ROUSH Performance Engineering is partnering with Micro Bird to develop a liquid propane school bus application that is expected to go into production this fall. But before then, television audiences can see in action ROUSH’s propane Ford E-350, the chassis of choice for the Micro Bird, on the DIY Network show “Man Caves.”
The highest rated and longest-running show on the network, “Man Caves” is set to begin its seventh season of transforming a room or garage in to “one man’s dream” of Tim Taylor-esque “urgh, urgh, urhg” do-it-yourself goodness. And the Roush propane E-350 will be serve as a rolling toolbox to take hosts Jason Cameron and Tony Siragusa and the rest of the team to all of their on-air projects.
“Building the ‘Man Caves’ work van is a perfect opportunity to show off the organizational capabilities of the ROUSH/Knapheide Utility Vehicle,” said Chris Weiss, Knapheide vice-president of engineering. “Our partnership with ROUSH helps us provide efficient work solutions for our contractor customers with the advantage of using green technology like liquid propane.”
ROUSH said this week that its liquid propane-powered E-350 will help clean up the environment and introduce a “green” presence to the half-hour program. Propane burns cleaner than gasoline or diesel, with up to 20 percent less nitrogen oxide, up to 60 percent less carbon monoxide, 24 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and fewer particulate emissions when compared to gasoline. Propane also plays a strong role in lowering our national dependence on foreign oil as 90 percent of the propane used today comes from domestic sources of production.
Propane has begun gaining a foothold in the school bus industry over the past several years thanks to new funding sources by the likes of such champions as the Railroad Commission of Texas and its incentives and tax rebates, and an announcement by Collins Bus, the nation’s largest manufacturer of small school buses, that it would produce the first factory propane school bus. The Collins NexBus propane-powered school bus is currently in production after receiving full certification earlier this summer.
