We’ve talked a good bit here about REO, the company that wants to build a combustion-engine’d pickup truck that will sell for an excitingly cheap $21,500. It’s a bold plan, trying to start an all-new car company in, you know, this economy, and while there are zero guarantees of success, I’ve found my conversations with REO’s CEO, Zach Di Bernardi to be refreshing and full of candor, and despite all the failed startups I’ve seen not happen, I find myself being hopeful.
Hope doesn’t get car companies started, of course, but there are some things that can help, one of which is good design. It appears that REO understands this, because the company just announced the designer they’ve secured to design their planned lineup of Runabout trucks, the T4X, T4C, and S4C.
The designer chosen for this is one you’ve heard of before: Frank Stephenson.
Here’s what REO’s press release has to say:
Over four decades, working for some of the biggest names in the business, Stephenson has designed or led the design of the modern MINI, the first BMW X5, the Fiat 500, the Ferrari F430, the Maserati MC12 and the McLaren P1. His work runs from supercars to small cars that became icons, and much of it has sold in huge numbers.
Now, Mr.Stephenson and I have had our differences in the past, but there’s no question he’s one of the most important automobile designers of our era and I’m eager to see what he’s come up with for REO. So far, all we have to go on is this teaser shot:
It’s taillight-focused, which I approve of. They’re nice round quad halo lights, which in itself aren’t exactly revolutionary, but I suspect there’s more to what we’re seeing than meets the eye. I don’t think I can go into this more just yet, but I think we’ll hear more soon, and perhaps more interesting thing about lighting in general.
Frank Stephenson had this to say about his work with REO:
“We’re proud to be working with REO, a brand with more than a century of American history behind it. It isn’t often you get the chance to help bring a name like this back, and the team of visionaries behind REO has a very clear idea of what these trucks need to be: simple, honest and built to last. That’s a brilliant brief for any designer. Our team is really enjoying shaping all three Runabout models, and we can’t wait to start showing people the work.”
Simple and honest and built to last are all good traits to have in a truck, and “reliability and right to repair” were noted in REO’s press release as crucial criteria as well.
I wish we had some more and better images, but we will be getting more images later , and a physical vehicle will be revealed in 2027. Or at least that’s the plan.
Will this all happen? At this point, I really can’t say. But at least there’s a real design team on board, and that never hurts.
all i know is truck or not, we can all use some cars that are cheaper to buy these days.
Translation: We assigned a couple of interns to sketch up some boxes on wheels, an investment befitting the prestige of REO.
Dictated and sent in my absence
I know it’s not quite the same, but I’ve seen Slate trucks are on the road doing demos. Come on Slate, don’t fail me now.
failed startups I’ve seen not happen
umm… gotta pick one or the other, Mister Torch.
Failed startups create no happening.
That’s right.
Okay isn’t it more like 30 years that they actually made anything? Bit of a stretch to say over a century there guys…
I believe the Diamond REO brand was used more recently in Australia for rebadged Chinese trucks, but that only lasted a few years
Just to be clear, they announced a starting price before finalizing the design of the car? Design contributes MASSIVELY to price. I get the hope behind the company, but this is such utter Vaporware it makes the Gen 2 Tesla Roadster look successful.
I’m amazed how much press this brand is getting. Its the new Canoo
Wait. They’ve announced price and are planning production, but they’re JUST NOW getting a designer?
If they haven’t frozen the design, how do they know how much it’s going to cost?!?
Wasn’t REO originally to show their design next month (October 2026)? Now its 2027? Does this mean they weren’t actually working on it all along because they’ve only hired a designer just now?
Vaporware until proven otherwise.
Is it designed by Frank or just his company? I assume it will be handed off to an intern to knock out quickly.
So it’ll be a truck that has F430 tail lights and what, a MINI front end? Greaaaaat. I have about as much faith in this working as I do that Elio is still going to turn things around any moment now.
A start up whose address was some random small storefront magically hires a renowned car designer to design their $21,000 pick up?
Yeah, ok. That’s totally believable.
I love the idea as much as the next guy, but this isn’t much different than a drawing of a truck by my kid at this point.
And Alpha Motor Corp has already been doing that for years now
If they can actually pull this off they will sell approximately a quintupletrillion of them
What am I missing here? Is getting a designer this late in the process normal or a red flag or something?
That logo looks too much like “Dr. Frank-N-Furter”