General Motors cowled bus chassis was available for use to any bus body manufacturer. That year, GM entered a supply and marketing agreement with body manufacturer Blue Bird; for the next 10 years, Blue Bird became the exclusive manufacturer to body the then-new GMT530 cowled chassis, naming the result the Blue Bird CV200. Under the agreement, the GM B-7 (external code name for the GMT530-based bus chassis) became standard equipment for all Blue Bird Conventionals, although International and Ford (later, Freightliner) chassis were allowed as options. The 1992 supply agreement was among a series of 1990s mergers and acquisitions between body manufacturers and chassis suppliers of school buses. Coinciding with its declining share of medium-duty truck production, the agreement would cripple the market share of GM as a supplier of full-size cowled bus chassis. After failing to renew its supply agreement with Blue Bird in 2002, General Motors was effectively shut out of full-size chassis production, as both body manufacturers competing with Blue Bird were wholly owned by the largest competitors of GM in the medium-duty segment. For 2004 production, Blue Bird introduced the Blue Bird Vision, marking the first cowled-chassis school bus to use a proprietary chassis (not shared with a medium-duty truck). Usage by body manufacturers While used nearly exclusively for school bus use, the B-series chassis was adapted for a wide variety of uses by body manufacturers, ranging from bookmobiles to police buses. In the school bus industry, the General Motors chassis was popular for its wide range of engines. During the 1980s and 1990s, its continued use of gasoline engines remained popular, as the powerplants were sometimes used as the basis for conversion to alternative fuels, including LPG (propane) and CNG (compressed natural gas). Following the chassis and supply agreement between General Motors and Blue Bird in 1992, the B series was bodied exclusively by that company, nearly exclusively as a school bus. Blue Bird (1966-2003) Carpenter Industries, Inc. (1966-1991) Gillig Bros. (1966-c.1980) New Bus Company (1987-1988) Northern Coach (1977-1978) Perley A. Thomas Car Works (1966-1972) Superior Coach Company (1966-1980, 1982–1985) Thomas Built Buses, Inc. (1972-1991) Ward Body Works (1966-1991) Wayne Corporation (1966-1991) See also Chevrolet Kodiak/GMC TopKick – B-series donor platform (1993–2003) Ford B series, International Harvester S-series "Schoolmaster", and International 3800 – competing school bus chassis List of buses References School bus chassis Vehicles introduced in 1966 General Motors buses B series B series