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Bus

down on the street bonus edition

Cooperstown Flxible-Volvo-Sears Combo Covers All Possible Road-Trip Needs

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than Island That Rust Forgot. Today we're going to upstate New York, where OtsegoNY shot this amazing three-fer-one combo in Cooperstown. We've got a vintage Flxible transit bus, a Volvo 544 painted to match, and a Sears Allstate motorcycle, all in one glorious drivin' unit! Make the jump to read OtsegoNY's description.


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classic ad watch

Volkswagen Bus Syncro: Ready For South African Hoonage

We caused some disgruntlement among VW Transporter fanatics aficionados when we opined that perhaps the little rear-engined vans were on the sluggish side. Today we're going to regruntle our Type 2-loving friends by sharing this VW ad that demonstrates- in fact, encourages- off-road hoonage of the sort you'd normally associate with a Warlord Edition 4x4 Hilux. In South Africa, you could get a four-wheel-drive, Audi-5-banger-powered VW Transporter Syncro until 2002. Yes, 2002!

novelties

VW Busbretta Isn't Quite Humiliating Enough

Pardon us for still trying to wrap our brains around this whole Vespa modding trend, but here is another Vespa-style (it's actually a Lambretta, but details, details) scooter mutilation worthy of noting. Not only is this person driving scooter, but it's a scooter with a sidecar, a sidecar that is modified to look like a Volkswagen Bus. So, Jalopnik faithful, which would you least want to be caught in: the scooter or the sidecar? At least in the sidecar you could possibly duck down low enough to not be seen. [Presurfer]

alternative energy

SF Gets Public Transit Hybrid Bus With Wi-Fi, Other Goods

San Francisco's public transit system is getting a bit of an upgrade as the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MUNI) has teamed up with technology company, CISCO, for The Connected Bus—a public transportation bus that is a little more desirable than the traditional buses used in public transit systems. The bus is a 95-percent emissions-free hybrid, if that wasn't obvious from the green and worldly motifs slapped on the side, but the other big seller is the included Wi-Fi and digital screens for each passenger. San Francisco is planning on implementing 800 of these buses into its transit system in the near future. More »

novelties

Cleveland School Bus Crash Story Gets Even Better

We'd feel bad having so much fun with the story of the Cleveland school bus crash if anyone was seriously hurt, but seeing as how everyone was okay we're going to enjoy the 15 ways this is funny. Both the limo company and the school are denying hiring driver Michael Weir. Why? We already told you he's got a criminal record for grand theft auto, but what we didn't know was that the news station has a video file of his accidents, including one in which he flipped a dump truck after hitting a bridge. That's two bridges in two years. Also, his mom has a restraining order against him because he stole stuff from her. Is he really a bad guy? Just ask the dude with a trach smoking a cigarette. We love Cleveland. (h/t to SLRSpeedShop)[WKYC]

offbeat news

Children Bail Out Of Runaway School Bus While Driver Takes A Leak

Taking a page out of Otto's playbook, a school bus driver in Cleveland abandoned his vehicle to fill her up with diesel and hit the head. And why aren't you supposed to leave a school bus when it's full of kids? Because of what happened next. While the driver was doing his business the bus rolled out of the gas station and down a hill. According to the manager of the gas station, who chased down the bus on foot, kids started bailing out of the rig before it hit anything. One of the 27 kids on board was smart enough to steer the bus into a bridge embankment before it rolled into oncoming traffic or worse. No one was seriously injured, though 15 kids were taken to the hospital. How did this happen? More »

down on the street bonus edition

21-Window Volkswagen Transporter Braves Downtown San Francisco

After I was caught in a camera-challenged condition when spotting the '70 Fiat 500 near my office in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood and was forced to use the 640x480 so-called camera in my cellphone, I resolved to start carrying a real camera at all times. Naturally, I totally spaced on the camera thing when I caught sight of this 21-window Transporter while out for some Bánh mì on my lunch break last week, and once again we all get to look at blurry, wide-angle cellphone shots. These things didn't fare too well around here, because the sun and smog tend to eat up the seals around all those windows, which lets rust gain a toehold it generally never relinquishes. But here's a very original black-plate example that (if the window stickers are to be believed) has been damn near everywhere.


down on the street

1960 Volkswagen Transporter

One thing that's hard about this series is the glut of air-cooled Volkswagens on the island; I could easily do nothing but 60s Beetles and Transporters for a month straight and still not run out. These VWs are survivors and fully deserving of recognition, of course, but it wouldn't do to have them shove aside all the other cool machinery in this series. Rationing has been necessary, but it's been a while since our last Transporter (so far we've seen a '56, a '57, a '62, a '63, a '67, and a '70), so let's look at a very nice 48-year-old example today. And, what the heck- let's have a poll!
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novelies

