GMC New Look

GM New Look
A restored GM “New Look” bus of the former New York Bus Service
Overview
Manufacturer	GM Truck and Bus (United States) GM Diesel Division (Canada)
Production	1959-1977 (US) 1962-1986 (Canada)
Assembly	Pontiac, Michigan London, Ontario Saint-Eustache, Quebec
Body and chassis
Class	Transit bus
Body style	Monocoque stressed-skin
Powertrain
Engine	7.0 L (426 ci) Detroit Diesel 6V71 V6 diesel 9.3 L (568 ci) Detroit Diesel 8V71 V8 diesel 9.0 L (549 ci) Detroit Diesel 6V92TA V6 diesel
Transmission	4-speed non-synchromesh manual 1-speed Allison VH automatic 2-speed Allison VS-2 automatic 3-speed Allison V730 automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	162 in (4.11 m), 235 in (5.97 m), or 285 in (7.24 m)
Length	29 ft (8.8 m), 35 ft (10.7 m), or 40 ft (12.2 m)
Width	96 in (2.44 m) or 102 in (2.59 m)
Height	121 in (3.07 m) (height over roof hatches)
Chronology
Predecessor	GM/Yellow Coach "old look"
Successor	GM RTS II (US) GM Classic (Canada)

The GM New Look bus, also commonly known by the nickname "Fishbowl" (for its six-piece rounded windshield), is a transit bus introduced in 1959 by Truck and Coach Division of General Motors and produced until 1986. More than 44,000 New Look buses were built. Its high production figures and long service career made it an iconic North American transit bus. The design is listed as U.S. Patent D182,998 by Roland E. Gegoux and William P. Strong.

44,484 New Look buses were built over the production lifespan, of which 33,413 were built in the U.S. and 11,071 were built in Canada (GM Diesel Division). Separated by general type, the production figures comprised 510 29-foot (8.8 m) city buses (all U.S.-built); 9,355 35-foot (10.7 m) city buses (7,804 U.S.-built, 1,551 Canadian); 31,348 40-foot (12.2 m) city buses (22,034 U.S., 9,314 Canadian) and 3,271 suburban coaches (of which only 206 were built in Canada). The total production of New Looks was 41,213 transit coaches and 3,271 suburban coaches.

Other than demonstrators, Washington, D.C. was the very first city to take delivery of any GM New Look buses, specifically TDH-5301s built in 1959 for O. Roy Chalk's D.C. Transit System, which operated in Washington, D.C., and the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia.

Several different models were introduced over the following years, and modifications made to the design. See the section below, headed "Description".

Production of the New Look in the U.S. ceased in 1977, when it was replaced by the RTS transit bus. Production continued after this, however, at General Motors Diesel Division in Canada, due to the RTS design being rejected by Canadian transit agencies, with the name plate changing from "GM" to "GMC". Few were produced after 1983 due to the GMDD's introduction of the Classic in that year. The last New Looks to be built were an order for Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines (now Big Blue Bus) of Santa Monica, California in 1986. The completion of that order brought a final end to New Look production in April 1986. A few transit systems are still operating them to this day (including Societe de transport de l'Outaouais in Gatineau, Quebec), over 50 years after introduction and over 25 years after mass production ended.