Reo Motor Car Company

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emblem
Reo Model B Runabout (1906)

The Reo Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Lansing . From 1905 to 1975 cars and trucks were built there. Buses were created for a short time.

description

Reo was founded by ransomware Eli Olds in August 1904. Olds owned 52% of the shares and held the titles of President and General Manager. To ensure the supply of vendor parts, he founded a number of subsidiaries, such as the National Coil Company , the Michigan Screw Company and the Atlas Drop Forge Company .

Initially the company traded as "RE Olds Motor Car Company", but the owners of Olds' first company, which was then run under the company "Olds Motor Works", objected to the name and threatened legal action because they were one Confusion of names by customers feared. Olds then changed the company name (company) to its initials. The Olds Motor Works soon adopted the name of their vehicles, Oldsmobile . So instead of two companies with the company "Olds" there were no longer any.

The company was sometimes spelled with capital letters REO , sometimes only with capital letters Reo ; the company's documents do not provide a uniform picture on this point. Early advertising literature contained the name in capital letters, later only in capital letters. But they were always spoken in one word, never as a single letter, as was the case with Reo Speedwagon . Encyclopedias write Reo as a brand name.

In Monterrey, Mexico , Reo trucks were produced by Planta Reo de México from 1949 onwards. The company ceased operations in 1963.

The RE Olds Transportation Museum is also located in Lansing .

Reo passenger cars

Reo advertising leaflet (1906)

In 1907 Reo was already selling goods worth US $ 4,500,000 - and the company was one of the four richest automobile manufacturers in the USA. From 1909, however, the market share fell, although Olds designed better cars because the competition, e.g. By Ford Motor Company or General Motors Corporation .

Reo opened a trucking division and a Canadian plant in St. Catharines, Ontario in 1910 . Two years later, Olds claimed he was building the best possible car, a touring car with 2, 4 or 5 seats, a 30/35 hp engine, a wheelbase of 2,845 mm and 32 ″ wheels for only US $ 1,055 ( plus windshield and gas tank, which cost US $ 100 extra). The starter cost US $ 25 extra. In comparison, the Cole 30 and Colt Runabout cost US $ 1,500, the Kirk with side entry US $ 1,000 and the high- volume Oldsmobile Curved Dash US $ 650. The Western Gale Model A hit for US $ 500 and the Brush Runabout for US $ 485. The Black started at US $ 375 and the Success at an astonishingly low US $ 375.

In 1915 Olds gave the title of General Manager to his protégé Richard H. Scott and eight years later he also gave up the post of President, keeping only that of Chairman of the Board.

Probably the best-known Reo episode was the trip across Canada in 1912. The mechanic and driver Fonce V. Haney and the journalist Thomas W. Wilby crossed Canada for the first time from Halifax (Nova Scotia) to Vancouver ( British Columbia ), a Distance of 6,720 km, in a Reo Special touring car from 1912. When the roads in Canada were impassable, they also drove a short distance through northeastern Washington .

From 1915 to 1925, under Scott's direction, Reo remained profitable. In 1925, however, like many of his contemporary competitors, Scott began an ambitious expansion program to make the company more competitive through offers in all price ranges. This also led to the introduction of a new brand under the Reo Flying Cloud, the Wolverine , in 1927 . The vehicle appeared visually as a smaller version of the Flying Cloud with its own radiator grille and hubcaps. However, unlike this one, it was assembled from components from various suppliers ("Assembled Car") and also had an engine that Continental had bought. Sales did not develop satisfactorily and the brand was discontinued in mid-1928. The Wolverine received a slightly longer chassis, a stronger version of the Continental six-cylinder and was sold as the Reo Flying Cloud Mate from December 1928 ; the previous Flying Cloud received the additional title of Master . The failure of the expansion program and the global economic crisis caused such great losses that RE Olds returned to management in the course of 1933. In 1934, however, he withdrew again. From 1937 Reo no longer built passenger cars and concentrated entirely on the manufacture of trucks.

