19 Oct

More clean-diesel options coming to Leonard Bus Sales’ customers: Navistar announces IC Bus CE Series with Cummins ISB Engine

October 19, 2013, Deposit, N.Y. – Early last month, Leonard Bus Sales announced that customers will soon have more clean-diesel school bus choices, a result of Navistar’s announcement that the IC Bus™ CE Series will be available with Cummins ISB 6.7-liter engine option.  Leonard began taking orders in October for early 2014 production.

“This is big news in the school bus world, as we will now offer the broadest range of clean-diesel engine options in the industry,” said Leonard Bus Sales President Mike Leonard. “Our customers, new and existing, will be able to order school buses with a MaxxForce engine or with the Cummins ISB engine, all while getting the industry-leading support they’ve come to expect from Leonard Bus Sales.”

Customers can choose to buy CE Series buses with either the MaxxForce engines, using exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) technology, or with the Cummins ISB engine, using selective catalytic reduction (SCR) emissions after-treatment.

Navistar has had great success over the last three years utilizing the Cummins ISB 6.7-liter engine and its CE Series chassis through their Blue Diamond joint venture with Ford. The company has engineered over 20,000 units since 2010 while simultaneously exceeding warranty and quality goals.

The announcement by Navistar described the longstanding relationship between Cummins and Navistar, and highlighted the proven Cummins SCR after-treatment system, which has been the leading emissions technology since 2010 with the 2013 ISB 6.7-liter engine getting some of the best fuel economy of any engine in its class.

“We are certainly eager to take orders for the new Cummins-powered CE Series by IC Bus,” said Leonard. “Our award-winning team of professionals is looking forward to demonstrating why Leonard Bus Sales continues to be New York’s one-stop-shop for customer and vehicle support for all make and model school buses.”

More information about the announcement by Navistar can be found in their press release below:

Navistar Adds Cummins ISB for Trucks and Buses

Cummins ISB Expands Customer Offerings; Initial Production Slated for December

LISLE, Ill., Sept. 3, 2013 – Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV) today announced the expansion of its medium-duty engine offerings to include the Cummins ISB 6.7-liter engine for International® DuraStar® medium-duty trucks and IC Bus™ CE Series school buses.

“Adding the proven, market accepted Cummins ISB to our line-up is a key part of our strategy to offer our customers the most comprehensive medium-duty truck and bus offerings,” said Jack Allen, Navistar executive vice president and chief operating officer. “The ISB will complement our existing engine offerings and will be a catalyst as we look to improve our medium-duty truck and bus business in 2014 and beyond.”

International DuraStar trucks and IC Bus CE Series school buses with the Cummins ISB will be Navistar’s first medium-duty vehicles with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) emissions after-treatment. Navistar will begin taking orders immediately for trucks and buses with the Cummins ISB with initial truck builds later this month and regular production for trucks scheduled for December. Regular production for CE Series school buses is scheduled for late-January 2014.

Familiarity, Industry Acceptance of Proven Engine/Chassis Combination

 “Medium-duty truck and bus customers from across the industry have extensive familiarity and confidence in the Cummins ISB. Adding it to our proven DuraStar and CE Series products, along with our industry-leading dealer network, will provide customers with a winning combination,” said Bill Kozek, Navistar president, North America Truck and Parts. “Customers seeking commonality in their engine line-up have expressed significant interest in combining the Cummins ISB engine with our chassis and we anticipate strong demand and orders as a result.”

While the Cummins ISB is a new offering for Navistar’s medium-duty trucks and buses, Navistar has gained extensive experience packaging and manufacturing medium-duty trucks with the Cummins ISB since 2010 through its Ford Blue Diamond joint venture.

The Cummins ISB allows Navistar to meet the needs of its truck and bus customers by adding a proven mid-range SCR engine to its line-up. The company will announce the next steps of its comprehensive mid-range SCR engine strategy at a later date. In the meantime, Navistar will continue to offer EGR-only versions of its mid-range engines utilizing its medium-duty emissions credits.

Long-term Partners Continue Collaboration

With more than 75 years of history and collaboration behind its partnership, Navistar and Cummins teams have worked side-by-side over the past year to launch the Cummins ISX 15-liter engine in the company’s Class 8 trucks—including the International ProStar, PayStar 5900 and 9900i models. In addition, the teams continued their close collaboration this past spring and summer as Navistar added the Cummins SCR after-treatment system to its proprietary MaxxForce 13-liter for the successful launch of ProStar, WorkStar, TranStar and PayStar models. That same level of teamwork will continue as Navistar leverages the experience and learnings gained during its heavy-duty SCR launch for its medium-duty launch with the Cummins ISB.

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About Leonard Bus Sales, Inc. is owned and operated by the Leonard family, a recognized leader in the distribution and support of quality, environmentally-friendly school and commercial buses.  A third generation family-owned business, Leonard Bus Sales has nearly 50 years of experience providing cost-saving fleet management and award-winning customer support. Leonard Bus Sales is a leading-distributor of IC BusTM brand buses in Upstate New York.  The company also distributes Type-A school and commercial buses from Trans Tech throughout New York and Type-A commercial buses from Champion Bus in Upstate New York. The company is headquartered in Deposit, NY and operates four additional full-service facilities in Saratoga Springs, Rome, Bergen, and a Trans Tech Type-A facility in Garden City Park, N.Y. — www.leonardbus.com.