The Wayne Lifestar is a product line of buses that was manufactured and marketed by
Wayne Corporation
The Wayne Corporation was an American manufacturer of buses and other vehicles under the "Wayne" marque. The corporate headquarters were in Richmond, Indiana, in Wayne County, Indiana. During the middle 20th century, Wayne served as a leading p ...
and its successor company
Wayne Wheeled Vehicles
Wayne Wheeled Vehicles (WWV) was a tradename of a division of a vehicle manufacturer that specialized primarily in the production of school buses. It was owned by Harsco Corporation, who purchased the rights to use the Wayne brand name, certain ...
from 1986 to 1995. Produced nearly exclusively in a
school bus
A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
configuration, the Wayne Lifestar used a transit-style body configuration with a front-engine chassis. Marking the return to transit-style production (after an absence of over a decade), the Lifestar adopted the single-piece body stampings of the
Wayne Lifeguard in its construction.
Wayne Corporation manufactured the Lifestar from 1986 to 1992 at its
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...
facility. Following the closure and liquidation of Wayne Corporation, Wayne Wheeled Vehicles manufactured the product line from 1993 to 1995 in
Marysville, Ohio
Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Ohio, United States, approximately 27 miles (44 km) northwest of Columbus. The population was 22,094 at the 2010 census, a 38.59% increase from 2000.
Marysville's longtime slog ...
.
Overview and development
In the late 1960s, Wayne Corporation produced a rear-engine transit-style school bus similar to other major school bus manufacturers. As Wayne did not have the manufacturing equipment or capacity to build the chassis in-house, it sourced its rear-engine chassis from
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
. When General Motors discontinued its Chevrolet/GMC rear-engine bus chassis production in 1973, Wayne was forced to end production of its transit-style school bus in favor of the
Lifeguard
A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED first a ...
conventional introduced that year. Beyond 1973, all transit-style buses from Wayne became special-order vehicles for military and
GSA (federal government) purchases with chassis outsourced from other manufacturers; the transit-style buses were too expensive to produce at a competitive price as a school bus.
As the 1970s became the 1980s, the school bus industry was in a period of relative turmoil: along with the struggling economy, fewer Americans were school-age than in years past. Innovation and low cost were key to attracting school bus orders. To do so, Wayne Corporation was necessitated to develop a transit-style school bus that could be sold at a lower purchase price; for larger fleets, their higher capacity theoretically allowed for fewer buses per students transported. Named ''Lifestar'', the new vehicle would feature the continuous longitudinal interior and exterior panels of the Lifeguard for the sides and roof, both for safety and for parts commonality.
Prototype development
Identification of an appropriate chassis design from an outside supplier to meet engineering, volume, and cost considerations was essential to the project and the future of Lifestar. In the prototype stage, Wayne developed both front- and rear-engine versions of the Lifestar, as the majority of manufacturers (with the exception of
Ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
,
Crown Coach
The Crown Coach Corporation (founded as the Crown Carriage Company) is a defunct American bus manufacturer. Founded in 1904, the company was best known for its Supercoach range of yellow school buses and motorcoaches; the former vehicles were ...
, and
Gillig
Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...
) offered both configurations.
At the Welles plant in Canada, where many Wayne experimental projects had been done over the years, a rear-engine prototype was constructed, while a front-engine prototype was constructed in Richmond. The final decision was to produce the Lifestar only in the front-engine body style, primarily for cost considerations.
The front-engine bus program proved more successful than rear-engine development efforts, and saw production with several different chassis. The initial production run of Lifestars were of a front engine (FE) design; production began in 1986. A rear-engine model would have been more costly than a front-engine model, and likely would have achieved lower production volumes. Competitors in that market were the
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
Saf-T-Liner ER and
Blue Bird All American RE. Each bus was a premium product; although Thomas built its own chassis for the Saf-T-Liner ER at the time the Lifestar was introduced, production volume for the All American RE was low enough that Blue Bird outsourced its rear-engine chassis until 1988.
First generation (1986–1990)
When introduced for 1986, Wayne Corporation selected the all-new
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
S7 front-engine bus chassis for the Lifestar body; supported by the GM medium-duty truck service network, the S7 chassis was identified as both a Chevrolet and a GMC (using the steering wheel badging of either brand). The standard powertrain for the S7 chassis was a Chevrolet 366 (6.0L) V8 gasoline V8 (according to 1987 GMC Chassis Brochure), offering an optional Detroit Diesel 8.2L diesel V8 in either naturally aspirated ("Fuel Pincher") or turbocharged configuration.
Along with a chassis sourced from a major manufacturer, the body of the Lifestar was developed to reduce production and maintenance costs, using flat windshield glass (to lower replacement costs) and a nearly flat front bodywork stamping.
From its 1986 launch, the S7 product line was plagued with supply problems. In addition to underpinning the Lifestar, the GM chassis was also adopted by similar product lines from competing bus manufacturers Carpenter and Ward/AmTran. In 1989, General Motors ended production of the S7 product line entirely.
As a temporary solution, Milton H. Smith, a truck and bus dealer and school bus contractor based in
Plaistow, New Hampshire
Plaistow (, ) is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,830 at the 2020 census.
History
Plaistow was officially established as a town in 1749 after the 1739 resolution ...
