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Prevost (bus manufacturer)

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Prevost
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryManufacturing
Founded1924
HeadquartersSainte-Claire, Quebec, Canada
Key people
François Tremblay (president).[1]
ProductsCoaches
RV (Conversion Shells)
ParentVolvo Buses (1995–present)
Websiteprevostcar.com

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]

History

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Early years (1924–1951)

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Place Eugène Prévost in Sainte-Claire

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. Between 1937 and 1939, its first bus manufacturing plant was built.[3]: 1937  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 to handle metal production and bus fabrication;[3]: 1948  it was awarded another large contract for 100 motorcoaches from the government of Canada in 1951.[3]: 1951  At about the same time, Prevost was making city transit buses, including the Citadin.[4]

Normand era (1957–1995)

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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  In 1969, two American businessmen, Thomas B. Harbison and William G. Campbell, formed a partnership with André Normand, then President of Prevost, to become the company's owners. These three men, in turn, sold Prevost to Volvo Bus Corporation and Henlys Group in 1995.[3]: 1969 [5]

Under the Normands, in 1961 Prevost Car introduced the Travelair, a 25-foot passenger coach for short trips, and the Panoramique, a 40-foot intercity coach which served Grey Goose Bus Lines.[3]: 1961  This was followed by the Champion (1966),[3]: 1967  which 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.[6] An upgraded version of the Champion was introduced in 1968 with taller side windows, rounded at the top, and this model was renamed Le Prestige in 1973.[3]: 1968  For the motorhome market, Prevost began selling Champion conversion shells to upfitters starting in 1970.[3]: 1970 

The Champion line was succeeded by the LeMirage in 1977,[3]: 1977  which also were sold as conversion shells starting in 1978.[3]: 1978  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 LeMirage XL and Prevost XL in 1984.[3]: 1984  A long-wheelbase variant of the LeMirage 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 1995, the LeMirage XL-45.[3]: 1995 

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, H3-41, and H3-45.[3]: 1989 

Volvo era (1996–present)

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Volvo assumed sole ownership of Prevost in 2004.[3]: 2004 

The LeMirage XL-II began production in January 2000.[3]: 2000  For 2006, the XL-II was revised to become the X3-45, which featured a longer wheelbase than its predecessor.[3]: 2006  Beginning in 2011, the Prevost X3-45 was made available in a transit-style configuration as a commuter coach. 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. It continues to be available in intercity and transit configurations.

The H-Series was facelifted in 2004.[3]: 2004  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.

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. 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 became distributor of the Volvo 9700 coach in Canada and the United States.[3]: 2009 

As of June 2019, Prevost operates 15 parts and service centers in North America, nine of them in the United States.[7]

Models

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Current

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Current motorcoaches sold by Prevost
Photo Model Production Length(s) Configuration(s) Notes

H3-45 (3rd Generation)
 H-Series[8]
[user-generated source] 		1985–present   Intercity Coach Also available as a conversion shell. 46 H5-60s were completed.[9]
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[10]
[user-generated source] 		2009–present Intercity Coach Assembled in Mexico by Volvo

Former

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Former motorcoaches sold by Prevost
Photo Model Production Length(s) Configuration(s) Notes

LeMirage XL-II
 LeMirage 1976–2005 40- and 45-ft Intercity coach Replaced by X3-45[11]
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 1960s ? 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 [6]
33-S 1960s ? Passenger motorcoach 33 to 37 passengers
Le Normand 1957–1960 ? Intercity coach
Prévocar 1953 ? Intercity coach
Skycruiser 1948–1949 ? Motorcoach

Suburban intercity model
 Citadin 1948–1959 30- and 35-ft Transit bus 33 to 37 passengers; 96 in (2,400 mm) wide[4]
Suburban 1939 ? Motorcoach
Motorbus 1924 ? ?
Then President Obama boards the "Ground Force One" bus in 2011.

Ground Force One

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Main article: 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.[12] 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.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ https://prevostcar.com/stories/prevost-generations-innovation-presidents-perspective
  2. ^ "Prevost – Passenger coaches and bus shells manufacturer". Archived from the original on 2009-05-16. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "The Value of Heritage: Milestones". Prevost. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b Brophy, Jim (March 3, 2018). "Bus Stop Classics: 1948–1959 Prevost Citadin Urban Transit Coach: Canadian City Dweller". Curbside Classic. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Prevost – Passenger coaches and bus shells manufacturer". Archived from the original on 2007-09-20. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  6. ^ a b Brophy, Jim (February 8, 2025). "Bus Stop Classics: Prevost Travel-Aire and S-Series Urban Transit Buses – A Couple of Rare Birds". Curbside Classic. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  7. ^ Prevost Parts & Service Centers (accessed 20 June 2019)
  8. ^ "Prevost Car H-Series – CPTDB Wiki". cptdb.ca. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  9. ^ Brophy, Jim (December 23, 2022). "Bus Stop Classic: Prevost H5-60 (1988–1992) — The Articulated Highway Coach, Take Three". Curbside Classic. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  10. ^ "Volvo Buses 9700 – CPTDB Wiki". cptdb.ca. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  11. ^ Brophy, Jim (March 19, 2023). "Bus Stop Classics: 1976–2006 Prevost Le Mirage — It's All In The Windows". Curbside Classic. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  12. ^ CP (17 August 2011). "Obama's Made In Canada Bus, 'Ground Force One', Gets President Criticized". Retrieved 19 April 2018 – via Huff Post.
  13. ^ "Canucklehead Obama bus-ted! (PHOTOS)". nypost.com. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
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