Local motor coach company brings transportation ‘spirit’ to Huntsville

Spirit Coach, in collaboration with the City of Huntsville, recently unveiled its newest theme-wrapped bus. It’s safe to say it’s not the usual mode of transportation. This is an advertisement on wheels.

The bus, with a Huntsville theme that features images linked to the Rocket City like the space shuttle, the Lowe Mill water tower and a panoramic view of downtown, is the third produced by Madison-based Spirit Coach in partnership with the Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).

The coach was unveiled at a ribbon-cutting at the CVB.

“It’s a moving billboard for our city, spreading the message that Huntsville is a premier travel destination,’’ said Andrew Marlowe, the COO at Spirit Coach LLC. “I want to take a moment to recognize Mr. Allen Wilson, owner of Metro Signs and Wraps. Thank you, Allen. You did a great job. He’s actually wrapped all three of our CVB buses for us. His creativity and craftsmanship played a huge role in bringing this vision to life, and we are incredibly grateful for your expertise.’’

The first two Huntsville-wrapped Spirit Coach buses depicted different scenes from the Rocket City than the latest edition. The coach is not intended for urban travel but rather to traverse the country, spreading the gospel of Alabama’s largest city.

“The first one was on Good Morning America in Times Square,’’ said Marlowe, whose father-in-law Robert ‘Clip’ Coates Jr. founded Spirit Coach in 1999. “So that’s the kind of reach that this can have for the City of Huntsville.’’

The Coates Family has been in the transportation business for more than 70 years. Beginning with motor freight in the 1940s, family patriarch Bob Coates began passenger transportation in 1959 with an Avis ‘Rent a Car’ franchise at the old Huntsville airport. Forty years later, in 1999, in an effort to diversify the company’s growing car business, Coates Jr. added motorcoaches to the fleet, and Spirit Coach was born. 

“We’re truly appreciative of Spirit Coach for allowing us the opportunity to showcase our community in this unique way,’’ said Jennifer Moore, president and CEO of the CVB. “This is the third Spirit Motor Coach that we have wrapped over the years, and we are excited to see this newly wrapped coach traveling across the country, promoting some of the many attractions our area has to offer.’’

The bus, like the rest of the vehicles in the company’s fleet that includes luxury vehicles, can be chartered for long- and short-distance trips.

“Whether we’re transporting sports teams, tour groups, or corporate travelers — this partnership allows us to showcase our hometown with pride and on every road we travel,’’ Marlowe said. “So I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the Huntsville-Madison County CVB for their continued collaboration and support. Together, we are helping to promote everything that makes this city great and we look forward to many more miles of partnership ahead.’’

“(The theme-cloaked Spirit Coach bus) advertises the city to let people know the attractions,’’ Marlowe said, “and that Huntsville is a tourist destination. The main thing is to bring people in, let ’em know what Huntsville’s about, help the city grow.’’

For more information, visit www.spirit-coach.com. The company, located at 9290 Madison Blvd, can also be reached at (256) 772-7751.