Bluebirds Orphaned?

[sawdust_128]

Did I hear correctly:confused: that Bluebird has shut down production? If this was already discussed, I apologize. I had not heard this and have only found little tidbits that lead me to believe that this is true.

Has anyone else heard this?

[Kenneth Brewer]

I too was looking into this. Apparently since the end of 2007 and into 2008 after being purchased yet again. Dead as of around Jan 08.

We still have our 84' FC. Still runs very well. Probably the most overbuilt coach ever. A tank.

An excerpt from the BB website:Fort Valley Shut Down
<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->I recieved amessage from Macy today as folows

"we appreciate your loyalty very much however the banks have made it final, no more credit, and with the company out of cash, the banks will liquidate and dissolve the company in accordance to Georgia law.

I am sorry this didn’t work out better for all of our sakes."


This is not what we all wanted but thisis the new reality.
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->__________________
Doug Matz
Shelter Island NY
04 M380

That message was evidently directly from Macy Nashati.

[GDeen]

I would have thought their passenger bus side would prop them up.:confused:

When I was a kid, my dad's buddy had a Wanderlodge and used to haul us to football games in it. I think that is where I got the itch - what a cool machine that was to travel in. Too bad to see an end to an era.

[Steve Cooper]

I'm not really sure the new (newest) owners wanted the motorhome side. It just kind of came along with the deal. My understanding is that they really didn't care for the degree of follow up care the coaches needed when compared to the school and transit buses. Once those are shipped you never see them again.
Sad of the all those folks who stuck with Blue Bird through thick and thick.

[sawdust_128]

Oh my, that is sad. When I first started looking at coaches, wanderlodges always caught my positive attention. They have such a loyal customer base and by all accounts a very well built product.

Very sad.

[rickdesilva]

What a shame, I had a 35 FC and a 40 WB. Great busses and built well. The fit and finish was great especially the interior cabinet work. Anyone who bought a Bird got all the info you needed to maintain your coach like. I was supplied all the engineering diagrams for my specific coach. The customer service was teriffic. They really set the standard for high line coaches. The good part is, I believe the support is still out there for anyone needing assistance.

[tdelorme]

"The good part is, I believe the support is still out there for anyone needing assistance."

Rick is correct, there are a ton of dealers and service centers that know these coaches inside and out. I would much prefer to deal with Wanderlodge problems as opposed to problems with an out of business convertor. I really expected Foretravel to bite the dust, but the downsizing they did under new ownership several years ago was a wise decision. Blue Bird made a first class product and it is real sad to see them shut down