The GMC New Look Transit Coach series (nicknamed "Fishbowl" for its six-piece rounded windshield) was introduced in 1959. Like GM's over-the-road buses, including the Greyhound Lines Scenicruiser, the air-sprung New Look did not have a traditional ladder frame. Instead it used an airplane-like stressed-skin construction in which an aluminum rivited skin supported the weight of the bus. The wooden floor kept the bus' shape. The engine cradle was hung off the back of the roof. As a result, the GM New Look weighed significantly less than competitors' city buses. Subsequent revisions added details such as bullet lights and removed some of the metal trim. Earlier New Looks had a single stop/turn/tail light at the rear; later models had a second dedicated turn signal. GMC Logo GMC, formerly known as GMC Truck, is a United States-based brand name of trucks, vans, and SUVs. ... The Greyhound is a breed of dog used for hunting and racing. ... Body-on-frame is an automobile construction technology. ...

Virtually all New Look buses were powered by Detroit Diesel 71-series supercharged two-cycle diesel engines. The original engine was the 6V71 (V6). GM buses used a unique "V-drive" configuration with a transverse mounted engine. The transmission angled off at a 45-or-so degree angle to connect to the rear axle. The engines were canted backwards for maintenance access; in fact the only parts not accessible from outside the bus were the right-hand exhaust manifold and the starter. The entire engine-transmission-radiator assembly was mounted on a cradle that could be quickly removed and replaced, allowing the bus to return to service when the powertrain required major maintenance. Originally all New Looks were powered by the 6V-71. GM resisted V8 power but eventually gave in to pressure from customers. Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC), headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, USA, is part of the Freightliner - Trucks NAFTA Business Unit, and is a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler AG. The company produces on-highway medium and heavy-duty Diesel engines for the commercial truck market, and for other commercial and automobile use. ... For other meanings, see supercharger (disambiguation) A supercharger (sometimes called a blower), a positive displacement or centrifugal pump, is a gas compressor used to pump air into the cylinders of an internal combustion engine. ... The diesel engine is a type of internal combustion engine; more specifically, a compression ignition engine, in which the fuel is ignited by the high temperature of a compressed gas, rather than a separate source of energy (such as a spark plug). ... The Ford Essex V6 engine A V6 is an internal combustion piston engine with six cylinders in a V configuration. ... In automotive engineering, an intake manifold or inlet manifold is a part of an engine that supplies the fuel/air mixture to the cylinders. ... Starter may refer to an automobile self starter, or starter motor the person who fires a pistol or waves a flag to indicate the start of a race bread starter, (also called sponge) a fermented mixture used in baking Sourdough a motor starter, or electric motor starter used to start... An engine is something that produces some effect from a given input. ... Transmission is the following: Generally, transmission is the act of passing something on. ... Radiator is a common term for several types of heat exchangers. ...

Original transmission choices were a 4-speed non-synchronized manual transmission with solenoid reverse and the Allison Automatic VH hydraulic transmission. The latter was essentially a one-speed automatic transmission which drove the wheels through a torque converter. At sufficient speed a clutch disconnected the torque converter and the engine drove the rear wheels directly. A later option was the VS-2, similar to the VH but with a two-speed planetary gearset with three modes: Hydraulic, direct (1:1), and direct-overdrive. The very last batch of American-built New Looks and most Canadian-built New Looks from 1977 through 1986 use the V731 transmission, a traditional three-speed automatic with a lockup torque converter. These four transmissions were the only V-drive transmissions made. This is an article about manual transmission in general; for guidance on how to drive with a manual transmission, see Manual transmission driving technique. ... Allison Transmission is an automobile factory in Indianapolis, Indiana. ... An automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the car or truck moves, thus freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually. ... A torque converter is a hydraulic fluid coupling that is used to transmit power from one or more engines or motors to a driveshaft or other output shaft. ... Epicyclic gearing is used here to increase output speed. ...

New Looks were available in both Transit and Suburban versions. Transits were traditional city buses; Suburbans had forward-facing seats (four-abrest) and underfloor luggage bays. The center aisle was lower than the floor beneath the seats to accommodate the luggage bays. There were also "Suburban-style" transits which had forward facing seats on slightly raised platforms that gave the appearance of a dropped center aisle. GM refused to install lavatories on their buses; at least one transit authority (AC Transit in San Diego) added their own. San Diego County in the Southwest corner of California. ...

The New Look was built in both 35' and 40' lengths and 96" and 102" widths. 35' and 40' buses had different-length side windows so the profiles of both buses looked very similar.

Model designations: New Looks had model names similar to SDM-5301 or T6H-4523N. Key:

• (T)ransit or (S)uburban;
• (D)iesel or (G)asoline, later (6)-cyl or (8)-cyl diesel;
• (H)ydraulic (automatic) or (M)echanical (manual) transmission
• 45 (nominal seating capacity) denoted a 35' bus, 53 a 40' bus.

Next two digits were the model series. Transits: For 35' buses, odd numbers were 96" wide, evens 102"; for 40' buses odd numbers were 102" wide, evens were 96". All Suburbans were 96" wide.

Later buses used "A" for Air conditioned or "N" for Non-air conditioned. Some Canadian-built buses used an "M" suffix to indicated they were built in Montreal.

1977 was the last year that the bus was produced in the United States. Production continued (until 1986) at GM of Canada with the name plate changing from "GMC" to "GM". The last New Looks were ordered by Santa Monica, California, and may still be in use. The New Look was replaced by the RTS transit bus in 1979.

The General Motors streetcar conspiracy

Main article: General Motors streetcar conspiracy

The General Motors streetcar conspiracy charges that GM bought up trolley lines in order to close them down and sell more buses. However, GM was deeply concerned about anti-trust action against the Bus and Truck division that would put their profitable car business at risk. With the New Look product line, GM went to great lengths to cripple their own product line. They eventually assisted Flxible, their closest competitor, with the re-engineering of their own New Look bus, including use of the well-liked V-drive, which boosted Flxible sales. GM resisted the move to V8 power and refused to offer certain configurations such as V8-powered 35' buses. When the Allison Automatic V730 transmission was introduced and offered by Flxible, GM continued to sell the older, more temperamental and more complex VS-2. (The very last batch of US-built New Looks offered the V730, and it was subsequently offered on Canadian-built New Looks. The General Motors streetcar conspiracy refers to a contention that General Motors (GM), acting in conjunction with several other companies and through the National City Lines (NCL) holding company, illegally acquired many streetcar systems in various cities around the United States, dismantled and replaced them with buses for the express... A 1987 Metro-B, owned by WMATA, serves as a roadblock in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2005. ...

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