

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Prevost (Template:IPAc-en, Script error: No such module "IPA".), 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.[1]

History

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Early years (1924–1951)

File:Place Eugène Prévost.jpg
Place Eugène Prévost in Sainte-Claire

Prevost Car was founded by Eugène Prévost (1898–1965), a cabinet maker specializing in church pews and school furniture; in 1924 he was asked to build a custom bus body for a new REO truck chassis.[2]Template:Rp[3]Template:Rp Prévost's company received several repeat orders, but Prévost limited production to one bus body per winter.[4] Between 1937 and 1939, its first dedicated bus manufacturing plant was built in Sainte-Claire, Quebec,[5][2]Template:Rp with a capacity of ten vehicle bodies per year.[4] At the time, Prevost buses were sold mainly to operators in eastern Canada.[3]Template:Rp 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.[2]Template:Rp

In 1943, the company was awarded a large contract to build buses for the Defence Ministry of Canada.[2]Template:Rp 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;[2]Template:Rp it was awarded another large contract for 100 motorcoaches from the government of Canada in 1951;[2]Template:Rp 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.[6] Eugène Prévost served as the president from its founding in 1924 until 1957;[5] 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.[7]

Normand era (1957–1995)

The company was acquired by Paul Normand in 1957, who renamed the company to Prevost Car.[2]Template:Rp Prevost dealerships were opened in America and Canada starting in 1967.[2]Template:Rp Normand served as president until 1968, when he was succeeded by André Normand, who served as president until 1995.[5] 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.[2]Template:Rp[8]

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.[7] 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.[2]Template:Rp[9] This was succeeded by the Champion (1966),[2]Template:Rp which had an integrated frame[9] and competed with the GM Buffalo bus. The Champion was the first Prevost bus to be marketed in the United States; Somerset Bus Company was the first US operator.[3]Template:Rp 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.[10] An upgraded version of the Champion was introduced in 1968 with taller side windows, rounded at the top,[9] and this model was renamed Le Prestige in 1973.[2]Template:Rp For the Class A motorhome market, Prevost began selling Champion conversion shells to upfitters starting in 1970.[2]Template:Rp

File:FEMA - 13967 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 07-13-2005 in Georgia.jpg
LeMirage with "panoramic" curved side windows

The Champion/Prestige line was succeeded by the LeMirage in 1977,[2]Template:Rp which also were sold as conversion shells starting in 1978.[2]Template:Rp[11] Instead of the step-up front fitted to the Champion/Prestige, the Mirage had a full-front, four-piece windshield.[3]Template:Rp Le Prestige production stopped in 1981.[2]Template:Rp After expanding the factory in 1980,[2]Template:Rp wide-body versions, at the contemporary North American coach standard width of Template:Cvt, were introduced as the XL Series in 1984, including the LeMirage XL, Marathon XL, and Astral XL;[2]Template:Rp 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.[12] A long-wheelbase XL was introduced in 1992 with a nominal 45-foot length, the XL-45 Entertainer,[2]Template:Rp and a similar premium touring coach was introduced in 1994, the LeMirage XL-45.[2]Template:Rp[13]

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.[2]Template:Rp The H5-60 has five axles and major operators included Orléans Express and Holland America Lines–Westours.[3]Template:Rp Starting in 1989, Prevost added rigid body models, including the H3-40 (1989),[12] later updated as the H3-41 (1994),[3]Template:Rp and the H3-45 (1994).[2]Template:Rp[13]

Volvo era (1996–present)

Georges Bourelle served as the president from 1996 to 2003.[5] Volvo assumed sole ownership of Prevost in 2004,[2]Template:Rp and Gaétan Bolduc took over as president until 2015. He was succeeded by François Tremblay, who has been president of Prevost since 2016.[5]

The LeMirage XL-II began production in January 2000.[2]Template:Rp[14] For 2006, the XL-II was revised to become the X3-45, which featured a longer wheelbase than its predecessor.[2]Template:Rp[14] Beginning in 2011, the Prevost X3-45 was made available in a transit-style configuration as a commuter coach.[15] 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.[15] It continues to be available in intercity and transit configurations.

File:Coach Canada 83606 Gray Line Montreal.JPG
First generation H3-45 (2013), serving Gray Line Montreal

The H-Series was facelifted in 2002 and again in 2009.[2]Template:Rp[14] The H-Series received a new sound system, plus GPS and destination sign options.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". For the 2024 model year, the H3-45 was redesigned with a new front end and interior facelift.[16][17]

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.[15] 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.[2]Template:Rp[14]

As of June 2019, Prevost operates 15 parts and service centers in North America, nine of them in the United States.[18]

Models

Current

Current motorcoaches sold by Prevost
Photo Model Production Length(s) Configuration(s) Notes
File:Michigan Flyer 2020 Prevost H3-45 3941 (East Lansing).jpg
H3-45 (3rd Generation)
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		H-Series[19]
Template:User-generated inline 		1985–present   Intercity Coach Also available as a conversion shell. 147 H5-60s were completed.[12][20]
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)
File:2021 Prevost X3-45 1395 Laid Up.jpg
X3-45 (2nd Generation)
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		X3-45 2005–present 45 feet Intercity Coach

Transit Coach

2nd generation model introduced in 2019
Also available as a conversion shell
File:Volvo 9700 motorcoach USA.jpg
Volvo 9700 (North American Model)
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Volvo 9700[21]
Template:User-generated inline 		2009–present Intercity Coach Assembled in Mexico by Volvo

Former

Former motorcoaches sold by Prevost
Photo Model Production Length(s) Configuration(s) Notes
File:CITSO 716.JPG
LeMirage XL-II
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		LeMirage 1976–2005 40- and 45-ft Intercity coach Replaced by X3-45[22]
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 [10]
33-S 1960s ? Passenger motorcoach 33 to 37 passengers
Le Normand 1957–1960 ? Intercity coach
Prévocar 1953 ? Intercity coach
Skycruiser 1948–1949 ? Motorcoach
File:Atlantic Nationals Antique Cars (35232581611).jpg
Suburban intercity model
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 		Citadin 1948–1959 30- and 35-ft Transit bus 33 to 37 passengers; Template:Cvt wide[6]
Interurbain 1943–? ? Motorcoach First rear-engined bus.[23]
Suburbain 1939 ? Motorcoach Last wood-bodied bus.[23]
Motorbus 1924 ? ?

Ground Force One

File:Obama boards his bus.jpg
Then President Obama boards the "Ground Force One" bus in 2011.

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Ground Force One is the nickname given to two heavily modified X3-45 VIP conversion coaches owned by the United States Secret Service and used by the President of the United States and other high-ranking politicians or dignitaries.[24] 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.[25][26] Prior to acquiring the dedicated buses in 2011, the Secret Service would rent buses and retrofit them with temporary equipment.[27]

References

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  3. ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Prevost Parts & Service Centers (accessed 20 June 2019)
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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