(17 Jan 2014, 8:54 pm)Dan wrote To be fair, from a passenger point of view, I much prefer a quieter bus than a loud one.
As a retired vehicle engineer (with particular involvement with transmissions) I appreciate the sounds of old buses (the Bedford OB has an enduring sound like no other vehicle and is music to my ears), but it disturbs me as a passenger (as well as as a transmission engineer) when the transmission (either gearbox or rear axle) screams - they were never designed to be noisy (with the possible exception of Voith ).