REO
Lansing, Michigan
1904-1974
Our pictures of REO Cars and Trucks were taken at car museums, shows, and auctions across the United States.
Ransom E. Olds, of Lansing, Michigan, organized the Olds Motor VehicleCompany in 1897 and began producing the Curved Dash Oldsmobile Runabout in 1901. It became America's first mass-produced automobile and was soon the nation's best-selling car. This was a full two years before Henry Ford began his company.
Olds left the firm in 1904 because investors with controlling interest wanted to do away with the Runabout. Later that year, he started a new firm using his initials - R.E.O. - as its name and returned to making automobiles. He was precluded from using his name by contractual agreement with his original company.
REO produced its last passenger cars in 1936 and their last commercial trucks in 1974.
