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The Blue Bird All American is an American school bus produced by the Blue Bird Corporation (originally Blue Bird Body Company). Introduced in 1948, the All American is the longest-produced transit-style (Type D) school bus by an American manufacturer. While not the first to use the transit-style design, the All American popularized it through most of the United States during the mid-20th century. It is produced in both a front engine-version and a rear-engine version.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Product Information )〕 In October 2012, Blue Bird revealed the sixth and current version of the All American, which entered production as a 2014 model.〔http://www.blue-bird.com/pressrelease.aspx?item=2012〕 Previous major updates were introduced in 1952, 1957 (with upgrades in 1962 and 1977), 1989, 1999, and 2008. == Development == In the 1930s, to expand student seating capacity in school buses, manufacturers developed "forward control" school buses. By modifying conventional truck chassis, the engine was placed next to the driver and the front axle moved rearward of the entrance door. This allowed for the use of greater capacity within the same overall length and better forward visibility; the shorter wheelbase gave them improved maneuverability. In 1932, Crown Coach would introduce the Supercoach alongside a similar design by Wayne Works; Gillig would introduce a design with a rear-mounted engine. In 1937, the Crown Supercoach was expanded to a capacity of 79 passengers, becoming one of the largest school buses of its time. In the years following World War II, Blue Bird company founder A.L. Luce sought to develop his own forward control bus. In 1948, during a trip to Europe, he and his son George visited the Paris Auto Salon. One of the vehicles on display was a front-engine motorcoach (either Van Hool or Jonckheere bodywork) with a General Motors chassis built in an Opel factory in Belgium.〔 Inspired by the design, A.L. Luce sought to develop uses for the chassis as a school bus; however, the Luces learned that it was a model specifically for export markets.〔 In an effort to reverse-engineer the vehicle, A.L. Luce purchased the Paris Auto coach from the body manufacturer in order to ship it to Blue Bird in Fort Valley, Georgia.〔 Moving past the bodywork, Blue Bird engineers would find that the Opel chassis shared much in common with Chevrolet medium-duty trucks converted to forward-control; the front axle was widened and modifications were made the steering gear. In a unique feature, the transmission was shifted by remote control.〔 Due to its commonality with the Opel design, Blue Bird chose Chevrolet as the initial chassis for the forward-control prototype.〔 The first prototype, named Blue Bird All American, was completed in 1949. Plagued by engineering issues, the All American did not enter full production until 1950.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blue Bird All American」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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