John McKinney sat outside a Beijing Starbucks, sipped his coffee and scanned the traffic. He was looking for school buses, or what passes for them in the world’s most-populous nation.
A dozen school-bound vehicles rolled by on their morning runs. Some were minivans, while others were shuttle buses or former coaches painted yellow. None was the tried-and-true design used in the U.S. since the 1930s. McKinney, head of Navistar International Corp. (NAV) (NAV)’s bus business, picked up his iPhone and snapped away. His bosses took note.