Mercedes buses are now in North America | An In-depth look
Вставка
- Опубліковано 1 бер 2022
- Mercedes Benz is releasing a bus in North America. Get ready to see buses with the Mercedes star on the hood. I got a inside look at what these are going to look like. They have a beer cooler in the dash!
If you want to see my travel videos check out my other UA-cam channel J wang Vlogs
/ jwangvlogs
Don't forget to check these links out!
Bus and Motorcoach News
www.busandmotorcoachnews.com/
Motor Coach Minute UA-cam channel
/ @busmotorcoachnews6305
Check out my friends Tom and Magne's European bus trips. Bussmagasinet
/ @bussmagasinet1
Captain john's UA-cam Channel
/ @captain.john.
fridges in the dash are fairly common on EU spec coaches. Quite a few have them, great for the driver and any other crew on board
You are reaching people worldwide even on the corporate level in the industry!! I think that is awesome!! Great coverage of this event and the bus looks really cool. Too bad you couldn’t take it for a test drive! 😎
Dude if my flight left a few hours later I could have because they let people go for a test drive in it. But I did not know they were doing that and my flight left right when they were starting the test drives
@@MotorcoachWorld Wow!! That would have been epic!
Surprised to find you here lol
(referring to the bathroom) "I'm not going to try it out!" Probably the only way to get banned from a bus show. 😂 Great vid, James. Best wishes.
Pretty similar to the Mercedes-Benz Tourismo buses we have in Europe. And that's actually not a bad thing because they are really nice coaches.
Just curious as to how strong the frame is in the event of a roll. Any insight on that?
The Premium version of the Tourrider is pretty much the same as the Tourismo except for the front.
Regards the toilets, I use to tell my passengers the toilets are for rain and not thunder always got a laugh when they worked out what I meant.
LOL I gotta start using that one!
The Tourrider is so close to the Setra S417 (IMHO) it's crazy. I did many years in the 417 and can only imagine the new bus is every bit as great, and then some!!
Mercedes Benz and the other German marque MAN have been selling buses and coaches in Australia for decades. Their reputation for reliability is remarkable. My first motorhome conversion is a 1992 Mercedes O303 tri-axle coach, while my second is a MAN 24-420, which means 24 tonne GVM (27.5 US ton), 420hp. I've never driven an MCI or GM coach, which were about the only US made coaches sold here, so can't compare. Love your videos as always!
MAN has been here in North America for decades - transit buses, primarily (WMATA has had them almost back to their beginning); Mercedes Benz North America will likely use Freightliner North America and/or Thomas Built's dealer netowork - MBNA owns both companies.
12:50 you can see how many European companies co-operate with each other and Setra is fully owned by EvoBus Gmbh which is owned fully by Daimler-Benz
My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine as well. Please stay safe! Love from Norway.
The only german beer in that fridge was "Franziskaner"... it's quite okay, but mainstream ;)
Thanks so much for another great video, really liked it!
Hey Migs. Yes I spoke with the German guys there and they were all appalled by Americas taste in beer, especially bud light LOL
@@MotorcoachWorld Will they think the same after trying our craft beers? (As opposed to our *mass market* beers, I have a rather low opinion of them as well, I prefer craft beers; my favorites are - in a rather odd way - are from the same state as out President - whom I cannot stand - Delaware (specifically, Milford).)
You know the green double dekker bus you showed from Bussmagasinet. I was driving it for 6 weeks last summer when we where driving bus for train in the east part of Norway 🤩😄 Amazing bus to drive. I normally drive intercity lines between Stavanger and Bergen. Love your videos 👍
I'm a new bus driver. Not motorcoach, but transit. Your enthusiasm is giving me the incentive to go motorcoach. Thanks for the videos.
Whatever you choose as long as you love it that's what matters.
Thanks for taking the time to write a comment.
I feel free to send me a picture of yourself in front of your bus.
I'd love to give you a shout-out.
jwang@peoriacharter.com
It's no wonder that it looks like a Setra. Mercedes-Benz bought Setra and joined it with its own coach building division to create EvoBus, which are now the Mercedes-Benz coach building company.
I like the design of this new Mercedes, it respects the standards required by the United States and at the same time has a beautiful design.
