REO Trucks

Ransom Eli Olds was best known as the inventor of the Oldsmobile. In 1904 Olds was unsatisfied and left the company, which left time to help create the new company bearing his initials, the REO Motor Car Company, in Lansing, Michigan. In 1910, the REO Motor Truck Company began the production of trucks. REOs legendary Speed Wagon led the way with shaft-drive, pneumatic tires, electric starters, and electric lights; features found on all competitive makes.

By July 1925, REO Speed Wagon sales, since its introduction, exceeded 125,000. REO sought to create a work environment that stressed "family". A Welfare department existed and a variety of activities were available to employees and their families, including indoor baseball and basketball teams and a REO Rifle Club. The patriotic REO company produced nearly 29,000 military vehicles from 1940 through 1945.

This book covers the story of REO Trucks through archival photographs to the time when the White Motor Company purchased REO in 1957.