Welding Two School Buses Together Makes A Fine Political Statement

Introducing the Topsy-Turvy School Bus. This, um... unique vehicle is the work of Tom Kennedy and Haideen Anderson, who managed to weld together two school buses with the purpose of delivering a political message. One has to be batshit-crazy to want to weld two school buses together, right? Not necessarily. This project was commissioned by Ben Cohen, who is better known for being one half of the Ben & Jerry ice-cream-empire duo. Ben wanted to demonstrate how topsy-turvy the U.S. budget is, by...wait for it...creating a....topsy-turvy bus!
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spy photos

Prevost H-Series Coach Bus: Award Winner For World's Worst Anti-Spy Camouflage

The sneaky-shooters who work for Brenda Priddy have got themselves one helluva huge scoop today. Chris Doane, her made man in the D, has captured the first spy photos of a vehicle we know we never knew we were waiting for — the Prevost H-Series Coach Bus. Already the H-Series is well known for the tallest high-deck coaches in the industry, the best panoramic view and the industry's largest under-floor storage capacity at 470 ft³. But now we hear Prevost is upping the ante with separate climate controls for each and every passenger and a real fire suppression systems. Yup, the new H-Series will do away with the industry practice of shoving a fire extinguisher under the driver seat and enter the world of 21st century building technology. Hell, we even hear they'll be getting a real-live GPS system on board. Holy cow, will the innovation never stop? Actually, one place they may want to look at adding some R&D monies may be in the critical area of spy photo camouflage. While a lobster bib-like sheet of corrugated plastic held on with zip ties may have worked in the days of pinhole cameras and Kodachrome, it's not so much effective these days. Especially when it's got your brand name on it. Somewhat ironic spy report from the Priddy pride below the jump and high-res shot of the H-Series here. More »

novelties

Live the Life, In a School Bus Camper

We've all daydreamed about it at least a little. Thumbing our noses at the man, tossing out all our worldly possessions and hitting the open road for good, throwing caution to the wind. Then by accident you pick up an Auto Trader and flip to see page after page of dirt cheap Blue Bird school buses just waiting to enable that fantasy. Well Jake Von Slatt didn't quite go that far, but he has provided a very helpful step by step on how to convert your own bus into a rolling abode. With some ingenuity and help from a couple of friend, John transformed a decommissioned diesel pusher and built his own home away from home for about $5,200.


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alternative fuels

Get On Your Hydrogen Bus and Ride

Those crazy Welchmen. A development team at the University of Glamorgan have created a "tribrid" 16 passenger bus that will be pressed into duty as a short range student and faculty hauler. A tribrid, in case you're slow, is a vehicle that relies on a three part motive system. In this case we're looking at power from a combo of hydrogen fuel cell, an ultracapacitor, and a battery pack. While the fuel cell and battery pack are pretty conventional, the advantage of the ultracapacitor is what's interesting here. More »

alternative energy

Austrailian Solar Bus is Mighty Green, Mighty Ugly

A bus by the name of "Tindo" has debuted in Australia, carrying with it the pretty hefty title of "world's first solar-powered electric bus." This free-ride, air-conditioned 42-passenger bus is powered by 11 zebra sodium-nickel batteries that can provide the big green bus 124 miles worth of travel on a full charge. More »

news

We Had it Right! Scots to Consider American-Style School Buses

In what is clearly a great moral victory for America in a time when victories are rare, akin perhaps to Kurt Russell's defeat of the soviet hockey team in that movie, Scotland has decided to invest in a technology that the U.S. of A. has been a leader in for decades: the big yellow school bus. Based on a study that showed 40% of primary school children and 30% of secondary students get to school by car, local officials see it as a move that could relieve congestion. Said a local MP "These iconic vehicles have been providing safe means of carrying children to and from school for generations in North America." America! America! America! Take that Europe, with your efficient public transportation system and higher densities that have limited the necessity for school bussing. [Scottsman.com]

classic ad watch

Lynch Mob After Your Hide? Volkswagen Transporter!

Forgive us for thinking that we'd maybe choose something with a bit more power and ground clearance than a VW T2 Transporter, were a howling, torch-wielding mob of European peasants battering down the doors of our castle. Say, a Unimog, for example. Still, for the mad scientist on a tight budget, the Transporter will get the job done!

Top ten funniest and most brilliant bus ads. [InventorSpot via Digg]

Now that's a VW bus we'd totally play with!

choose your eternity

Project Car Hell: Pink Pig or Short Bus?

Our two contestants yesterday were pretty evenly matched, with the Turbo 2002 beating the KA24DE 510 by a nose. Today, it's time to really explore true project lunacy, with a couple of vehicles that would be sure to make your neighbors recoil in horror if they were to see either one being dragged into your driveway (trailing a shower of sparks and rusty parts). Vehicles that, in spite of their ungodly awfulness, have potential to be incredibly fun customized hoonwagons. More »