The first time I was at a show like that was in 1984, at the "Bus Bash" held in Las Vegas. Detroit Diesel was showing off their "new" Series 60, MCI had a 102C3, and there were a lot of private coaches outside the hall. It was a lot of fun for a bus nut like me. Then there was an equipment show in Dallas about 1990, that I remember very little about since I was just there as a representative of Bill Luke's "Bus Ride" magazine.
Great job James as always. I loved the live streams from the bus Expo.
I never thought I'd fall in love with a channel dedicated to BUSSES but somehow I just keep coming back 😂 Wishing you and your wife and family the best!
Those Benz busses look pretty cool. I personally like the glass roof model. I wonder how reliable they'll be.
Glass roof will probably need some extra care to keep it clean. Not sure if there are automatic cleaners for bus roofs or somebody has to climb up there for scrubbing. Perhaps James can tell us?
MB commercial vehicles are all over Europe and afaik pretty reliable
@@uncinarynin probably has some window sprayers at the front and with the help of physics cleans the rest
It has the om471 engine which appears to be the same as a DD13. It'll probably break
Both coaches look very nice. I can see the high-end RV industry trying to convert the premium model. That in-dash cooler was awesome!
The dashboard is pretty much the same dash in a Freightliner Cascadia! Freightliner is Damiler so it makes sense. :) The big box in the windshield is the radar system.
Those buses were absolutely BADASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great vlog again James. Looks like u had a great time at the convention. Very interesting to see the differnce between coaches in USA & the ones we use here in Ireland. Looking forward to the next video
10:40 that thing looks a lot like the windshield cutout in my 2022 Freightliner Cascadia (also Daimler-Benz). If it’s the same system as my truck, then behind it is a camera for the collision mitigation system and adaptive cruise control, and a rain sensor for the automatic wipers.
My truck also has that window design flaw you mentioned and exactly the same steering wheel.
Putting the toilet in the rear corner reminds me of Setra buses of the 1980s. Nowadays most European travel coaches have it in a lowered position next to the mid-rear door (low enough so it doesn't obstruct the view of passengers behind).
I wonder which operators will actually order all the extra features such as the glass roof. Not Flixbus-Greyhound I guess ....
The Black Box is a Bendix Collision Mitigation system, we have them on our Freightliners, Daimler product, that bus even has the same annoying beeps as the truck, heard it when he turned the bus on. If you get to close to the vehicle in front of you it beeps, if you get even closer it will auto brake.
How well does that work on icy roads? None of the trucks I have driven have been equipped with it. I have driven a car with it and it put the brakes on hard erroneously a few times when it mistook a slower moving vehicle in another lane in a curve as being in its path. Last thing I would want in a semi in the winter is it braking hard in a curve.
@@juliogonzo2718 I think it is not mandatory to have them turned on all of the time. But if you get into an accident because it's turned off, you'll have to have a very good explanation why you turned it off. Driving on ice is a legit reason of course. Turning it off because the bus driver actively wants to tailgate or 'push' people to go faster, is only a valid reason for getting an invitation to talk to management.
Great video man. Looks like you had fun.
Wow that's very impressive. I would like to see a bus show like that one in Canada someday preferably in Toronto.
Bonjour, James !! « This thing looks like a Setra » ? Well, you most probably know that Setra and the Mercedes-Benz busses and coach division both belong to the EVOBUS group. So a lot of parts are shared between the two brands. And that includes most of the dashboard.
I rode on MB buses in Europe on several occasions. One feature that I enjoyed as a passenger was the seating flexibility. A lever allowed the inboard seats to slide away from the outboard row by some four inches, giving more elbow room. The down side is the narrowing of the aisle when pax forget to push the seat to its original position when unloading.
Years back I owned a Mercedes automobile. People used to ask about the size of the steering wheel. Some thought it was to large. Mercedes answer was , " When something better comes along, we will change it. " They engineer both Quality of Purpose and Quality of Design . The wheel was in the right place for your seat position and your hands easily fell to the right position and were relaxed. Driving was a breeze and driving long distance did not tire you. ( you mentioned the mirrors ) All the best, Hal
Nice video! I like the front of the new Mercedes busses.
i am a uk coach driver,i loved your videos,very informative and entertaining
Thank you sir.
I worked with Daniel from Irizar when he was here in Australia. A good bloke, and it’s great to see him going forward in his career!
