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In common with other large California stage operators, Motor Transit Co.
was drawn into equipment manufacturing by its dissatisfaction with
commercially available buses. From modifications through reconstruction
efforts to full-scale assembly, Motor Transit progressed from a buyer
(mostly of Whites) to a builder of buses. The most significant step was
taken in 1925, when Buda six-cylinder engines began to be used in place of
White fours (White did not have a six until 1926). Use of an emblem and
slogan identifying the company as the "El Dorado System" led to the use of
the name El Dorado for the buses.
Approximately 70 buses were built for Motor Transit's own use, plus
possibly a few for other southern California carriers, during the five years
of production. They ranged from small stages and bus-truck combination
vehicles (generally referred to as "combos") with compound transmission to
large 33-passenger buses for heavy suburban work. Production ceased when
Motor Transit came under the control of the Pacific Electric Railway.
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