Show of support for Complete Coach Works

[brad barton]

Not only do I hope Blue Bird survives and thrives so it can continue to support
our coaches, but, from all appearances, the company has a good heart and has
suffered enough through its leveraged buyouts. If you've ever survived an LBO
you know how treacherous it can be. In a brief face-to-face earlier this year,
Ronnie gave me a brief thumbnail of the last 20 years at Fort Valley. It wasn't
pretty.
I know the original owners were very generous to give buses to blood banks, the
Red Cross and others. The very first Blue Bird Bus I ever saw was donated by
Henry Luce to the Bible college I attended in Iowa. There was no way they
could've afforded it on their own. For all I know they may still have it today
after nearly 40 years. I second the good wishes and hope for the best. Brad
Barton 00LXiDFW bbartonwx@...


To: WanderlodgeForum@...: gman1146@...: Tue, 17
Jul 2007 21:41:52 +0000Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Show of support for
Complete Coach Works




Royal,I could not agree more! What might have become the end for Wanderlodge can
now become the best of bus/motorhome construction.Wanderlodge and the seated,
over the road bus division were sold together. The "old" BB company is keeping
only the "Yellow" line so Wanderlodge may share chassis, etc with high line over
the road coaches but not with any "Yellow" products as in the early days. Here
is a snip from yesterdays press release stating what was purchased."The
purchase, which also includes the manufacturing facility locatedon 32 acres of
land in Fort Valley Georgia, adds a forty and fortyfive foot seated coach
featuring an ADA compliant design, a multitudeof EPA and CARB certified power
combinations including CNG, LNG andHybrid drive systems, as well as the
legendary Wanderlodge Motor Hometo Complete Coach Works family of transportation
specific productsand services."Maybe wishful thinking on my part but the new
owners may now haveall the makings to build a seated coach and chassis that
competeswith Prevost, MCI, etc. AND the ability to use/modify it formotorhome
use and outfitting all under one roof.Rich D. '99LXi43' CT--- In
WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "bbwlwb88" wrote:>> I am
somewhat surprised at the lack of comments and questions from > forum members
about the purchase of Wanderlodge Division. I > understand that, to many, this
is just another sale to another > company and we have all seen this before. This
is not just another > sale of the company. The company who purchased Wanderlodge
separated > Wanderlodge from Blue Bird and will concentrate on Wanderlodge. >
Complete Coach Works is a privately held company who has made a > substantial
investment in the future of Wanderlodge. These folks > know buses, they are well
funded, and they are enthusiastic about > rebuilding Wanderlodge. If the sale
had not taken place we probably > would have received an announcement advising
us that production of > Wanderlodge coaches would cease. Basically production
had actually > ceased with the 2006 coach. Only a handful of 2007 models were >
produced.> > I urge you to show support for Complete Coach Works in their
efforts > to revive Wanderlodge. You can send an email to Macy Neshati, Vice >
President, Sales and Marketing for Complete Coach Works At > macy@... They have
indicated they will be at upcoming > rallies to meet and talk with coach owners,
dealers, and employees. > It means that our Wanderlodge resale values have a
better chance of > holding up and that parts availability will be improved.
These folks > are enthusiastic and Wanderlodge employees are excited about what
> they have heard from CCW management. > > The best way for Wanderlodge owners
to show our support would be to > make plans to show up for the 2007 Rally In
The Valley which will be > held 10/28/07 through 11/01/07. Information will be
coming soon I'm > told. A big turn out would send a strong message of our
support. I > will be there.> > Royal Washburn> 97 43'WL>


_________________________________________________________________
Missed the show? Watch videos of the Live Earth Concert on MSN.
http://liveearth.msn.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]