In California, I doubt that ANYTHING is legal, much less beer.
I have no idea why this video got recommended to me, but now I am down the rabbit hole on coach busses
Welcome aboard! Lol
The black plastic on the sceen is a camera for lane departure system that is probably fitted to the Tourider the european equveilant Tourismo is the same.
Yes!! my dream come true! Scania will be next for sure!
It’s about time . .. .. .
and my prays are with your family. amen
This is currently my favorite coach
Great video James, nice looking busses
Captain John was here. Thanks for the shout out! My thoughts are with the Ukrainians! 💓
Great video. It was great to see the Mercedes Benz bus on the US.
I'd love to be able to get detroit engines in one of those.
Not the detroits we know and love, it’ll likely come with the OM-472, possibly with the DD15 stickers. Why they put it in the front baffles me, may have the smaller 471/DD13 for cooling limitation purposes. But yes, Daimler has been fond of pushing their own engines. Being and import, I don’t know if they’ll offer the ISX.
@@jaysmith1408 Yeah I know. A series 60 would be 🔥
I believe Setra is owned by Daimler Bus as well - the black box behind the windshield is for the Daimler Assist suite of safety systems
Superb ❤
Hi Mr. ☺ thank you for sharing your experience with us. I love people like you and of course buses. Your content is very special and I'm so inspired ✨ thank you. 💙💛
Thank you for the kind words Pasha. Always a pleasure to meet a fellow bus nut
great video
Our prayers and our hearts go out to your family and friends. We will continue to pray until this is over. As always your videos are perfect even when you're under stress.
Thanks my friend!
Great to see Mercedes Benz RV , what companies will design RV’s like Featherlite, Liberty or Marathon Coaches
that wing sticking out from the roof is probably a camera for a 360 around view monitor.
i would love to see VDL come to the US one day(im dutch) since it co-operates with the Dutch truck manufacturer DAF which in itself is part of Paccar
with more euro manufacturers like merceyedes tapping into the US market, id lowkey love to see Denning branch out abroad. afterall they seem to share ALOT of characteristics with really successful American coach brands while being able to handle the abuse of the outback. not to mention they can be custom fitted out with anything from school setups to luxury coach setups
Surely for parts and service they will use the Freightliner network, same company and they will gave more interchangeable parts than they might want to admit.
Very nice vehicle! And great to see your channel reaching the upper echelons of the Bus Industry, a great achievement!
(And thoughts with your wife and her family in Ukraine too).
I’m a big fan of the glass roof and all the interior led strips. Not a fan of the lower mirrors, glad to hear that they are optional, I think we don’t see them over here due to the issues around hitting pedestrians or street furniture with them. All of our coaches come with the dash fridge, great for the driver to keep lunch in and a lot of guys sell water ect to the passengers when out on tours. We also have a hot water boiler and microwave built in opposite the toilet down the midship door stairs, again great for the driver or on tours the guide can make coffee and tea for the passengers. Would be great if you are able to get a demonstrator out on the road for a few weeks and give us a full review as I’m sure there will be lots of other cool little things that you didn’t notice.
Im surprised the US has not made the fridge in the front a standard thing. Its brilliant! I would love to demo the coach! Not sure how to get that to happen!
I have only driven a bus with claws once, not fond of them, but they’re not that bad. My gripe with the lower mirrors is that they’re so close. The limited visibility of mirrors three inches off the side was the hardest thing to learn.
A constant and fully fun and interesting video production that induces eagerness for the next episode(s). I sense over time that manufactures will be clamoring to loan you prototype/demonstrator units to more finely approximate the demands of the motorcoach world industry. Keep being your humble and youthful self my friend.
Prayers to you and your family.
I absolutely LOVED the Mercedes buses in Europe that Viking River Cruises used.
Many of the Viking River Cruises coaches in Europe are Mercedes Benz Tourismo, which from which the North American Tourrider seems to have evolved. I've travelled thousands of kilometres on those Viking Tourismos - they are great coaches.
It did amaze me as to the similarities between the dashboard of these Coach’s and the dashboard of our Freightliner Cascadia’s.
I always love Mercedes Benz busses over any other company. In Mexico they got some really nice busses. Better then the united states and other places I've been. Check out the busses from Mexico.
