It’s usually the case that when something sounds too good to be true, it ain’t. But – as Hans Landa told Aldo the Apache in the Quentin Tarantino film, Inglorius Basterds – “nine-nine-nine-point nine-nine-nine-times out of a million, you’d be correct. But in the pages of history, every once in awhile, fate reaches out and extends its hand.”
Well, maybe this time . . .
Have you heard about REO Industries? More specifically, have you heard about the pick-up truck REO says it is going to make?
The Runabout isn’t an EV, to begin with. It is a small truck like they used to make ’em – until 2011, which was the last year for the compact-sized and affordably priced Ford Ranger. The Ranger – like the Toyota Tacoma, the Nissan Frontier and the Chevy Colorado (which was once the S10) have all been upsized since then. By every dimensional measure except width and bed length, these formerly compact-sized trucks are all now the same size as full-size trucks were before the early 2000s (full-size trucks have since been super-sized) and taller than they were, too. This has left a wide-open market for a small, affordable truck – especially one that isn’t an EV, like the Slate or the soon-to-be-available Ford small EV pickup. Neither of these are affordable except in relation to the crop of now-“mid-sized” Rangers, Frontiers and Canyons – all of which start well into the thirty-something-thousands.
Well, the Runabout will start around $21,000 – says REO’s web site.
It will be powered by a small four cylinder gas engine without (apparently) hybrid augmentation. Or a turbo. It will be adequately powerful – like the four cylinder engines that used to come standard in trucks like the Ranger, Frontier, Tacoma and Canyon before they got up-sized and needed larger (or turbocharged/hybrid-augmented) engines to move them adequately. The Runabout will be a real truck, too – unlike the Slate. Unlike the not-yet-named Ford EV truck. Unlike the Maverick, which is a useful little runabout that looks like a truck. It ain’t. Not if you don’t consider a FWD/AWD vehicle and unibody construction to be the stuff of which trucks are made. The Maverick is made from that stuff, which is the same stuff used to make the Escape – which is a compact-sized crossover. Not that there is anything wrong with any of that. There is nothing wrong with Planet Fitness, either.
But it’s not really a gym, is it?
Real trucks are body-on-frame, because a frame like that can handle loads – in the bed and behind the truck. Unibody vehicles aren’t designed to tow much because the load can bend them out of shape. The Runabout will – so REO says – be body-on-frame and thus a truck, not a vehicle that’s shaped to look like one. Its drivetrain will also be longitudinal – that is, front to back – another defining attribute of a truck. The Maverick – like the Escape it’s based on – has its engine mounted transversely (that is, sideways) and its transmission and axle are combined into a transaxle.
Not – again – that there is anything wrong with this layout. It is just not how trucks are laid out.
REO also says this truck’s bed will have drop sides, increasing its ability to carry such things as 4×8 sheets of drywall. That would make it more useful as a truck than the current Ranger. Frontier, Tacoma and Canyon – all of which have short beds and too-tall (fixed) walls. They are great for hauling dogs. 
Trucks also have – or offer – four-wheel-drive. Which is not the same thing as all-wheel-drive, though the waters have been muddied (on purpose) by manufacturers of AWD crossovers, who market them as being “4WD.” Technically, this is true since AWD means all four wheels are powered.
But it is not accurate.
AWD generally means that most of the engine’s power goes to the front wheels most of the time; some is kicked back to the rear wheels when the front wheels lose traction. 4WD generally means a part-time system that sends all of the engine’s power to the rear wheels, until the 4WD is engaged – at which point power is sent equally to both the front and rear wheels in a 50-50 split. 4WD systems also usually have a transfer case with High and Low range gearing. AWD systems sometimes have a gear reduction function to increase leverage at low speeds, but it’s not the same thing.
Real trucks have real 4WD. Not AWD marketed as “4WD.”
REO says the Runabout will be 4WD. Mechanical 4WD, with manual rather than electronic engagement, like the Frontier and Ranger and Tacoma and Canyon used to have.
It will also come standard with a manual transmission – REO says. The Ranger and Frontier and Tacoma and Canyon also used to come standard with manual transmissions – because that’s part of what once defined what a truck is. Meaning, simple and mechanical. Automatics are not bad. But they are (in modern vehicles) heavily electronicized. That adds complexity and cost. It also takes away control. The current Ranger is automatic-only. So also the Frontier and the Canyon. You can get a manual in the current Tacoma – but only in the more expensive trims that start close to – and exceed – $40k. 
