BusTalk

[MattS]

My dad and I were talking (he drove buses for nearly 40 years starting in 1969). He has driven numerous types of coaches including GMCs (4106, 4903, 4905), MCIs (8 and 9s), Eagles, and Prevosts. The inevitable question came up and his favorite he said (after a pensive pause) was the 4106. He said for size, power, reliability, and comfort it was hard to beat. Other GMC models were near the top (he loved the later 4905s too) and his absolute least favorite were the Eagles. "What a piece of &*%#. Who in the hell decided to put the drive axle behind the tag axle?!? If you went over a hump the drive wheels would come off the ground and you were stuck. And they were worthless in the snow. That V-6 was so underpowered that when you got to any sort of hill it couldn't get out of its own way. You'd get passed by everything, VWs, old ladies on bicycles, everything!" So went his rant, any other opinions are of course welcome!

[traildriver]

Your dad and I agree completely on the GM coaches, especially my all time favorite, the 4106. To me they were the last of the real parlor coaches, as the later "buffalo" 4107's 4108's, 4903's and finally, the 4905's, all shared certain design features with the transit buses.
GMC ergonomics were outstanding. When you sat behind the wheel, everything was placed perfectly, and readily fell to hand as you needed them. You felt comfortable enough to sit there for a ten hour stretch....

I have to laugh at his opinion of Eagle's too.... The 6v92's did seem somewhat anemic, but the Eagle did have its good points. The Torsilastic suspension did yield a very nice ride, and they handled the road well. And you never had to pump airbags up to level the coach, when starting one parked overnight. Starting was another weak point for Eagle's. Their 12 volt system often required jumpstarts. And they overheated all the time. We used to joke about Eagle's coming factory-equipped with soda cans. Why, you ask? Answer....to prop open the engine doors enough to keep them from overheating.
The earlier model "0-1" Eagle's did have a rear tag axle, but when the "0-5" and "0-7" replaced them, in 1968 and 1969, they moved the drive axle to the rear, and moved the fuel tank to between the tag wheels to free up more underfloor baggage space.

[MattS]

Thanks for the great reply! I forgot to add that there was only one company he worked for (H&L Bloom out of Taunton Mass) that had a PD-4501 Scenicruiser. He said driving that was a real treat except for the fact that the lav was only 8 feet or so behind the driver and the aroma wasn't pleasant at times. GM must have learned after that to relocate the lavs to the very rear.

[JimmiB]

I think Traildriver hit it on the head with the comment about the GM's being comfortable. Especially the '06. Everything in the driver area was laid out just right. I liked the 4107 and 4905 but I would gladly go anywhere in a 4106. Our MC-9's were nice handling coaches but didn't have the "comfort zone" of the GM's.

[traildriver]

I have driven every model of MCI, from the MC-5 to the latest D4500, and I have never felt as much "at home" behind the wheel, as in GM's.
The worst is the J4500.

As for our current fleet....IMHO, the best bus from a driver's standpoint is our aging Prevost XL-II's. I prefer them over our new H3-45's.

[traildriver]

[MattS]

It sounds like dad's high opinion of the 4106 is shared by others! I have found photos of the Almeida Bus 4106s that he drove, but I'm not sure how to imbed them into a post. I recently found one online and dad confirmed it was taken at the South Boston Trailways terminal. I guess the station is gone now, but used to be just a block off Boston Commons and down the street from the Greyhound terminal. Oddly enough, I was walking down the street here in Indiana a few weeks back and there were several trucks stopped at a stoplight. The smell of diesel and the sounds of the idling engines took me right back to that Boston bus station in the 1970s.