So glad you made this video, was most eager to see what this Mercedes coach was all about. Huge Setra vibes, reminds me of the difference between the Ford Crown Vic and the Lincoln Town Car. The lavatory was identical to the newer generation S417s where the toilet was turned around facing aft, with the blue trim and all. The Setras I've driven had the standard bunny mirrors and also had the optional lower "helper" mirrors. I hated the arrangement, many gaps and blind spots that could not be closed no matter how you adjusted the mirrors. I would always comment "I can see more with 4 mirrors on a standard bus than I can with 6 mirrors on a Setra".
One thing that glared at me was that it seems to have a completely different parking brake actuator. It was neither the yellow knob we're used to in North America nor the tacky looking lever they're used to in Europe, it looks like a car-style button if I saw right. Lastly I'm curious if it has the same combined retarder + engine brake system that only the Setra (2011+) had, which was controlled by a steering column stalk. The older Setras (2010 and older) had retarder only, also by stalk. That system was stages 1 + 2: retarder only, stages 3 + 4: retarder and engine brake combined. Best auxilliary braking of any coach I've driven.
Hey Raymond. Great post. Yes first of all, I am so sorry I totally neglected to show the engine and transmission in this bus. It just slipped my mind. And yes you are right the restroom is identical to the late model Setras. Also you are right. Some of the dash layouts may really confuse US drivers from what we are used to.
The Mercedes cockpit also screams Freightliner, almost the same as a 2019+ Cascadia tractor (Daimler guy admits it later into the video too). And about the bus screaming Setra too, they were/are all under the Daimler umbrella. The black pod on windshield must be housing the lane departure warning camera.
To European eyes, the Cascadia cockpit screams Actros. All one big parts bin.
@@acd1202 Freightliner Cascadia is kinda like a conventional Mercedes-Benz Actros, but with different styling.
@@automation7295 the Cascadia is like a conventional Actros but two generations ago and with all the tech taken out, (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). I'd love to see a US reaction to a truck with no rear view mirrors at all, just cameras like the latest Actros
@@acd1202 I bet American would freak out since they're used to mirrors. But US still require mirrors, camera mirrors are still outlawed in the US.
Audi couldn't sell mirrorless e-Tron in the US. But yes, it would be funny to see how US people react mirrorless MP5 Actros.
Nice
Sweet
James, first and foremost, you and your family are in my prayers! I can only imagine how hard it has been the past week.
I was blown away by the interior in the Tourider premium model. The ambient lighting reminds me of a Mercedes passenger car. Will these models sell alongside Setra, or will this become the primary model for Diamler in North America?
Hey Ryan. Thank you for the comment. So the CEO Thomas Rohde said that Setras will only be available for the used market. They are no longer building anymore Setra's... at least not for the US market. The Tourrider will take its place.
Super cool great looking coach
Love the lighting
Love it
Good looking coach
Are there any in Florida
My thoughts and prayers go out to all the innocent people suffering thru this mess. Its going to be interesting to see how Mercedes is going to hold up against the major 4 here(Prevost,Mci,VanHool and Tesma)
Show us the manufacturer of drive through bus wash systems - I use to formulate car wash detergents ... for trucks and buses .... Take Care .
You should travel to Australia and look at the quality of the coach builders here
Congratulations your nearly at 20ksubs
Thank you sir
@@jameswang1680 since when did you have a second channel
@@David-ts8zn hey David. ua-cam.com/users/Jwangvlogs was actually my original channel where I vlogged all of my bus trips. I started motor coach world about a year after I started Jwangvlogs. If you are referring to the name I used to respond to your first message That's just my work email LOL. Sorry if that was confusing. But yes i do have 2 youtube Channels. This one and ua-cam.com/users/jwangvlogs.
Freightliner Cascadia steering wheel design.....glad He confirmed my thoughts. I figured (like the Volvo buses) some of their semi stuff will be transfered into the bus. Usually the drivers displays, steering wheels, pedals... still prefer MCI 🤣
I drool over the Prevosts, the X3-45’s are the best vehicles I’ve ever been around, tied with Volvo trucks, though I’ve only driven the MCI D’s and a Van Hool. Trucks I’ve driven Freightliner, which between the Mercedes engine, transmission, and the technology, leads to rubbish vehicles, and Volvo, with brilliant power train.
