Cue
@Crown_Guy to come to the defense of his babys...
It's not just the looks. They were all made by hand, by craftsmen, using class-8 truck parts. They had an unheard-of 20 year warranty. There are many things that set them apart (including their initial cost, which may have ultimately killed the company), but someone will be along shortly to say it all more eloquently than I can...
Edit: Oh, as as for horsepower, I have the "base model" Crown engine, a Detroit 6-71 TAC. It came from the factory with 270 HP and 786 ft-lb of Torque. That's pretty decent, especially for the era. Guys in the marine world tuned these things up to 550+ HP fairly simply (all mechancal... more air + more fuel=more noise). I don't know the specs on the "upgrade" engine, a Cummins 855 big cam, but it's a beast. Neither engine is a hotrod, either. They were over-built for the purpose of hard work, for long hours, forever.
OK, I got this. Thanks.
You just can't compare a Crown to anything except a Gillig which were 95% the same thing. As Tejon7 says, Crowns were made for the VERY long haul, and that's like 50+ years of heavy usage and miles. Crown's are over engineered and overbuilt using materials that were completely beyond any normal standards, even today, actually, especially today. If taken care of they will easily last 100 years and still be running fine.
Crown went under in 1991 so every single Crown left standing today is at least 34 years young. Most are much older in the 1970 to 1990 time-frame of manufacturing. That's pretty much most of 50years already. All Crowns were only made in Los Angeles, or later Chino CA. Yes, they were literally handmade by craftsmen and why they are so well regarded. For example just try taking a ride in a typical school bus today, any of them, and listen to the noise the body and windows and everything makes as it rattles down the road. Then try that with a Crown and you'll notice a 50 year old Crown is super quiet with no body squeaks, window rattles or other grunts and groans you'd expect from such an older vehicle, and that's a fact.
And there just isn't any comparison to the exceptional ride quality of the Crowns. When in control of a Crown you absolutely feel the massive confidence it has in negotiating any road condition and any speed. It's sure footed and nimble all at the same time that it's being solid and predictable in it's overall handling. Most people think I'm crazy for saying this but a Crown on the open road at 75mph is easier and more joyful to drive than a lot of cars. I drive like that all the time if the Crown is geared and will let me. This is something an owner can upgrade to get higher road speeds for instance. Several ways to accomplish this.
This brings up the most important aspect of Crowns in general. They were built to a Customers' specifications with all kinds of Custom features and equipment. This means that they are all unique to a degree with their own slight differences. For owners today of Crowns what this really means is that we can change, upgrade, enhance, modify to a great degree as long as we don't compromise the basic body/chassis safety and structural elements. That means that we can make them into what we want for whatever use we expect to put them to. They are unsurpassed on the highway at highway speeds, off pavement in really rough situations and roads, have good clearances generally and can get into surprising places. I like to say if I can drive a Crown into a location and it goes to crap, I can get it turned around and drive it out. So far that's always worked out for me and believe me I've taken Crowns into some really unbelievable situations.
Trying to compare a Crown and it's engine/transmission performance to a hot rod engine in some of the things today is a complete misunderstanding of the design goals of the Crown. As Tejon7 notes Crowns were built for heavy duty Commercial service literally forever. They used off the self standard heavy duty truck components that are STILL available today so the parts, being standard and in use industry wide, are available, and even the harder to find body parts aren't all that hard to locate.
Crowns are in a Class of their own and it's really not possible to compare them to any other school bus. It's the kind of thing that if you KNOW you KNOW, and if you don't you might want to find out, but don't feel you have to denigrate Crowns just because you don't understand them. But beware of that, because if you ever do get a chance to check out and even drive a Crown it's something you will most likely never forget or get over, and you'll be smitten, like we Crown owners are, by the desire to get your hands on one. It's a fever for some of us with only one cure.
