The REO Motor Car Company (''REO'' pronounced , not letter by letter) was a company based in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, which produced

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s and

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

s from 1905 to 1975. At one point, the company also manufactured buses on its truck platforms. Ransom E. Olds was an entrepreneur who founded multiple companies in the automobile industry. In 1897 Olds founded

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

. In 1905 Olds left Oldsmobile and established a new company, REO Motor Car Company, in Lansing, Michigan. Olds had 52% of the stock and the titles of president and general manager. To ensure a reliable supply of parts, he organized a number of subsidiary firms, like the National Coil Company, the Michigan Screw Company, and the Atlas Drop Forge Company. Originally the company was to be called "R. E. Olds Motor Car Company", but the owner of Olds' previous company, then called Olds Motor Works, objected and threatened legal action on the grounds of likely confusion of names by consumers. Olds then changed the name to his initials. Olds Motor Works soon adopted the popular name of its vehicles,

(which, along with

Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...

and

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

, became a founding division of

General Motors Corporation General Motors Company (GM) is an American multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing four automobile brands: Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, ...

). The company's name was spelled alternately in all capitals REO or with only an initial capital as Reo, and the company's own literature was inconsistent in this regard, with early advertising using all capitals, and later

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

using the "Reo" capitalization. The pronunciation, however, was as a single word. Lansing is home to the R. E. Olds Transportation Museum.

Early production

By 1907, REO had gross sales of $4.5 million, and the company was one of the four wealthiest automobile manufacturers in the U.S. After 1908, however, despite the introduction of improved cars designed by Olds, REO's share of the automobile market decreased due in part to competition from emerging companies like Ford and

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

. REO added a truck-manufacturing division and a Canadian plant in St Catharines, Ontario, in 1910. Two years later, Olds claimed that he had built the best car he could, a tourer able to seat two, four, or five, with a engine,

wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...

, and wheels, for $1,055 (not including top, windshield, or gas tank, which were US$100 extra); self-starter was $25 on top of that. 1906reorunabout

In 1915, Olds relinquished the title of general manager to his protégé Richard H. Scott, and eight years later he ended his tenure as the company's presidency as well, retaining the position of chairman of the board. Perhaps the most famous REO episode was the 1912 Trans-Canada journey. Traveling from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia, in a 1912 REO special touring car, mechanic/driver Fonce V. (Jack) Haney and journalist Thomas W. Wilby made the first trip by automobile across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(including one short jaunt into northeastern Washington State when the Canadian roads were virtually impassable). From 1915 to 1925, under Scott's direction, REO remained profitable. In 1923, the company sold an early

recreational vehicle A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and ca ...

, called the "Motor Pullman Car". Designed by Battle Creek, Michigan, newspaper editor J. H. Brown, the automobile included a drop-down sleeping extension, a built-in gas cooking range, and a refrigerator. During 1925, however, Scott, like many of his contemporaries/competitors, began an ambitious expansion program designed to make the company more competitive with other automobile manufacturers by offering cars in different price ranges. The failure of this program and the effects of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

caused such losses that Olds ended his retirement during 1933 and assumed control of REO again, but resigned in 1934. During 1936, REO abandoned the manufacture of automobiles to concentrate on trucks. In 1935, REO sold 5101 units and in 1936 it was 4227 trucks. In 1938, REO sold 2929 units and in 1939 it was 853 trucks. Number of Motor Vehicles produced by REO *1909 - 5728 Vehicles *1910 - 6588 Vehicles *1911 - 5728 Vehicles *1912 - 6342 Vehicles *1913 - 7647 Vehicles *1914 - 12745 Vehicles *1915 - 22247 Vehicles *1916 - 27811 Vehicles *1917 - 30246 Vehicles *1918 - 20158 Vehicles *1919 - 16483 Vehicles *1920 - 32800 Vehicles *1921 - 22342 Vehicles *1922 - 23152 Vehicles *1923 - 31880 Vehicles *1924 - 28681 Vehicles *1925 - 32650 Vehicles *1926 - 34542 Vehicles

Reo Flying Cloud and Reo Royale

REO's two most memorable cars were its Reo Flying Cloud introduced in 1927 and the Reo Royale 8 of 1931. The Flying Cloud was the first car to use Lockheed's new hydraulic internal expanding brake system and featured styling by Fabio Segardi. While Ned Jordan is credited with changing the way advertising was written with his "Somewhere West of Laramie" ads for his Jordan Playboy, Reo's Flying Cloud—a name that provoked evocative images of speed and lightness—changed the way automobiles would be named in the future. It had a wheelbase. The final REO model of 1936 was a Flying Cloud. In April 1927, Reo introduced the