(who served as one of the larger Wayne bus dealers in the United States) began to import chassis from
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. Essentially
gliders with an American-sourced powertrain (a Caterpillar 3208 diesel and an Allison MT643 automatic), the chassis were fitted to the Lifestar with redesigned engine covers to fit the larger Caterpillar engine. Branded as "Asia-Smith" chassis, the venture was ultimately not well-received in U.S. markets and many sat at the Wayne Indiana plant for an extended time awaiting body orders. Due to the supply issues of the GM S-7 affecting other manufacturers, some surplus Asia-Smith chassis were sold off to other manufacturers to be fitted with bus bodies; some were purchased by Ward/AmTran (for the Ward President) and from short-lived startup New Bus Company from Oklahoma (for the New Bus Chickasha FE).
Second generation (1991–1992)
For its 1991 production, Wayne Corporation updated the Lifestar out of necessity. Following the discontinuation of the Caterpillar 3208 engine for road use in the United States, the Asia-Smith chassis was left without an engine. In response, Wayne introduced a third chassis supplier for the Lifestar, shifting to the International
3900FC for 1991 production. Though shared with Ward/AmTran and Carpenter (and Canadian bus manufacturer EMC/Corbeil), the 3900FC provided the Lifestar with a reliable source of chassis production.
The shift to a Navistar-sourced chassis (powered by either a DTA360 or optional DT466 inline-6 turbodiesel) would result in several modifications to the body of the Lifestar. The most visible changes included a 4-piece wrap-around windshield (created by the relocation of the entry door), the introduction of quad headlights, and an all-new grille. The interior saw multiple changes, including the introduction of a Navistar-sourced steering column and instrument panel.
This generation of the Lifestar was only produced for two years, as Richmond Transportation Corporation, then the parent company of Wayne, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Wayne Corporation was liquidated and sold.
Wayne vs. AmTran
Other body manufacturers also expressed interest in the 3900, and AmTran (still selling buses bearing the Ward brand name) developed a product based upon it, the Ward Senator (which later evolved as the AmTran Genesis); however, AmTran was also working on a rear-engined model using the 3900 components to be fully assembled at its
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unusual in that ...
plant utilizing Navistar mechanical components; this saw production as the 1996 AmTran RE. The rear-engine concept promised substantially lower costs than chassis assembled at the Navistar plant at
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County, Ohio, Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approxim ...
, and in comparison, would put the Wayne Lifestar with the Springfield chassis at a significant price bidding disadvantage in the marketplace.
Third generation (1993–1995)
After Richmond Transportation Corporation's bankruptcy filing and liquidation in 1992, the assets of Wayne were acquired by
Harsco Corporation
Harsco Corporation is a global industrial company based in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Harsco operates in 30 countries and employs approximately 11,000 people worldwide. The company provides industrial services and engineered products that serve ...
. At the end of 1992, Wayne Wheeled Vehicles (WWV) began production of the Wayne Lifeguard and Lifestar out of
Marysville, Ohio
Marysville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Ohio, United States, approximately 27 miles (44 km) northwest of Columbus. The population was 22,094 at the 2010 census, a 38.59% increase from 2000.
Marysville's longtime slog ...
.
During the transition, Navistar was replaced as a chassis supplier by heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer
Crane Carrier Corporation
Crane Carrier Company (often abbreviated CCC) is a manufacturer that specializes in construction truck and garbage truck chassis. Located in New Philadelphia, Ohio, it was established by Robert Zeligson in 1946, along with the affiliated Zeli ...
(CCC), replacing the engine with a Cummins 5.9L inline-6 turbodiesel. In contrast to the previous model revision, the CCC chassis used nearly an identical body as the 1991-1992 Lifestar with the 3900FC, distinguished primarily by the change of powertrain and the replacement of Navistar-sourced components.
Model discontinuation
For 1988 production, Blue Bird introduced the
Blue Bird TC/2000
The Blue Bird TC/2000 is a product line of buses that was produced by the American manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation (then Blue Bird Body Company) from 1987 to 2003. Introduced as a second transit-style product range alongside the Blue Bird Al ...
. In line with the Lifestar, the TC/2000 was developed to lower production costs over the long-running All American, initially offered in a front-engine configuration and with minimal exterior chrome. While the Lifestar and TC/2000 shared a front-engine design layout, the two model lines differed as the latter was not negatively affected by chassis supply. At the time of its launch, Ward/AmTran had projected that the TC/2000 would secure a full 10% of the U.S. school bus market by 1990.
Wayne continued to struggle for market share in 1990. In mid-June 1990, the Welles plant in Canada was closed.
In early 1991, Navistar International announced that it had purchased a one third of AmTran, the manufacturer of Ward school bus bodies, and one of Wayne's long-time competitors. This was seen by many industry observers as an ominous sign for Wayne's future, as Navistar was its largest supplier of both conventional and Type D chassis. Wayne had no major alliance to guarantee a source of chassis, nor any in-house capacity to do so.
In August 1992, Richmond Transportation Corporation (RTC) was forced to declare bankruptcy. Assets were sold by a federal bankruptcy judge at auction that fall. Wayne, essentially in name only, lived on as Wayne Wheeled Vehicles until 1995 under different ownership.
See also
*
AmTran Genesis
*
Blue Bird TC/2000
The Blue Bird TC/2000 is a product line of buses that was produced by the American manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation (then Blue Bird Body Company) from 1987 to 2003. Introduced as a second transit-style product range alongside the Blue Bird Al ...
FE
*Carpenter Cavalier FE
*Carpenter Counselor FE
*
Thomas Saf-T-Liner MVP EF
*Thomas All-Star EF
*
Ward Senator
References
{{reflist
School buses
Wayne Corporation