Speaking of a REO Speedwagon, the fire department in my home town had a late 1920s firetruck of that name that was still in use in the mid 1950s. I recall that thing coming out of the fire station with the 6 cylinder engine wound up until it’s speed would no longer increase at which time it was then shifted to the next gear. That was a tough engine to withstand that treatment. I’m not sure if REO was mentioned as being the initials of Ransom Eli Olds, the founder of Oldsmobile and REO. As usual, Wiki has more on this.
REO manufactured big trucks at least into the 1950s. REO had cartoon-like advertisements in Popular Mechanics and other magazines. Two that I remember went like this:
Bed Bumpy?
Outmeal lumpy?
Wife grumpy?
Climb into your REO and relax.
Engine slow?
Earning power low?
Tain’t your friend but your foe?
Trade it in for a REO!
These little poems were all illustrated and the last line showed a happy trucker driving away in his REO truck.
REO also made lawnmowers back in the early 1950s. These were reel type lawnmowers. I think REO also made the engines for them, but I am not sure of that.
REO was bought by White and White merged Diamond T and REO to form Diamond REO. I worked on semis when I graduated high school and I remember one or two owner operators had Diamond T’s.
White had several makes under thier belt
White
Diamond T
REO…Diamond REO
Autocar
White Frieghtliner
White Western Star
Sterling
Am I forgetting any?
Volvo got a hold of White and GMC heavy truck and called it White GMC. But as you probably noticed both of those names are gone now.