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| (The Des Moines Register. August 27, 1905) |
Ransom Olds built
a successful car company, got pushed out
of Oldsmobile in 1904, and started another. He named it REO, after his
initials: Ransom Eli Olds.
The first REOs hit the
road in 1905. A little runabout cost $650. A bigger, 16-horsepower model sold
for $1,250. You got skinny tires, a gasoline engine and no guarantee there’d be
a road to drive it on. Still, REO sold 864 cars that first year and 2,458 in
1906.
Then came the payoff. REO outsold Oldsmobile and became
one of America's biggest carmakers.
This ad from the REO Automobile Co. in Des Moines shows
a variety of the vehicles available. The dealership was at 200 Walnut Street in
Des Moines. J. R. Campbell was the sales agent for the state of Iowa.
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