In 1970, Flxible was acquired by Rohr Industries, an aerospace company in Chula Vista, California. During Rohr ownership, Flxible built a prototype Transbus which did not continue into production. Some Transbus features were included in the model 870 which was designed to the Advanced Design Bus specification.

Prior to delivery of the first model 870 in 1978, Rohr sold Flxible to Grumman Allied Industries. Under the new owner, Flxible became the Grumman Flxible Corporation and began delivery of 134 870s in April, 1978 to MARTA in Atlanta, Georgia.

The 1978 870s introduced large 10-inch letters on curtain-style destination signs which were the most easily-read ever built. Passengers and transit marketing departments liked them, but the all-electronic dot matrix signs were also being introduced and most major transit agencies specified the difficult-to-read dot matrix signs.

Soon after an order for 1,013 buses for New York City began delivery, hints of trouble began to surface. NYCTA eventually withdrew their 637 870s from service, claiming the buses were dangerous and inadequate to withstand the potholes of New York streets. Grumman acknowledged a potential structural weakness in some chassis components and, in December 1980, announced the details of a massive strengthening program in which 2,656 buses were rebuilt at several temporary centers around the country at a cost of over $7 million. All later production units had the structural improvements incorporated at the factory.

Grumman sold Flxible on August 1, 1983 to General Automotive Corporation of Ann Arbor, Michigan which now sells an Advanced Design Bus based on the 870, identified as the Metro. Under GAC ownership, the bus unit was renamed the Flxible Corporation.

Information from the Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses -

1988 More information at http://flxibleowners.org/