What's sad is that the majority of electric buses being purchased both in America and around the globe aren't manufactured in the US. We have a Silicon Valley company, Tesla, that kicked off the world-wide move to battery powered autos. Why is there not a US company recognized as the leader in buses? There are a few California companies on this list but they're tiny. Here in Michigan the leading player is French and…
John Delorean's project before the stainless steel car was a city bus, aiming for the level of comfort of inner-city buses. At the time, GM city buses had no air conditioning, windows that didn't open, and were generally unbearable. He claims, in his autobiography, that GM intentionally made shitty buses to push people to car ownership (which made a lot more money per passenger than bus sales) and sold them to city councils with as many expensive lunches as it took. GM saw the threat from his bus and sent saboteurs to cut the fuel lines of his prototype the night before the launch at the industry show. The last part is hard to credit, but it certainly made sense for GM to fill the world with uncomfortable buses.