REO (the company is named after Ransom Eli Olds, after whom the now-defunct Oldsmobile brand was named) also says the Runabout will have a driving range of more than 500 miles – which would be much farther than the distance the old Ranger, Frontier, Tacoma and Canyon can go on a tank. I know – because I own an ’02 Frontier (and before that, a ’98) and my truck goes maybe 300 miles on a full tank (because my truck only manages about 20 MPG – even though it’s got a small four cylinder engine).
All for about $21k, REO says.
It definitely sounds to good to be true – and probably is. REO may legitimately be wanting to make a small truck that it can sell for about $21k, but will it be able to?
More finely, will it be allowed to?
There are already small trucks that spec out like the putative Runabout; the Toyota HiLux Champ, for instance. The problem is that it’s not compliant. It hasn’t got – is not built around – the federally required “safety” stuff, including air bags. Toyota is building the HiLux Champ and selling it for less than $20k – but isn’t selling it here because it’s illegal. The same will hold true as regards the Runabout – unless REO can manage to make it compliant. No doubt it can do that. But can it also sell a compliant version for about $21k?
In the pages of history, every once in awhile, fate reaches out and extends its hand.
Maybe.
. . .
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button is here.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is:
EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079
PS: Get an EPautos magnet or sticker or coaster in return for a $25 or more one-time donation or a $10 or more monthly recurring donation. (Please be sure to tell us you want a magnet or sticker or coaster – and also, provide an address, so we know where to mail the thing!)
If you’d like a Baaaaa hat or other EPautos gear, see here!










[…] https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2026/06/24/too-good-to-be-true/ […]
This thing is going nowhere, real or not. The makers of the Aptera vehicle have not been able to sell anything due to regulatory “compliance.”
Trump isn’t going to do a damned thing about it.
His administration deserves to swing from a tree for shooting it’s own supporters in the back.
I agree, Swamp –
More than likely, it’s a scam – to get people to pay for “reservations” that will of course never be refunded. I would very much like to be wrong about this, of course.
I don’t believe it will be available or 2x what they are saying like the maverick was going to be 18-20k but it’s more like 30k but the ineos grenader showed that it’s possible to make something different than trash every one else makes.
I want desperately for this to be real, but I think building a light truck that will pass. Uncle Sugar’s endless regulations is as impossible is main scoring a date with Sydney Sweeney.
This company is going to have to build dozens of trucks for crash, testing, and emissions purposes. That would need to happen before they could even offer a single truck for sale to the buying public.
Also, thanks to protectionist ridiculousness. In many states direct vehicle sales are prohibited because the dealerships have a very effective and well funded lobby.
It’s a shame that no legacy auto maker would even think of offering such a vehicle. Like so much of corporate America, they only care about selling to the richest customers and see that is the only way to turn a profit.
That’s why Disney World appeals mainly to weirdo adults who are obsessed with the mouse. These addicts will go into debt to fund their trips to worship their idol.
That’s why I Las Vegas does not care about shrinking visitor numbers. They only care about hosting millionaires because they think that’s where all of the money is and that is correct to a certain point.
Problem is when those people cut back during an economic downtime, you have nothing else to fall back on for revenue since you’ve driven off all of the middle income people who have been priced out of your product. This strategy is born out of the quarterly balance sheet, not a long-term view.
My sentiments exactly, Dr. Mantis –
The only way this could happen, in my view, is if Trump negates all the “safety” folderol – which of course has nothing to do with safety. It is all about compliance. A vehicle that lacks air bags is not “unsafe” to drive. It just hasn’t got air bags. “Emissions” might be another problem. Not because the engine “emits” any meaningfully harmful combustion byproducts but – again – because it might not be compliant with the pedantic minutia of EPA “tiers” and “bins.”
So, yeah. This truck seeing the light of day in this country is less likely than getting to bang Sydney Sweeney.
‘People buy and build quality under sound money. People eat and drive shit under debt-based money.’ — Yukon Jack
Change is in the wind, comrade:
“The commitment to deliver [on reducing inflation] is strong, unanimous and unambiguous. And that’s, I think, an important message. We’ve missed for 5 years. And we’re gonna fix that.” — Fed chair Kevin Warsh, June 17, 2026
Key sentence from the significantly shorter FOMC statement (half the length of previous versions): “The Committee will deliver price stability.”
And you can take that to the bank! Yeah, right. $39 trillion of debt and a $2 trillion annual deficit is just the ticket for price stability. 🙂
Contact info:
REO Industries, Inc., 9041 Garland Rd PO 2, Dallas, TX 75218.