Freightliner cascadia wheel design ??? Seriously thats a Mercedes Benz actros wheel design that has been in cascadias starting with 2018 models. And fyi lots of parts are from actros inside the new cascadias. And yeeeea Diamler owns freightliner. So no way thats a cascadia wheel pure BENZ.
I was wondering why Shiner beer was in LA considering that the beer is made in a small texas town but when Zane said he is from Texas, makes sense
9:24 -- is that even DOT legal 🤣🤣🤣🤣
As a tow truck driver, the thought of MB coaches terrifies me. I'm sure they will somehow find a way to make it more difficult than everyone else. Almost towed a Temsa but was able to drive it thankfully. Fortunately I have never had to tow a coach, just motorhomes. With the price of fuel hopefully they all stay parked at home this summer cause I hate them 😁
Lol what a great perspective. I've never thought about what you guys go through everytime a new coach model comes out. Must be frustrating that the engineers don't even consider you guys when designing these things.
@@MotorcoachWorld engineers never think of when stuff breaks down. I found a temsa manual for that bus, and read the towing part. It pretty much just said to disconnect the driveline and pull with a tow rope. Probably legal to use a rope in Turkey but not here lol. I towed a brand new Freightliner cascadia with trailer attached a few weeks ago. The aerodynamic front bumper was so low I had to lift the front of the truck by the removable tow hooks and set tires on blocks to get under it. A good engineer would have made the bumper hinged and pinned so you could flip it up. Ahh but it's Daimler lol. It was -32°C which added to my disgust.
@@juliogonzo2718 Oh man. That really sucks! I hope you get paid well for what you do. I know that there have been situations when our buses have been broken on the road and there are tow truck drivers that just simply refuse to touch them.
You guys do a dangerous job and not a lot of people realize how necessary your job is.
@@MotorcoachWorld yeah they pay us decent. I work for a family run company. I have worked for others who are family run but don't treat you like family but the couple I work for do treat me like family. best employer I've ever had. There are lots of times I think about quitting and just go drive truck, because there are days i really hate this job, but I can't because I will never work for anyone who treats me the way they do anywhere else.
Prayers for your family and friends. Any chance you will make it to the bus rally that will be at the AACA museum in Hershey PA on June 3rd and 4th? Love those Mercedes buses. I hope that they will have a great success here in the USA.
I really want to go! I will try to make it!
Makes sense, it sharing many components with Setra (and Freightliners) for part interchangeability. I'm guessing this is basically a Setra for operators looking to promote their premium service by having the Benz name in their flyers and on their websites.
Although I must say, that huge bumper makes them one of the worst looking Benz coaches I have ever seen, in my opinion. (Still not bad looking, just worse than MB coaches in Europe or Asia, or even Setras in NA)
Thanks for the great video!
Additional observation: I noticed that even on the Premium Class prototype, the overhead luggage shares a gap in the same location with the Business Class prototype wheelchair lift location. I wonder if they could be ordered without the gap, or if it means the Premium Tourliners can have wheelchair lifts retrofitted later on in their service life.
Actually the front grille gives me retro vibes. It reminds me of the O 317 of 1957 (a city/regional bus, you can look that up). Their current EU travel coach (Tourismo HD) looks more modern to me.
@@uncinarynin because they painted the grille black, which they've started doing on their new models this year (See the Tourismo Safety Coach and the new Intouro) but that NA spec front bumper, to me it sticks out like a sore thumb 😅
That was indeed the case with Metris vs. Sprinter - the Sprinter is a RAM bus (FCA) while Metris wears the star - and both are manufactured in the US.
@@duncantalksalot It's understandable though. The driver sits not far behind and needs survival space in the unlikely event of a collision. In the interest of safety I'd accept an underbite ...
In Canada, and some parts of the USA, the Thomas C2 has a Mercedes badge on the grill, this is due to Freightliner being owned by Daimler if I am right? But, it’s super cool.
I wonder what MCI or Prevost will do in response to this coach.. and I wonder when/if Peoria Charter will buy a few of these..
