GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IC Bus, a division of Navistar, Inc., publicly unveiled for the first time today its IC Bus^™ CE Series school bus with Cummins ISB 6.7-liter engine at the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) Annual Summit.

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IC Bus announced in early September it would offer the ISB in its CE Series school buses and began taking orders at the beginning of this month. The CE Series has long been the leading conventional school bus in the industry, and is now offered with the industry's most popular engine.

"Adding the proven, market-accepted Cummins ISB to the CE Series is a key part of our strategy to provide a new opportunity for growth with those customers who prefer the Cummins ISB for their buses," said John McKinney, President, Navistar Global Bus. "Customer response has been strong in both interest and orders and we are encouraged by the long-term market potential."

With this introduction, the CE Series now offers the broadest selection of mid-range diesel engines in the industry—the MaxxForce 7, MaxxForce DT and Cummins ISB6.7. Moreover, this is the first IC Bus school bus with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) emissions aftertreatment. IC Bus will continue to offer EGR-only versions of its mid-range engines utilizing its medium-duty emissions credits.

Leading Features
The CE Series school bus was designed based on the needs of customers—focusing on passenger safety, driver comfort, vehicle durability and serviceability. The driver cockpit incorporates feedback and measurements from more than 1,500 school bus drivers to ensure the bus's design offers optimum ergonomics, easy-reach features and maximum comfort while driving.

Built with more safety features than any other school bus on the market, the CE Series school bus offers the widest entry doors in the industry at 32 inches. It also comes standard with a Leave No Student Behind^® alarm system that requires drivers to disable an alarm at the rear of the bus before exiting, to ensure no student is overlooked.

IC Bus CE Series school buses are built with 16-gauge steel side rails and an 18,500-lb rear steel spring suspension standard, offering customers durability and one of the longest-lasting buses on the road today. And, when service is required, the bus's Easy-tilt^® three-piece hood and exterior electrical panel makes maintenance trips quicker and easier—increasing vehicle uptime.

The IC Bus dealer network includes more than 290 dealers across the U.S. and Canada. In addition, IC Bus customers can leverage the International® Truck dealer network for service and support throughout the product lifecycle.

Full-scale production for the CE Series school bus with Cummins ISB6.7 is scheduled for late-January 2014.