A lot of people remember or know about REO Speedwagon, or simply REO, an American rock band from the 60s and 70s. Few know about the origin of the band’s name.
In their early days, when a new band in Champaign, Illinois, was looking for a name for their group, they settled on REO after Neal Douty saw the name of an American vehicle company—REO Motor Car Company— on a blackboard when he walked into a History of Transportation class on the first day they had decided to look for a name.
The REO Motor Car Company’s main product was REO Speedwagon, which the band appropriated for its name.
Rather than pronouncing REO as a single word as the motor company did (“REE-oh“), they chose to spell the word out, pronouncing each letter individually (“R-E-O”).
The REO Speed Wagon truck represents a formative chapter in American industrial history. Built by the REO Motor Car Company in the early twentieth century, it blended rugged engineering with practical elegance. These trucks powered farms, factories, and small towns, hauling goods long before interstate highways existed. Their upright grilles, rounded fenders, and durable inline engines reflected a philosophy of reliability over flash. The Speed Wagon name became synonymous with dependability and work ethic. Long after production ended, restored examples evoke an era when transportation was mechanical, purposeful, and proudly utilitarian, capturing the backbone spirit of American commerce and craftsmanship.
The name REO comes directly from the company’s founder, Ransom E. Olds, one of the most important figures in early American automotive history. After leaving Oldsmobile—another company he had founded—Olds started the REO Motor Car Company in 1904. Rather than inventing a new brand identity, he used his own initials: R-E-O. The name became closely associated with durability and innovation, especially in trucks, where REO earned a reputation for building machines that could endure hard, daily use.
