Stolen Identity
From it's most earliest days in the early 1900's to it's sad end in the mid 1950's Packard maintained a signature design element on their grill surrounds. Starting lower on the sides the grill surrounds would bump up and raise in the center, and you will find versions of this on every model of every Packard for every year of Packard's existence. When I first came upon the Reo in the photo the first thing I noticed was the Packard like grill surround, and thinking, in fact, that it was indeed a Packard. Well, that was only true until I noticed the emblem in the center with the letters R E O emblazoned on it. Like Packard in their day, Reo was considered somewhat of a luxury automobile, and as such, they were priced accordingly. I suspect, however, that they didn't have the same panache that Packard enjoyed. So, was the Packard like grill surround on this 1930 Reo a design coincidence, or could you say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?" REO, the company, was founded by the former founder and owner of the Oldsmobile company, Ransom E. Olds (Notice the first letters in his name REO.) The company started in Lansing, Michigan, and had a long and somewhat successful history producing cars and trucks from 1905 to 1975. In 1936, Reo stopped producing cars in favor of devoting it's time to the end in 1975 to producing trucks.
Vince M
Although truck orders during World War II enabled it to revive somewhat, the company remained unstable in the postwar era, resulting in a bankruptcy reorganization. In 1954, the company was still underperforming, and sold its vehicle manufacturing operations (the primary asset of the company) to the Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation of Detroit. Three years later, in 1957, Reo's vehicle manufacturing operation became a subsidiary of the White Motor Company. White then merged REO with Diamond T Trucks in 1967 to form Diamond Reo Trucks. In 1975, this company filed for bankruptcy and most of its assets were liquidated. Volvo later took over White and thus currently owns the rights to the REO brand name.
Wiki
Stolen Identity
From it's most earliest days in the early 1900's to it's sad end in the mid 1950's Packard maintained a signature design element on their grill surrounds. Starting lower on the sides the grill surrounds would bump up and raise in the center, and you will find versions of this on every model of every Packard for every year of Packard's existence. When I first came upon the Reo in the photo the first thing I noticed was the Packard like grill surround, and thinking, in fact, that it was indeed a Packard. Well, that was only true until I noticed the emblem in the center with the letters R E O emblazoned on it. Like Packard in their day, Reo was considered somewhat of a luxury automobile, and as such, they were priced accordingly. I suspect, however, that they didn't have the same panache that Packard enjoyed. So, was the Packard like grill surround on this 1930 Reo a design coincidence, or could you say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?" REO, the company, was founded by the former founder and owner of the Oldsmobile company, Ransom E. Olds (Notice the first letters in his name REO.) The company started in Lansing, Michigan, and had a long and somewhat successful history producing cars and trucks from 1905 to 1975. In 1936, Reo stopped producing cars in favor of devoting it's time to the end in 1975 to producing trucks.
Vince M
Although truck orders during World War II enabled it to revive somewhat, the company remained unstable in the postwar era, resulting in a bankruptcy reorganization. In 1954, the company was still underperforming, and sold its vehicle manufacturing operations (the primary asset of the company) to the Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation of Detroit. Three years later, in 1957, Reo's vehicle manufacturing operation became a subsidiary of the White Motor Company. White then merged REO with Diamond T Trucks in 1967 to form Diamond Reo Trucks. In 1975, this company filed for bankruptcy and most of its assets were liquidated. Volvo later took over White and thus currently owns the rights to the REO brand name.
Wiki