If you look up that address … here is what comes up … White Dog Ship and Print!
“They’re definitely doing R&D in that PO box.” 🙂
https://www.slateforums.com/forum/threads/slate-vs-reo-runabout.15033/page-3
All I ask for, all I pray
Steady-rollin’ pickup gonna come my way
Need a six-speed gonna hold my hand
Don’t tell me no lies, make me a happy man
— Led Zeppelin, Black Dog
Here’s the info I found out about REO Industries (which was created May 7, 2026) via the Texas Secretary of State:
REO INDUSTRIES, INC.
Texas Taxpayer Number:
32105943669
Mailing Address:
1511 TRANQUILLA DR
DALLAS, TX 75218 – 3544
Right to Transact Business in Texas:
ACTIVE
State of Formation:
TX
SOS Registration Status
(SOS status updated each business day):
ACTIVE
Effective SOS Registration Date:
05/07/2026
Texas SOS File Number:
0806589617
Registered Agent Name:
ZACHARY DE BERNARDI
Registered Office Street Address:
1511 TRANQUILLA DRIVE
DALLAS, TX 75218
Ha ha ha. Here’s it’s registered office address:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/1511+Tranquilla+Dr,+Dallas,+TX+75218/@32.8304951,-96.6938661,15z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x864ea16d0e51ce21:0x89bae8905892ba61!8m2!3d32.8302814!4d-96.6940847!16s%2Fg%2F11c2dh909b?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYyMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Tranquilízate, hombre – Hewlett Packard was started in a garage!
Go figure. ZACHARY DE BERNARDI is a former insurance employee turned real estate agent.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-de-bernardi-57942682/
Yep, total sham. Step right up to place your deposits for this fine automobile.
“The REO badge first appeared on a car back in 1905, though that original company folded a few decades later. Texas real estate agent Zach De Bernardi tracked down the rights to the name and built REO Industries around it. He has never manufactured a car in his life. . .”
https://www.carscoops.com/2026/06/reo-industries-runabout-pricing/
‘Although we don’t know if its engine will be sourced from elsewhere or built in-house, it will be paired exclusively with a manual transmission.’ — Carscoops
As much as I endorse the sentiment — every vehicle I own is manual shift — this would be the kiss of death in the US market, where 99% of new vehicles have automatic transmissions.
It’s utterly, patently delusional. The first 100 Reo buyers also get a free trip to Vegas with a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader!
I agree, Jim –
Much as it pains me. You’re right. It is great that the manual is to be standard. But there should be an automatic available for the people who want/need one. Which, as you say, is a big chunk of the prospective buyer pool..
Sounds orgasmic. Hope springs eternal. But eternity is a long time to wait.
..and Today’s Winner Is: Yukon Jack
“People build and buy quality under sound money. People eat and drive shit under debt based money”
It’s a fact! 😀
Planned obsolescence in one minute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voyLPXG-EJc
Here is another one I wrote I liked:
“The EPA and OSHA exist to keep imports out. They have nothing to do with our safety, they solely exist to protect the automotive industry from outside competition.
government is another word for criminal control of naturally free people”
I dare any reader to defy my logic. If the EPA and OSHA were actually protecting us they would of never allowed self driving cars or Tesla’s which spontaneously catch fire, many drivers got burned alive when the car safety locked after catching fire.
Many, many times Teslas went to full throttle (accelerated to their fastest speed) and caused massive damage including killing or wounding pedestrians. I have watched the videos over and over and just laugh outloud and wonder, why in the hell are these things legal on our roads?
Another example of how the state does not give a rat’s ass about our safety are the imports of thousands of third world rapists, who formed rape gangs, and rape the shit out of white girls (which they prefer, especially how they dress like whores).
Another example, governments do false flags, to start illegal and immoral wars, which kill our soldiers for the foreign state of Israel. The USA and Trump definitely do not care about your safety! Those nations they bomb generate terrorists which hate and want to kill us.
“British MP Rupert Lowe has released a major independent report on grooming gangs in the UK. The report has been titled called “The Rape Gang Inquiry”, came out on June 16. It is about 218 pages long and is based on survivor stories, court records, and past investigations.
Lowe, who leads Restore Britain (formerly with Reform UK), chaired the inquiry. It was funded by public donations through crowdfunding. The report looks at group-based child sexual exploitation, often called grooming gangs.