James, the Mercedes looks nice, and I’m sure it will drive nice. Did they give any indication of the price? I think one of the biggest drawbacks will be the service network, as it alway seem to be that way when someone is getting started in the market. I missed not getting to UMA this year. My wife is also Ukrainian 💙💛🇺🇦. Thanks for posting. Rick
The Mercedes Benz Tourrider will use Daimler Truck North America's service network. There will be no problem getting parts.
Hey James, starting to become quite a fan of your excellent videos.
The mercedes you have there is very similar to the ones we have here in the UK. Very comfy seats and ride, and when you say they're similar to the Setra, that's correct. Sadly Setra have stopped manufacturing right hand drive, so we don't get the newer models here.
A couple of major differences I've noticed with our UK Tourismo, our toilets are in the centre and down steps, I also noticed they have a different gearbox. Am I right in saying a Voith? Over here we have the choice of ZF Auto, Powershift or according to sales brochures a 6 speed manual (Stick shift).
Keep up the great videos,
Chris
Those mirrors are pretty old school new buses in Europe are starting to come with digital wing mirrors (cameras)
The drivers toilet is below his seat cushions ..... 😂
Those are some sleek sexy buses. I really like the Business interior more.
What are differences, if any, of the maintenance and parts needs of North American Mercedes motorcoach engines (OM471) to that of the MCI's DD13's? And that glass roof! Last thing I saw with a glass roof was an old Prevost Astral XL. Thank you for bringing a motorcoach expo to UA-cam, I have been wondering for a long time what was in there! 💙💛
The OM471 and the DD13 are basically the same engine. They are both Daimler World Engine Pregram (DWEP) powerplants, there are four, 11, 13, 15 & 16 litres sold under Mercedes-Benz, Detroit Diesel, Fuso and MTU brands depending on market and application.
I would love to see how the emergency exits work on ur coach bus! Do the exit windows fall out when opened all way or just swing out?
Hey James,at the end of any transport vehicle video you gotta pop the hood and let us see what makes it move.Great video
Yes you are right. Apologies on that. Such a obvious thing that I missed.
9:55 this one you also have in the Netherlands(the weissbier)
Just traveled via megabus on one of their Vanhool td925s on the upper deck on a nine hour journey. It felt as the glass roof was creating a noticeable greenhouse effect in the coach. It would also fog up and at times have condensation build up. Seems like a feature they should do away with as it significantly changes the thermal load of the vehicle. Specially if the coach is full.
The doohickey at 10:50 is autonomous emergency braking I think.
Cheers from Ukraine! Thanks for support❤
I really like it❤😍🚌, Very nice and high-tech coach , Mercedes-Benz the Best or Nothing 🥰👌
That black thing on the windshield is the automatic braking system
Great comments about Ukraine.
Glad you got to tour those. Great stuff. All my thoughts to Ukraine and its people.
The tag axle does turn a lot more than American coach tag axles.
I was informed the U S has wider roads ,therefore not needing as much steering on tag axle.
@@puffkendrick6850 it really depends cause a lot of cities do have narrow streets and making turns on intersections is way easier.
US regulations for this stuff is outdated asf just like how we're still using 2 piece windshields.
I'm not surprised you noticed that these coaches seem much like a Setra, as both Mercedes & Setra are part of the same group. In the UK you haven;t been able to buy Setras for a few years as Mercedes would prefer to sell the Tourismo in right hand drive layout in lieu of Setras. From the sides these vehicles could easily be mistaken for a Mercedes Tourismo though from the front it's very much like a Setra but with a Mercedes frille replacing the chrome Setra panel. The split windscreens look unusual to European eyes, giving the impression of it having bug eyes.
Very nice information, I just want to inform you that BusWorld Southeast Asia will held in Jakarta, Indonesia around 5-7 october 2022. I hope you can visit this BusWolrd event, sorry about my bad English✌️
Hey Neka. Thanks for the comment. I would love to be able to!
It's quite nice to see the differences between this brand new US prototype and the european Intouro and Tourismo models from Mercedes. Do you know if they plan to make a intouro-style intercity coach-bus for the north american market ?
That's a good question. I'm not sure what the current plans are for the inter city buses for NA.
Mercedes seems to be very big in Mexico and South America bus market!
If you have checked out long distance European models in South America especially in Chile and Brazil, that premium Mercedes model doesn't even close. Volvo buses to be precise are always more classy
So does this replace SETRA over here. It does really look like a sharp coach..