Blue Bird Corp
A maker of school buses and other commercial vehicles, Blue Bird builds the familiar yellow buses that carry students across North America, along with electric and alternative-fuel models for school districts and fleet operators. The company began in 1927 when self-taught mechanic Albert Luce built his first bus as a side project in Fort Valley, Georgia, and formally incorporated as Blue Bird Body Company in 1932. The name came from a bluebird Mrs. Luce spotted on a fence post while the couple brainstormed names—they avoided "Luce" to dodge the pun "loose bus."