Models

model Construction period cylinder power wheelbase
One cylinder 1905-1910 1 7.5-12 bhp (5.5-8.8 kW) 1,862-1,981 mm
Two cylinders 1905-1910 2 row 16–22 bhp (11.8–16.2 ​​kW) 2,235-2,438 mm
Four-24 1906 4 row 24 bhp (17.6 kW) 2,540 mm
Four-35 1910 4 row 35 bhp (26 kW) 2,743 mm
25th 1911 4 row 22.5 bhp (16.5 kW) 2,489 mm
30th 1911 4 row 30 bhp (22 kW) 2,743 mm
35 1911 4 row 35 bhp (26 kW) 2,743 mm
The Fifth 1912-1919 4 row 35 bhp (26 kW) 2,845-3,048 mm
M. 1916-1918 4 row 45 bhp (33 kW) 3,200 mm
T-6 1920-1926 6 row 50 bhp (37 kW) 3,048 mm
Flying cloud 1927-1928 6 row 65 bhp (48 kW) 3,073 mm
Flying cloud 1927-1928 6 row 65 bhp (48 kW) 3,073 mm
Flying Cloud Mate 1929 6 row 65 bhp (48 kW) 2,921 mm
Flying Cloud Master 1929 6 row 80 bhp (59 kW) 3,073 mm
Flying Cloud 15 1930-1931 6 row 60 bhp (44 kW) 2,921-2,946 mm
Flying Cloud 20 1930-1931 6 row 80-85 bhp (59-62.5 kW) 3,048 mm
Flying Cloud 25 1930-1931 6 row 80-85 bhp (59-62.5 kW) 3,150 mm
Flying Cloud 30 1931 8 row 125 bhp (92 kW) 3,302 mm
Royale 35 1931 8 row 125 bhp (92 kW) 3,429 mm
Flying Cloud 6–21 1932 6 row 85 bhp (62.5 kW) 3,073 mm
Flying Cloud 8-21 1932 8 row 90 bhp (66 kW) 3,073 mm
Flying Cloud 8-25 1932 8 row 90 bhp (66 kW) 3,175 mm
Royale 8-31 1932 8 row 125 bhp (92 kW) 3,327 mm
Royale 8-35 1932 8 row 125 bhp (92 kW) 3,429 mm
Flying cloud 1933-1936 6 row 85–95 bhp (62.5–70 kW) 2,921-2,997 mm
Royale 8 1933 8 row 125 bhp (92 kW) 3,327-3,429 mm
Royale 6 1934 6 row 95 bhp (70 kW) 3,327-3,429 mm

Reo Flying Cloud and Reo Royale

Reo Royale Victoria Eight (1931)

Reo's most famous passenger cars were the Reo Flying Cloud , which was introduced in 1927, and the Reo Royale from 1931.

The Flying Cloud was the first car to have Lockheed's new hydraulically operated internal shoe brake (drum brake) . Fabio Segardi designed his styling . While Ned Jordan was credited with changing the advertising style for automobiles with his "Somewhere West of Laramie" ads for the Jordan Playboy , the Reo Flying Cloud - a name that evokes speed and ease - stands for the change in automobile names. The last car manufactured by Reo was a Flying Cloud in 1936.

The 1931 Reo Royale set the standard in design, as it was the first to introduce elements that anticipated the streamline . This model was offered until 1935. Beverly Rae Kimes , editor of the Standard Catalog of American Cars , calls the Royale the "most famous Reo of them all". In addition to its body made by Murray and designed by its chief designer Amos Northup , the Royale also offered customers an in-line eight-cylinder engine with 125 bhp (92 kW), a nine-bearing crankshaft , a new lubrication system and thermostatically controlled radiator flaps. The Royale was available from the factory with a wheelbase of 3,327 mm or 3,429 mm; a special model from 1932 even had a 3861 mm wheelbase. The Royale Reos also had the semi-automatic transmission, the self-shifter .

  • Reo Runabout (1906)

  • Reo Touring (1919)

  • Reo fire engine

  • Reo Bus (1934)

  • Reo Speed ​​Wagon - truck (1939)

  • Part of Reo's range of models from 1917

  • Reo bus in Norway

After the passenger cars

Reo Truck (circa 1946) in South Hill, Virginia

Although truck orders somehow kept the company alive during World War II , it was shaky in the post-war period, so bankruptcy and a fresh start were attempted. In 1954, the company still did not achieve a satisfactory result and sold the entire vehicle production to the Bohn Aluminum and Brass Company in Detroit . Three years later, in 1957, the company became a subsidiary of the White Motor Company . White then merged Reo with Diamond T Trucks in 1967 to form Diamond-Reo Trucks, Inc. In 1975 this company also had to file for bankruptcy and was completely dissolved.

Reo in film and music

  • The band REO Speedwagon derived its name from the light truck Reo Speed ​​Wagon , a forerunner of pick-ups .
  • A Reo is mentioned in James Thurber's comical short story The Car We Had to Push (Eng .: The car we had to push). There the story of Thurber's family limousine is told, which only started when you pushed it a long distance. After a number of unpleasant adventures, the car was destroyed by a railroad car.

literature

  • Kimes, Beverly Rae (editor) and Clark, Henry Austin, jr .: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 2nd edition, Krause Publications, Iola WI 54990, USA (1985), ISBN 0-87341-111-0 (English)
  • George Nick Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present ; Dutton Press, New York, 2nd edition (hardcover) 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0 (English)

Web links

Commons : Reo Motor Car Company  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ REO Motor Car Company at scripophily.net
  2. ↑ Advertising literature at Sooldsogood.com ( Memento of the original from October 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sooldsogood.com
  3. ↑ Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 1279-1284 (English).
  4. ↑ George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 3: P-Z . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 1323-1325 (English).
  5. ^ A b c d e Clymer, Floyd: Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877–1925 , Bonanza Books, New York (1950)
  6. ^ Kimes / Clark: Catalog of American Cars , pp. 1239 + 1514
  7. ^ Thurber, James: MY LIFE AND HARD TIMES: The Car We Had To Push , The New Yorker, July 15, 1933, p. 13.