According to the report, organised child rape gangs operated across at least 149 local authority districts while police, social services, schools, health services, and politicians deliberately failed to protect vulnerable young White girls, allowing for 250,000 of them to be subjected to repeated rape, gang rape, trafficking, torture, pregnancy, forced conversion and lifelong trauma.”
—————-
be sure to wear safety belts, because government is protecting you!
https://www.foxnews.com/us/tesla-autopilot-mode-left-roadway-crashed-home-killing-76-year-old-woman-inside-officials-say
in the video first you hear a car coming really fast, but no engine roar, then you see a tesla going warp leaving the road and going across a private home yard, which kills grandma who is inside filling out her tax forms while watching Fox News praising Trump.
One hour video on the engineering design
and construction of the slate truck:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBJia4xhgec&t=69s
slate details in text format:
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/06/here-are-five-ways-you-could-build-a-slate-ev-from-25000-to-37000/
A very big opportunity was lost by not calling it the “Speedwagon”.
This one’s the “Seedwagon” — for simps who just fell off a turnip truck.
I really like the idea of the REO truck but, @reoindustries already blocked me on X for asking if it was AI slop and how they are going to deal with the EPA footprint regulations.
Wow! If we lived in South America, Mexico or Communist China, we could probably buy one of these things! Here? LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!! Ain’t gonna happen.
Amerika is a declining empire with all kinds of regulations protecting legacy manufacturers and creating a unique market of huge vehicles for exorbitant prices. If you ain’t got a ten gallon hat, don’t find paying 66.6k for a truck which gets horrible fuel economy, you ain’t right with the Lord.
I bet in booming China (which is in it’s upswing while we are in the collapsing phase of the rise and fall of nations cycle) they have a free for all market of any company can build anything they want to compete. Well Virginia, they sure as hell do!
I searched for low cost mini pickups for sale in China. LOL There are hundreds of low cost (and I mean dirt cheap) little pickups of every size and shape for sale right now in China. Some for as cheap as $1500 new price! Purusing through the China truck catalog, I found one that looks familiar to a Toyota, called the Foton, it even has a fake looking Toyota emblem. LOL
Foton Pickup Tunland G7 4X4 Diesel Pickup 8at Right Hand Drive Mini Pickup Truck
US$12,000.00-15,000.00
1 Piece (MOQ)
You can bet your sweet ass none of those affordable trucks from China, which would transform this nation, will ever be sold here. MAGA is going to protect our nation from rivals.
Actually, when push comes to shove, and if we ever have a deflationary collapse, then those trucks will probably be imported first to Seattle, Portland, or Los Angeles.
It would be a fantastic political stunt to buy a dozen of those dirt cheap made in china trucks and display them along a main thoroughfare (not legal to drive, but legal to display).
https://www.made-in-china.com/products-search/hot-china-products/Mini_Pickup_Truck.html
MAGA is just another word for you being screwed by Zionist loons for Israel. Amerika only exists to lick the scrotum of Jewish supremacist pricks so they can rule your world, but that is not reality in China’s world. China is blowing by us a Mach 2.0. We are the losers, understand we are being left behind while the world goes forward.
I looked up importers of Japanese mini trucks, and found one in the middle of Amerika, the Ozarks
https://www.ozarkminitrucks.com/
“Ozark Mini Trucks opened in 2021 as a one-man operation in Waldron, Arkansas. Sales quickly expanded past Arkansas and trucks have now been sold in 19 states. We offer nationwide delivery, including custom orders to Hawai’i. We exclusively work with trusted exporters who share our principle of providing the best vehicles at the best price. Our low overhead and efficient import process means we consistently have low prices on top-quality mini trucks and other kei vehicles. ”
I already know these little trucks are being imported all across rural areas, off road use, on ranches and farms. I got to thinking, if Amerika collapses when fuel goes to $8 a gallon, how much you wanna bet people will start driving them on the road just to survive.
This roll over happened in Oregon with marijuana growers, so many people defied the law and were growing they eventually overwhelmed the state control apparatus so marijuana growing and sales were legalized. The state FOLLOWED the will of the people.
(When I ride my bike through town in the fall I can smell wafts of marijuana in bloom – every other house is a grow operation – it is phenomenal, for a farm boy from Ohio. Oregon is a different reality compared to back east)
Big changes coming to this nation in the near future, our nation is about to roll over into something new. I read all the candidates endorsed by the commie Mandamni won last night.
EVERY ZOHRAN ENDORSED CANDIDATE WINS!!! CLEAN SWEEP FOR DEM SOCIALISTS!!!