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

brand of cars as a companion model to the Flying Cloud. With a Continental engine,

artillery wheel The artillery wheel was a nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century style of wagon, gun carriage, and automobile wheel. Rather than having its spokes mortised into a wooden nave (hub), it has them fitted together in a keystone fashion with m ...

s, and a different pattern of horizontal radiator louvers from the Flying Cloud, the Wolverine was made until 1928. The 1931 Reo Royale was a trendsetting design, introducing design elements that were a precedent for true automotive streamlining in the American market. The 8-cylinder model was sold through 1933 with minor updates. The name was used on a lower-priced 6-cylinder model through 1935. Beverly Rae Kimes, editor of the ''Standard Catalog of American Cars,'' terms the Royale "the most fabulous Reo of all". In addition to its

coachwork A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles. The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, motor coaches, and railway carriages. The word ...

by Murray designed by their Amos Northup, the Royale also provided buyers with a

straight-eight The straight-eight engine or inline-eight engine (often abbreviated as I8) is an eight-cylinder internal combustion engine with all eight cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The type has been produced in side-valve, I ...

with a nine-bearing crankshaft, one-shot lubrication, and thermostatically-controlled radiator shutters. The Royale rode upon factory wheelbases of (Model 8-31) and (Model 8-35); a 1932 custom version rode upon a wheelbase (Model 8-52). As many as 3 Dietrich coachbuilt bodies were built on wheelbases in 1931. Beginning in 1933, the Royale also featured as an option REO's

semi-automatic transmission A semi-automatic transmission is a multiple-speed Transmission (mechanics), transmission where part of its operation is Automation, automated (typically the actuation of the clutch), but the driver's input is still required to launch the vehicle f ...

, the Self-Shifter. This unit was unreliable, and Consumers Union Reports advised readers to avoid it. The Model 8-31 was priced at $2,145. The model 8-35 was priced from $2,745 for the sedan to $3,000 for the

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a Car, passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary across eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air drivin ...

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...

. The coachbuilt cars were priced close to $6,000. A convertible Victoria was listed at $3,195 but only one is known to have been built. The 8-35 & 8-52 are considered full CCCA classics. File:Reo Runabout 1906.jpg, REO runabout 1906 File:1917 REO Model M 7-passenger Touring.JPG, 1917 Model M Touring File:Reo Touring 1919.jpg, 1919 REO Touring File:Reo Fire Truck.jpg, REO Fire Truck File:Reo Bus 1934.jpg, 1934 REO Bus File:Reo Speed Wagon Truck 1939.jpg, 1939 REO Speed Wagon Truck File:REO-bus-AngvikAuto-2-hh.JPG, REO bus in Norway File:Cottage Grove Dump Truck (Lane County, Oregon scenic images) (lanDB2094).jpg, Cottage Grove Dump Truck, Lane County, Oregon File:REO Speedwagon Badge.jpg, Badge from a REO Speed Wagon Fire Truck File:ReoSpeedWagon1917-cropped-thumb.jpg, An REO Speed Wagon, from a 1917 advertisement File:REO Speedwagon Fire Truck.jpg, REO Speed Wagon Fire Truck at Jack Daniel's Distillery, Lynchburg, Tennessee File:1935 Reo Flying Cloud 4.7 litre IMG 2610 - Flickr - nemor2.jpg, Reo Flying Cloud 4.7-litre File:1931ReoRoyaleVictoriaEight-interior.jpg, 1931 Reo Royale Victoria Eight File:Reo-emblem.jpg, Car emblem for a Reo Flying Cloud (1930 model) File:A "RIO" TRUCK FILLED WITH CITRUS FRUIT DURING THE HARVEST SEASON IN A KFAR SABA GROVE. משאית "ריו" עמוסה בפרי הדר לאחר הקטיף, באחד מפרדסי המושבה כפר סD574-092.jpg, REO truck filled with citrus fruit, Kfar Saba, Mandatory Palestine, 1932

After passenger cars

Although truck orders during World War II enabled it to revive somewhat, the company remained unstable in the postwar era, resulting in a bankruptcy reorganization. In 1954, the company was still underperforming, and sold its vehicle manufacturing operations (the primary asset of the company) to the Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Three years later, in 1957, Reo's vehicle manufacturing operation became a subsidiary of White Motor Corporation White then merged REO with Diamond T Trucks in 1967 to form Diamond Reo Trucks.

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

later took over White and thus currently owns the rights to the REO brand name. Meanwhile, after selling Reo's vehicle manufacturing operation to Bohn in 1954, management began liquidating the remainder of the company. For tax reasons a group of shareholders successfully challenged the liquidation in a proxy fight in September 1955, and forced REO to take over a tiny nuclear services company called Nuclear Consultants, Inc. in a

reverse takeover A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compa ...

