The photo above shows two early models of the Reo Motor Company. Archives of Michigan staff have been unable to identify the garage or the individuals depicted. If anyone has information on this photo, they are encouraged to contact this author by e-mailing garrettr1@michigan.gov.

Famous Initials

In 1903, Ransom Eli Olds left Oldsmobile, the company that bore his name. Disagreements with financial backers prompted his decision. He then immediately embarked upon a new entrepreneurial endeavor. Olds couldn’t use his name for his new company, so instead he used his initials: REO.

Rise and Fall

Olds set up his new Reo plant on Lansing’s South Washington Avenue. The first cars rolled out of the factory by the end of 1904. Reo cars soon surpassed Oldsmobiles in popularity. In 1910, Reo purchased Lansing’s now-idle Bement and Sons factory, where agricultural implements were once produced. At this new property (located at Grand Avenue and Ionia Street), Reo would manufacture trucks, the product for which it was to be most associated.

The Reo Motor Company continued to do well into the 1920s. Then, came the Great Depression. Reo struggled during the hard times and finally ended car production in 1936. It continued to produce trucks, and defense contracts brought new life during World War II and the Cold War. Reo never recaptured the prosperity of its glory days, however. In 1967, it merged with Diamond T Trucks, becoming “Diamond Reo.” Eight years later, in 1975, Diamond Reo declared bankruptcy, and the company was no more.

Sources

Lisa M. Fine’s The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin and Community in Autotown, USA (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) was a prime source for this article. The Library of Michigan selected this work for its 2005 Notable Book list.

Michigan’s State Historic Preservation Office placed a historical marker on the site of the Reo Motor Company plant. Details on this and other Michigan historical markers can be found in the book Traveling Through Time: A Guide to Michigan’s Historical Markers by Laura Rose Ashlee.