Flxible New Look bus

Flxible New Look
A Flxible New Look in service for Tri-Met in Portland, Oregon, in 1985
Overview
Manufacturer	Flxible
Production	1960-1978
Assembly	Loudonville, Ohio (1960-1974) Delaware, Ohio (1974-1978) Evergreen, Alabama (1963-1966)
Body and chassis
Class	Transit bus
Powertrain
Engine	Detroit Diesel and Cummins, see below
Transmission	Allison VS or VH, 2- or 3-speed
Dimensions
Wheelbase	176 in (4.47 m), 176 in (4.47 m), 201 in (5.11 m), or 285 in (7.24 m)
Length	31 ft (9.4 m), 33 ft (10.1 m), 35 ft (10.7 m), or 40 ft (12.19 m)
Width	96 in (2.44 m) or 102 in (2.59 m)
Height	120 in (3.05 m)
Chronology
Predecessor	Flxible Twin transit bus
Successor	Grumman 870/Flxible Metro

The Flxible New Look bus was a very popular transit bus introduced in 1960 by The Flxible Company, and produced from 1960 until 1978, when the New Look was replaced by the "870" Advanced Design Bus. Over its 17-year production run 13,121 Flxible New Look buses were manufactured.

The Flxible New Look bus shares many design features with the GM New Look bus that was introduced in 1959, however the Flxible New look bus was somewhat more rugged and solid. Both buses featured large 6-piece "fishbowl" windshields, forward-slanting side windows, fluted aluminum siding, and slide/glide front passenger doors. Both buses were also equipped with the same engine: the Detroit Diesel 6V-71 (6-cylinder) / 8V-71 (8-cylinder) diesel engine (however, 150 propane fueled Flxible New Looks were built for the Chicago Transit Authority in the mid-1960s, Detroit Diesel 4-71 (4-cylinder) diesel engines were available for some models in the mid-1960s, and Cummins 165-285 and 903 8-cylinder diesel engines were available until 1973 as an alternative to the Detroit Diesel engines). Originally, the Flxible New Look was only available in lengths of 35 or 40 feet (10.7 or 12.2 m) and widths of 96 or 102 inches (2.44 or 2.59 m), however 31-and-33-foot (9.4 and 10.1 m) models later became available. Until 1963, these buses carried both the Flxible and the Twin nameplates, with the Twin name located in a small oval beneath the Flxible shield on the front of the buses (Twin Coach had been a manufacturer of transit buses as early as 1927 and sold its transit bus product line to Flxible in 1953). In 1964 and 1965 Flxible produced a suburban model meant for longer distance highway routes, and these buses were equipped with all forward-facing high-backed seats and overhead luggage racks, but lacked a rear exit door and standee windows. Air conditioning was an available option on all models, and in most cases was identifiable by a bulge above the rear window where the roof-mounted condenser and cooling fan were located (some buses were built with under-floor air conditioning). Air-ride suspension was standard on all models.