They do often carry manufacturers badges!My car has the makers name and the car model all over it in chrome letters like most cars.
Trucks have their makers names over them too, but with buses, it seems not. Why?
Plenty of space below the screen for company branding - NOT. Why do so many manufacturers think customers would rather know it’s a Volvo (insert other manufacturer’s name/logo) than the company/service name?
NBC Nationals may not have had the Leyland roundel after c1975 but they had LEYLAND NATIONAL badges as shown on this factory photo (Brian on Flickr)Historically, when chassis could be bodied by any one of a number of coachbuilders, the coachbuilder didn't have any reason to bother with sourcing and fitting a badge denoting the unseen (by passengers) chassis manufacturer. Even integral buses were sometimes anonymous - most NBC Leyland Nationals carried no indication of maker, though the Mk2 version, which featured a front radiator, had prominent block capitals or a scroll badge with the word Leyland. This may or may not be a coincidence, with Leyland gaining full ownership of Leyland National, NBC having relinquished their 50% shareholding the previous year!
My car has the makers name and the car model all over it in chrome letters like most cars.
Trucks have their makers names over them too, but with buses, it seems not. Why?
Think that was a Brian Souter preference when he was in charge.Stagecoach for a while insisted on vehicles being delivered without manufactures badges.
I must be losing it... should have looked at my own avatar which shows the badge in situ on a Mk1 NationalNBC Nationals may not have had the Leyland roundel after c1975 but they had LEYLAND NATIONAL badges as shown on this factory photo (Brian on Flickr)
Ha ha ha, thanks that really made me chucklethe "plughole of doom" (British Leyland) badge
Wright buses (including Wright coachwork on another chassis) almost invariably has the "W" logo on the front and rear, and WRIGHT on the rear.My car has the makers name and the car model all over it in chrome letters like most cars.
Trucks have their makers names over them too, but with buses, it seems not. Why?
Not quite the same, but I remember the 40 Leyland Fleetlines delivered to Tyne & Wear PTE in 1977 being badged as Daimlers (and licenced as such). They all pull on Buslistsontheweb as being Leylands.In a book I have, there's a photo of the back end of one of the last Fleetlines and it carried the "LEYLAND" block lettering, the "plughole of doom" (British Leyland) badge and a Daimler badge. I think it was SCH117X.
Even the good old paper tax discs couldn't be relied upon on for accuracy, especially where Leyland was concerned. The initial Leyland Olympian prototype was taxed as a Morgan, a pre-production Tiger as an Austin and as is well known a number of early Olympians were taxed as Bristols. And there were the Tyne & Wear PTE Fleetlines mentioned above. All this was down to the paperwork which Leyland supplied to the vehicle tax offices.Thanks for the replies. I will look closer today. I usually determine what a bus is using bus lists on the web or bustimes rather than looking for logos!
Not just Brian Souter.Think that was a Brian Souter preference when he was in charge.
Stuff since he left has badges
The Volvo BZLs recently delivered to Stagecoach London don't have that, making way for the Stagecoach logo instead.Just last week, Ray Stenning (prolific designer of liveries etc) tweeted on X that complaining that the new Volvo 8900 Electric bus has a big Volvo "grille slash" on its front, leaving little room for the operator's logo:
I suspect the Volvo referred to in the quote is one that they build themselves, rather than a chassis sent to a bodybuilder such as MCV.The Volvo BZLs recently delivered to Stagecoach London don't have that, making way for the Stagecoach logo instead.
Ah the W-reg Citaro fleet, I remember them a huge bunch at Oldham before moving onto Bury when the B7RLE's replaced them before returning again towards EOL.First Manchester used to have an advert suggesting you should use a chauffeur-driven Mercedes to get to work with them when they had a large number of new Mercs in the fleet in the 90s.
Indeed, and if you're prepared to splash that little bit of extra cash you can even have the operators name illuminated too. Eg see the Reading Buses logo above the Wright Bus W on the front of this street deck for example:Wright buses (including Wright coachwork on another chassis) almost invariably has the "W" logo on the front and rear, and WRIGHT on the rear.