. The resulting Nuclear Corporation of America, Inc., diversified and purchased other companies to become a conglomerate, spreading into an array of fields including prefabricated housing and steel joist manufacturing in addition to nuclear services. Most of these businesses failed and the company was bankrupt again by 1966. After reorganizing, only the successful steel-joist business remained; the company started producing recycled steel and eventually renamed itself

Nucor Nucor Corporation is an American company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that produces steel and related products. It is the largest steel producer in the United States and the largest recycler of scrap in North America. Nucor is the 16th- ...

Studebaker agreement

Most

Studebaker US6 Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Man ...

trucks were built by Studebaker. However, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, REO produced a number of them under license from Studebaker. The REO versions of the truck had some changes, such as different door handles and a more powerful engine. It is estimated that REO produced around 20,000 of these trucks and, unlike the original Studebaker trucks which were also used by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the REO versions were only for export to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Products

Cars

*Type A (1905-1908) *Type B (1905-1908) *Type C (1909-1910) *Type D (1909-1910) *Type G (1909-1910) *Type R (1910-1911) Thirty *Type S (1910-1911) *Type K (1911) *Type H (1908-1914) *Type J (1911-) *19 AS *96-T *Comet *DC *Flying Cloud *Flying Cloud Mate *GB *Gold Comet *M-109 *M-34 *M-35 *M-35 A1 *M-48 *M-49 *M-50 *M-52 *M-Series *M-246 *R-5 "Reo the Fifth" *Royale *Royale Elite *Runabout *T-6 (1920-1926)

Trucks

*19 AS *AC *Apollo *Reo Junior BA *Comet *DA *DC *FA *GA *GB *Giant *Gold Comet * M35 *Raider *Royale * Speed Wagon *Speed Delivery *Speed Tanker

Buses

* REO Omnibus 12 passengers Sedan (1928) * REO Omnibus 12 passengers Post (1928) * REO Omnibus 18 passengers (1928) * REO Omnibus 20 passengers Sedan (1928) * REO Omnibus Typ A 22 passengers (1928) * REO Omnibus Typ B 22 passengers (1928) * REO Omnibus 28 passengers City (1928) * REO Omnibus 32 passengers Post (1934) * 96HTD * W series * Gold Comet

Clients

* Toronto Transportation Commission *

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

In popular culture

* The band

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

took their name from the REO Speed Wagon light delivery truck, an ancestor of

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...

s. * The band Diamond Rio took their name from REO's successor company Diamond Reo Trucks. The band misspelled "Reo" as "Rio", but lead singer Marty Roe decided to make a virtue out of his mistake, saying "I like it like that. It has a country-Southwestern flavor". * A REO is mentioned in a humorous 1933 short story ''The Car We Had to Push'' by James Thurber. It tells the story of Thurber’s family car, which would only start if pushed a long way. After several odd adventures, the car is destroyed by a trolley car. * The Barnum & Bailey Circus exhibited sideshow performers, Tiny Tim and Tom Thumb, driving a scaled-down version of the 1906 Reo Model-A Light Touring Car known as the "Baby Reo".

File:REO Motor Ad 1906.jpg, 1906 REO advertisement File:Reo-owen 1912.jpg, 1912 REO advertisement. R. M. Owens & Co. File:Reo-motor-car 1919-0608.jpg, A 1919 REO Motor Car Company Advertisement. The Syracuse Herald, June 8, 1919 File:REO Motors ad Popular Mechanics Oct 1953.jpg, REO advertisement in 1953 (back cover of the October 1953 issue of ''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (often abbreviated as ''PM'' or ''PopMech'') is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do it yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation an ...

'') File:Reo yanase ad 1929 in japan.jpg, 1929 REO advertisement sold at Yanase dealerships in Japan

Notes

External links

A Tribute To The REO Motor Car Company
many photos; angelfire.com site may be slow loading and have javascript pop-up ads
R.E. Olds Museum

REO automobiles at ConceptCarz

REO Gallery at White Glove Collection

REO Club of America

A REO Speed Delivery (State Library, Victoria, Australia images)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reo Motor Car Company Defunct manufacturing companies based in Lansing, Michigan Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Defunct bus manufacturers of the United States American companies established in 1905 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1905 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1975 1905 establishments in Michigan 1975 disestablishments in Michigan Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan Transportation in Lansing, Michigan Defunct truck manufacturers of the United States Brass Era vehicles Vintage vehicles Pre-war vehicles 1900s cars 1910s cars 1920s cars 1930s cars Cars introduced in 1905