REO Speed Wagon History

Introduced in 1915, the REO Speed Wagon was a light motor truck that is regarded as one of the ancestors of the modern pickup. Rather than adapting a passenger-car chassis, it offered a purpose-built light-duty hauler with a factory cab and bed, and it became one of the most successful commercial vehicles of its era — REO had built around 125,000 Speed Wagons by 1925.

The Speed Wagon was sold for nearly four decades, through 1953, in a wide range of bodies and as a basis for buses and fire apparatus. Its name endured well beyond the company: the rock band REO Speedwagon took its name from the truck after founder Neal Doughty saw it written on a board in a History of Transportation class at the University of Illinois.