rattles,” Ronsen says. “One of our most stringent benchmarks is that nothing rattles.” He says that whether a fleet owner is buying a reasonably priced scaled-down product with little option content, or a limousine operator loading it up and decking it out for sheer luxury with leather seats and side panels, both treatments receive the same quality construction and attention to detail.
features 12 standard floor plans, which the company can outfit with up to over 1,400 legal seating configurations and 110 optioncontent selections. One trademark feature of a Meridian conversion is the proprietary plug-style front door that replaces the sliding or passenger door in the typical shuttle. “Bus operators have become accustomed to choosing whatever they want in their vehicles,” Ronsen says. “That makes it imperative that we are able to accommodate as many variations on the theme as possible.”
The Meridian dealer network
A BUSRide Road Test
The company says it has been extremely selective with the dealers it chooses to work with. “We insist our dealers clearly understand the difference between the product that we are building and that of our competition,” Ronsen says. “Meridian is not the end-all product for everyone, nor are we trying to be, but we believe we offer a vehicle that differs from other small bus manufacturers.”
BUSRide invited Jospeph Wesolowski, general manager, Creative Bus, Las Vegas, NV, to drive the Meridian Sprinter through the streets of Las Vegas, and offer his comments on the vehicle and the company. “Creative Bus recently partnered with Meridian Specialty Vehicles” he says. “We see other upfitters who work with the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter adhering to only the minimum requirement. In our view, everyone meets FMVSS for this class of vehicle, but we think Meridian exceeds all normal standards, such as stringent pull testing on seats.” Creative Bus is introducing the Sprinter to resorts running VIP shuttles to the Strip and airport, as well as short-distance charter operators in the Los Angeles area. While Mercedes-Benz offers a standard fit for a shuttle bus application, he noted the Meridian conversion includes the upgraded HVAC, strengthened substructure and flooring. Wesolowski says the Meridian fit and finish is second to none. The ride is nice and tight, no rattles anywhere. “The plug-style front door is a perfect example,” he says. “It opens and closes smoothly. It is completely sealed and very quiet. In fact, the vehicle runs extremely quiet in every respect, and that is important.” A look inside reveals no fasteners of any kind. “Fasteners spoil the look of the interior and they can lead to
Ram and Ford conversions on the way Later this year, Meridian Specialty Vehicles will introduce its conversions of both the Chrysler-Fiat Ram ProMaster and the Ford Transit that will replace the Econoline. “Ram introduced this product vehicle as a cargo van only,” Ronsen says. “So we are certainly going to produce a passenger version on the platform with some sort of driver-controlled door.” He says the prototype is built and the company is about to begin seat pull-testing. Now that order banks are closed, the Ford Econoline is being replaced with a vehicle that looks much like the Sprinter on the fullsize, high roof European platform. In cubic volume it is nearly identical to the Sprinter and twice the interior room as the Ford Econoline. This means that by the end of this year, Meridian Specialty Vehicles will offer a product in three separate price tiers based on the European platform.
We have been with Protective Insurance Company since 2008. In that time, we have always felt
like everyone at Protective really
cares about the safety and success of our company and the motorcoach industry. Gregg Isherwood President Custom Coach and Limousine
FOR COVERAGE THAT REVOLVES AROUND YOU, CONTACT STACY RENZ: (800) 644-5501 ext. 2570 | protectiveinsurance.com 20
BUSRIDE | APRIL.2014
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