page_title: Blue Bird All American
section_title: Fifth-generation (2010-2013)
hierarchical_section_title: Blue Bird All American / Fifth-generation (2010-2013)
caption_attribution_description: English: A 2010 Blue Bird "All American D3 FE" school bus on display at a transportation show.
context_page_description: The Blue Bird All American is a series of buses produced by American bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation. Originally developed as a Type-D school bus, since its 1948 introduction, Blue Bird has produced versions of the All American for a variety of applications, ranging from the Blue Bird Wanderlodge luxury motorhome to buses for law enforcement use.
  While the All American is not the first transit-style school bus, it is the longest-produced model line that is currently in production; six generations have been produced since 1948. Since 1952, Blue Bird has used a proprietary chassis for the All American; the company would later use this practice for the TC/2000 and Vision buses. The model line is produced in both front-engine and rear-engine configurations.
  The current version of the All American was introduced in 2012 for 2014 production; other major updates were introduced in 1952, 1957, 1989, 1999, and 2008. Over its 71 years of production, nearly all examples of the All American have been assembled in Fort Valley, Georgia. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the model line was produced in South America, using locally sourced chassis.
context_section_description: The fifth-generation All American (internally designated the "D3" series), was unveiled at an industry trade show in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on October 28, 2008.  Introduced for 2010 production, the D3 series marked the most extensive changes to the body design of the All American (and all Blue Bird buses) in over 50 years.
  Influenced by the 2006 EC-72 conventional, the fifth-generation All American introduced an all-new roofline design, squaring off the corners (effectively increasing interior headroom).  To improve driver sightlines, the long-running flat-glass windshield was replaced by a two-piece curved design, extending further downward and upward.  In two notable design changes, the front fascia of the D3 abandoned quad headlamps for a dual-headlamp configuration (for the first time since 1957), adopting round headlamp lenses for the first time since 1988.  The rear emergency door was enlarged in height and width for the first time.  Inside, the driver's compartment was completely redesigned, adopting a new layout for driver controls (on both sides of the steering wheel) with a redesigned instrument panel (later used by the Vision).
  The drop-frame chassis introduced by the A3 series was continued for the D3, offering both diesel and CNG engines (the latter on rear-engine versions).  Following the exit of Caterpillar from on-highway engine production, all engines were sourced from Cummins.  The FE was powered by the ISB; the RE offered the ISC.
  Developed as the intended successor to the A3 series, the fifth-generation All American RE replaced its predecessor after 2009 production.  As a consequence of customer demand, Blue Bird continued production of the A3 front-engine model line alongside its D3 counterpart until production ended in 2012; the D3 was outlived by its predecessor.
  In production for only four years, Blue Bird replaced both versions of the D3 series and the front-engine A3 (in production since 1999) with the sixth-generation All American, introduced for 2014 production.
caption: 2010 Blue Bird TX3 (Canada)
exif: {}