In 1946 GM began offering its Thermo-matic heating and ventilation system, and in 1952 started making suburban models, which can be identified by larger passenger windows, high-backed forward-facing seats, and optional luggage racks.

Beginning in 1953, air-ride suspension became standard on all but the smallest model buses, and in 1958, air conditioning was added as an available option.

Turunen, the head of gas turbine research at GM, cited consumption, acceleration lag, and lack of engine braking as the main faults.

Following World War II, cities in the Soviet Union needed a modern transit bus.

Continuing issues with the reliability of the drive-train components resulted in the ZIS-154 being discontinued after only slightly more than four years of production and 1,165 units.

In 1949 Moscow's Central Auto Repair Workshop (ЦАРМ: Центральные авторемонтные мастерские) constructed a batch of shortened ZIS-154 bodies and mounted them on modified ZIS-150 truck chassis.

The driver's compartment was completely separated from the passenger saloon by a bulkhead, so the buses were two-man operated, with a rear entrance and front exit.

Besides being the standard city bus in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, a large quantity were exported to other Eastern Bloc countries, and are known to have been used in Warsaw, Berlin, Ulan Bator and Beijing.

After destalinization began in 1956 under Khrushchev's leadership, the ZIS plant was renamed in 1956 to Zavod Imeni Likhacheva (ZIL), after its former director Ivan Alekseevich Likhachev.