1905 REO Two-Cylinder Runabout

The REO Company was formed in 1905 after Mr. Ransom Eli Olds (the initials forming the name of the company) had departed ('retired'0 from the Olds Motor Works the year before after a disagreement with his business partners. They had wanted Olds to move beyond the firm's popular curved-dash buggy and start building larger and more powerful automobiles. Mr. Olds did not share the same vision. The court finally got involved and they managed to keep the rights to his name, but not his initials.

REO completed their first car in October of 1904, a two-cylinder Tonneau producing around 16 horsepower, and was priced at $1,250. It was unveiled at the New York Auto Show where it was well received. A less-expensive, single-cylinder Runabout soon followed. A line of four-cylinder models was later introduced after Ransom Olds watched the success of the Ford Model T.

The REO Company would continue until the mid-1930s when the Great Depression and financial woes brought the company to an end.

This particular Runabout is believed to be from the company's first year of production. Robert Ullrich purchased this car in complete, but disassembled, condition from Don Short of Port Ludlow. Mr. Ullrich reassembled the car and put it into the correct running order. In 2002, the car completed the five-day 'Tour of The Country' from Spokane, Washington, to Seattle, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the American Automobile Club of America.

The Runabout is fitted with a 2-cylinder L-Head engine fitted with a single carburetor offering 15 horsepower. There is rear band-type brakes and a 2-speed planetary transmission.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2014