View source for Commercial Body Builders Polar

{| align="right" class="wikitable"
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! align="center" colspan="2" style="background:#efefef;" | <big>Commercial Body Builders Polar </big>
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|colspan="2"|[[File:BC Transit 2225-a.jpg|300px]]
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| '''Years of manufacture''' || 1994 to 2010
|-
| '''Length''' || 22 to 24 feet (E-350 and E-450 chassis)<br>Unknown (E-550 chassis)
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| '''Width''' || 96 inches
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| '''Power/Fuel''' || Diesel, Gasoline
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|colspan="2"|[[File:BC Transit C998-a.jpg|300px]]
|-
|}

The '''[[Commercial Truck Equipment Co.|Commercial Body Builders]] Polar''' was a cutaway type bus built on a [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Ford Motor Company E-Series Cutaway|E-350 or E-450]] chassis. The body consists of an all-aluminum frame with aluminum panels that are digitally pulse-welded into place.

For the 2002 model year, the Polar was slightly redesigned to have less angular sides for increased interior space and better integration of the passenger door. A high-capacity prototype on an E-550 chassis was also built that year but never entered production as the E-550 was discontinued shortly after. In late 2006, a power-operated passenger door was made standard, replacing the manually-operated door. The original design is sometimes referred to as the Polar II and Polar III, while the redesign is sometimes referred to as the Polar V.

Production of the Polar officially ended in June 2010 due to a lack of demand, resulting in the closure of CBB's Bus Division. However, the last complete Polar, [[BC Transit]] [[BC Transit 2173-2240|2238]], was built and delivered in 2009. The last Polar body made was never installed on a chassis and was eventually sold to a farmer who mounted it on a trailer to use for hay rides.

==Specifications==
'''Engine'''
* [[Ford]] [[Ford Motor Company Triton|Triton V10 6.8L]] (gasoline, 1997-2010)
* [[Ford]] [[Ford Motor Company Power Stroke|Power Stroke V8 7.3L]] (diesel, 1994-2003)
* [[Ford]] [[Ford Motor Company Power Stroke|Power Stroke V8 6.0L]] (diesel, 2003-2009)

'''Transmission'''
* [[Ford]] 4R100 4 speed with overdrive (1994-2003)
* [[Ford]] TorqShift 5R110W 5 speed with overdrive (2003-2010)

'''Wheelbase'''
* 158 inches (22' body length on E-350 and E-450)
* 176 inches (24' body length on E-350 and E-450 chassis)
* Unknown (E-550 chassis)

==Configuration breakdown==
Polar configurations are represented by a code, which is usually composed of a prefix, a number of seating positions, a number of wheelchair positions (unless equipped with foldaway seating), and sometimes a suffix.

The basic configuration is represented by the prefix.
:'''RM''' - Rear mobility aid
:'''SM''' - Side mobility aid
:'''TS''' - Touring series

The first number indicates the number of seating positions in the bus.
:'''4–25'''

The second number indicates the number of wheelchair positions in the bus. However, buses equipped with foldaway seating in the wheelchair positions do not have this second number in their configuration codes. For example, a side mobility aid bus with 20 seats and two wheelchair positions will have the configuration code SM20.
:'''1–6'''

Options are signified with the suffix. If a bus is ordered without any options, it will not have a suffix in its configuration code. If a bus is ordered with multiple options, it will have two suffixes combined into one. For example, a 17-seat touring series bus with a front luggage rack and perimeter seating will have the configuration code TS17FLP.

:'''FL''' - Front luggage rack
:'''P''' - Perimeter seating
:'''RF''' - Rear-facing wheelchair securement
:'''RL''' - Rear luggage compartment

==Operators==
===Canada [[Image:Flag of Canada.png|28px]]===
* [[AKAL Airporter]] - Victoria, BC
* [[BC Transit]] - Province of British Columbia excluding Metro Vancouver
* [[Bowen Island Community Transit Ltd.]] - Bowen Island, BC
* [[Coast Mountain Bus Company]] - Metro Vancouver, BC
* [[Galiano Community Bus]] - Galiano Island, BC
* [[Imperial Parking Corporation]]<ref>https://www.impark.com/parking-insight/free-hospital-parking-really-free/</ref>
* [[Lethbridge Transit]]  - Lethbridge, AB
* [[Luxury Transport Inc.]] - Burnaby, BC
* [[Oceanside Shuttle Service]] - Parksville, BC
* [[Shriners Care Cruiser Program|Shriners of British Columbia and Yukon]] - Province of British Columbia and Yukon Territory
* [[TransLink HandyDart]] - Metro Vancouver, BC
* [[Vanwest Charters Inc.]] - Vancouver, BC
* [[West Vancouver Municipal Transit]] - West Vancouver, BC
* [[Wheelchair Service of Manitoba]] - Winnipeg, MB
* [[Whistler Rides Inc.]] - Whistler, BC

===United States [[Image:Flag of the United States.png|28px]]===
* [[Imperial Parking Corporation]]<ref>https://www.impark.com/careers/join-our-portland-parking-team/</ref>

==Demonstrator and engineering units==
Below is a list of known demonstrator and engineering buses.

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" class=sortable
!Fleet number
!Thumbnail
!Year
![[VIN]]
!Engine
!Transmission
!Notes
|- align="center"
|[[Coast Mountain Bus Company S017|S017]]
|[[File:Bowen Island Transit S017.jpg|128px]]
|2002
|1FDAE55F12HB69198
|[[Ford]] [[Ford Motor Company Power Stroke|Power Stroke]] 7.3L
|[[Ford]] 4R100
|align="left" |
*SM24 prototype on a Ford E-550 chassis
*Built to [[Coast Mountain Bus Company]] specifications
*Sold to [[Bowen Island Community Transit Ltd.]]
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Lethbridge Transit 6-a.jpg|Original body design (1994-2001)
Image:BC Transit 2085-a.jpg|Revised body design, rear mobility aid (2002-2010)
Image:Coast Mountain Bus Company S064-a.jpg|Revised body design, side mobility aid
</gallery>

==References==
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20121101083200/http://commercialbody.com:80/section.asp?secid=61 Archived copy of Commercial Body Builders website]
* Personal notes & sightings

<references />

[[Category:Cutaway Bus]]
[[Category:Transit Bus]]
[[Category:Commercial Truck Equipment Co.]]