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There is an article being developed for this site, but the news at this moment is that Prevost is dropping Detroit Diesel as the engine of choice in 2008. In the meantime, Series 60 engines with modified exhaust systems will be supplied.
The replacement is going to be the Volvo 12.7 liter engine, developed in Sweden.
Check in on the front page of this site in awhile to get more information. You heard it here first!
Is there any truth to the fact that Mercedes wanted to purchase the injection syatem from Detroit but they would not sell it unless Mercedes purchased the whole smear.
Now that the Detroit 60 supply is running out, they have to use something else.
Does what I stated hold any water? Even a little bit of it?
Please don't tell me that my sources are totally incorrect, BOO_HOO.
Mercedes is part of DaimlerChrysler. Detroit Diesel is part of DaimlerChrysler. They are the same company, so I would say, "Not even a little bit of it," and that your sources are not correct.Quote:
Originally Posted by lewpopp
Groundup
You mean to tell me that Detroit didn't sell all or part of their business to Mercedes? Or to chrysler for that matter?
Do you know that I am wrong for a fact, and if I am, where have I gone wrong?
You can't tell me that I am totally wrong and not give me the reasons why. BUT THEN AGAIN, I GUESS YOU CAN.
It is not clear what transmission will be tabbed for the Volvo engine. There are a number of options, however there is no designated transmission ready to be named for the new mill.
After a bit of thought, moving to the new Volvo engine, for coaches which are likely to be in production in just two years, seems to be a Volvo-directed move. If Prevost were not owned by Volvo, would the company have made another choice? This is an engine which has not been tested in-service in the United States, there are currently no techs trained for service, no parts. If Prevost Car were an independent company, would they have chosen, for example, a CAT-13 or some other alternative?
These decisions could have been made some time ago; as the pending guidelines from EPA have been public information. It will be of interest if Prevost will be able to implement a reliable, efficient coach; and have it supported in such a short period of time.
These new coaches will require substantial test time before market introduction and an able distribution and service network.
Pretty tall order for an industry which has rather longer assembly and production schedules.
Jeff, I wrote a post to this thread, but once again I received some illegal thread message and my post was lost. This site is getting to be too much effort.:mad: Ken
I am posting just as any other user here to check out the system.
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We are getting there.
Again, if you have a question, the quickest way to reach me is by PM and I will try to get to you right away.
Thanks!
Jeff, I fear that like in many corporate mergers the company that is taken over looses it's identity. We only have to look at the Beaver Motor Coach take over by Monaco in 2000. One by one the people who knew anything about the coach were replaced by Monaco people. Last year the Beaver manufacturing site was closed. Now the Beaver coach is just another Monaco product with the Beaver logo. Is that the future for the Prevost Car Company? Unfortunatley it is about cost cutting and " lean " manufacturing....which is corporate speak for eliminating everything from quality control, engineering, and personnel who may have been working a long time with older benefit packages. The move from Detroit Diesel was made on the basis of economics and not in an attempt to improve the product! Ken
...glad to see that your posting problems have seemed to clear up!
I think you are onto something very important here. Volvo appears to be much more deeply involved in getting a significant return on their investment with all their holdings, and in this case with Prevost Car. I do know that they have set profit and revenue goals down to branch and business unit levels which are very aggressive. It does not seem that Prevost is able to meet those return on asset levels.
The brand, "Prevost" is not going to go away, as it has good standing in the marketplace, but as you say, other 'brand names' last even if the true companies have been fundamentally changed. Usually when an acquisition is made, the buyers of companies let the management run it for some period of time to see how they do. If it is successful during that period, then there is a 'hands off' attitude. If it is not profitable, then the parent company gets more and more involved. This seems to be the case with Prevost Car.
I am not an MBA or any kind of corporate guru by any means, but basic business sense suggests to me that we can forecast one of the following two scenarios to unfold: Either Prevost is bought from Volvo Bus Corporation at an agreed upon price and Volvo walks away from the entire operation or there will be more and more Volvo involvement in finances, operations and there will be Volvo buses with a Prevost name on them.
Volvo didn't get to the be the company it is by having non-performing assets in which they have invested large amounts of cash.
In the motorhome industry, we have seen, as you say, brands which have been acquired and only the name remains. Prevost is a little different in that the motorhome part of the business is only one sector of its overall business; don't forget about the seated coach business and the entertainer coach business. There is tremendous pressure on Prevost to perform in these sectors as well. And the competition here is fierce; neither of those two businesses are particularly profitable and there are many good alternatives, MCI, Setra and others who are actively seeking inroads in what had been Prevost-only businesses.
The question is going to be, from where I sit, only what will happen and when.
We should be happy with our coaches, as our Prevost-built coaches may wind up being the most highy prized coaches over the longer run, like the "real' Harleys of the past and the 'real' Fender guitars.
The general trend in business in general is to have fewer, larger corporations. A friend of mine, who has been an investor for many years believes that ultimately there will be about 3 big corporations which own just about everything. That is a gross over-simplification, but his idea is about right. It takes a tremendous amount of capital for any assembly or manufacturing concern to thrive. The guys with the biggest cash in their pockets are the ones who will be calling the shots.
Sorry for such a long and boring response to an honest question and I may well be way off target here. This opinion and $5 for a Starbucks cup of coffee are about the same value.