Dear dalyn-ga:
I’m thrilled to be able to research your question because this vehicle
has a very rich history.
There are no records of any vehicle, foreign or domestic, called a
“Rio”. I believe that you are referring to the "Reo" automobile (one
of the first so-called “horseless carriages”) manufactured as a
passenger car in the United States from 1904 - 1936. The Lansing,
Michigan company, R. E. Olds Co changed it’s name briefly in 1904 to
the Reo Car Co. (literally meaning, “R. E. O. Company”), but Samuel
Smith incorporated the company in August 1904 as the Reo Motor Car Co.
The Reo was named after its designer, Ransom Eli Olds (1864-1950), who
eventually left Oldsmobile to form a new company of his own. The first
Reos were chain-driven, single-cylinder 8 hp runabouts with an engine
under the floor and nothing under the hood. At first the car could be
purchased for about $685, but was reduced to $500 by 1909. An upgraded
model which boasted a 16hp twin sold for a staggering $1,250. By 1911
Reo was offering a model called “The Fifth” (because it was, in fact,
their fifth design), at a retail price of $1, 065. Though it didn’t
bear a very creative name, this little 4-cylinder left-hand drive car
was fairly popular. One of it’s most popular vehicles of the time, of
course, was a truck called the REO Speedwagon (from which the popular
rock group took it’s name) which was used as tow trucks, fire trucks
and other workhorse type vehicles. It set the standard by which most
companies producing trucks tried to imitate.
Reos were popular all the way up to the time of the Great Depression,
and were demonstrating one of the first factual claims of vehicles
capable of logging 100,000 miles without abnormal wear and tear. In
fact, 1928 was the company’s best year, racking up 29,000 sales. In
1929, however, the company decided to focus to focus on two versions
of it’s Flying Cloud model and by 1936 had ceased production of
passenger cars altogether. Reo continued to make trucks and buses
until 1957 as a division of White (the freightliner company). In 1967
Reo merged with a company called Diamond-T, which lead to a name
change; the company then became Diamond-Reo. White bought the company
in 1971 and began to produce it’s own brand of trucks and buses and
still does to this day. If you spend much time on the interstate
you’ll see the name “White” displayed prominently in your rear view
mirror from time to time as one of those 10-ton hulks rides your rear
bumper. That, my friend, it what finally became of the Reo.
I hope you find my research helpful.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
Antique Classic Car Photos
http://www.dochemp.com/hcca1.html
The Roaring Twenties
http://www.roaring-twenties.com/id610.htm
Reo Automobile
http://liptrap.topcities.com/reo.htm
Reo Automobile
(Photo Gallery)
http://liptrap.topcities.com/thecar.htm
1927 Reo Flying Cloud
http://restored-classics.com/bvac/aus2000rally2/page19.html
Americana Motors
“Vintage Auto Advertisements 1900-1915”
1931 Reo Royale
http://pages.sprint.ca/amc/1931REORoyale.html
Vintage Cars and Trucks
(1925 Reo Truck - Reo Speedwagon, and 1917 Reo Tow Truck)
http://www.geocities.com/vintage27ca/vintage.html
Bamboo Trading Vintage Paper Ads
(1944 Reo Truck advertisement)
http://www.bambootrading.com/adsdetail.asp?sku=A%2D434
Antique Trucks Online
“Diamond Reo History”
http://www.antiquetrucks.com/dia-reo/dia-reohist.html
VIP Classic Cars
(1923 Reo)
http://www.vipclassics.com/stk1464981.phtml
Virtual Public Library
Search terms: “Ransom Olds”
http://virtualpubliclibrary.com/halloffounders/automotivefounders/RANSOMELIOLDS.COM/
Search terms:
- Reo
- Reo automobile
- Antique Reo
- “Ransom Olds”
Additional Sources:
“The New Encyclopedia of Automobiles, 1885 To The Present” |
