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GM New Look Bus

Buses and Road Mass Transit Vehicles

The GM New Look bus, nicknamed the fishbowl for its large curved windshield, is a transit bus that General Motors produced from 1959 into the early 1980s, sold in large numbers to city transit systems across the United States and Canada. Its distinctive rounded styling and simplified underlying design made it one of the most common transit buses in North America for a generation, and surviving examples remain popular with transit museums and enthusiasts.

Facts
Year
1959 1
Significance
Iconic North American transit bus thanks to high production and long service career. 1
Manufacturer or Builder
General Motors Truck and Coach Division 1
FAQs

Why was the GM New Look bus called the fishbowl?

It was named for its original six-piece rounded windshield.

The nickname came from the bus's windshield. The original windshield was a rounded, six-piece unit that gave the front of the bus its fishbowl look. GM later replaced it with a two-piece curved pane.

Did the GM New Look bus stop production in the United States and Canada at the same time?

US production ended in 1977 and Canadian production in 1985.

No. Production in the United States ended in 1977, while Canadian production continued until 1985, so the bus stayed in production in Canada for several years after it ended in the United States.
In the Other Atlases

Manufactured By

Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.

Sources
1. GM New Look bus, Wikipedia
  • Lead, sentence 1 (introduction)
    introduced in 1959
  • Lead, sentence 1 (maker)
    Truck and Coach Division of General Motors
  • Lead, closing sentence
    Its high production figures and long service career made it an iconic North American transit bus.
  • In Group: Low-Floor Transit Buses, Lead sentence
    The GM New Look bus is a municipal transit bus that was introduced in 1959 by the Truck and Coach Division of General Motors to replace the company's previous coach, retroactively known as the GM "old-look" transit bus which was introduced in 1940.
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