Another thing that magically transformed in Oregon, called “Farm Stands”. I live here and watched every day for the past several years how Oregon went out of the way to import hundreds of thousands of Mexicans – who immediately put up fruit stands manned by some kid who couldn’t even speak english. These roadside stands were illegal, only famers markets allowed – but then the Mexicans must of been organized because all of a sudden, in the past twelve months I see signs everywhere for Farm Stands people selling eggs, cheese, milk, fruit…
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=oregon+law+farm+stands&t=brave&ia=web
Only in a police state can you not sell what you produce, anyone who has traveled the world knows how overregulated Amerika actually is. Imagine a world in which anyone can sell any food they produce without a permit or a license.
Governments protect big industry from competition. Morons on television claim Amerika is a capitalist nation. Not so. Amerika is a fascist dictatorship.
It’s to bad someone like Eric is not traveling the world video blogging all the cool cheap forms of transportation we in “free” Amerika are not allowed to own.
The EPA and OSHA exist to keep imports out. They have nothing to do with our safety, they solely exist to protect the automotive industry from outside competition.
government is another word for criminal control of naturally free people
Decline is right. It was a WTF moment for me when the local motor sports store had MANY Polaris side by sides $40k and up. The topper was a two seater with a small dump box on the back, $62k. Gussied up with lotsa ‘flare’ – big shocks, wild graphics.
I was expecting $14 to $22k, at the most, which still seems too much. This place has gone insane when the country folk will shell out big coin for a sport vehicle like these.
Vaporware as they say.
The OEMs have long lobbied for more and more regulations as they provide a barrier to entry for any new players that could ever enter the new auto game.
Remember when BILLIONARE Roger Penske was going to buy the Saturn name from GM (which already had a turn-key dealership network available) – and import Chinese junk to label it with?
Even “The Captain” was smart enough to quickly realize that wasn’t going to be profitable and nixed the idea before blowing any real cash on it.
At best, you can hope for a build-it-yourself kit – like Factory Five – but then again, this would be a small operation with limited sales.
IF… they can pull this off they will sell millions of them. IF
I agree, John –
I think the potential market for a vehicle like this is huge. I’d be interested. And that’s saying a lot – because I have never bought a new vehicle. But my ’02 Nissan Frontier is 25 years old (almost) and a truck like this REO could last me another 25 years.
Trucks should last your lifetime, not just 25 years. They just have to be designed to be easily serviceable, ie, the parts can be rebuilt or swapped.
The real conspiracy is planned obsolescence, corporate wants more of your wealth, so they make things that disintegrate with time, unviable to fix, so you come back and get into debt again.
Planned obsolescence is the practice of designing products with a limited useful life, intentionally making them obsolete or non-functional after a certain period to encourage consumers to purchase replacements. This strategy is often used to maintain sales and stimulate continuous consumption.
Understand that under a debt based monetary system, (unlike a gold standard), mountains of debt can ONLY exist with ever increasing sales.
The simple fact if furniture, cars, trinkets, eye glasses, homes, lawnmowers were made to last forever or a lifetime then sales would dwindle toward zero. Can’t have that when everyone (including the mfr) are in debt.
People build and buy quality under sound money. People eat and drive shit under debt based money.
I smell a rat. Even if it’s real, it’s almost certain the compliance regime will do them in. Airbags, crash-tests, and the usual litany of regulatory mandates have costs. If this was possible, I suspect one of the majors would have done it already, not withstanding their DEI/ESG/EPA and other imperatives.
But the market would indeed be huge. Maybe Drumph could issue an executive order?
We already have access to great gasoline powered small trucks, cars and SUV’s without the ninny electronics and safety schemes embedded!
Only catch is they’re 25 years old or more, but I see many advertised and stated to be low mile ‘Like new’ condition usually starting around $10 or less.
I kind of have a bug to put one of these miss-u-bitchy Montero’s in my driveway..
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/d/woodbridge-beautiful-japanese-import/7941218212.html
Until something seriously changes in this world I’m not spending a cent on any brand new ‘Modern’ garbage/tech vehicles. But hey, to each their own.
Reo’s ‘press and media contacts’ consists of an email address — no phone number.
Intrepid auto journalists such as Eric might want to interview Reo’s CEO or chief engineer, but there’s no number to call.
AND — you may have noticed — there’s not a peep in the REO website about the people behind this venture. That’s the first thing investors want to know: is it a seasoned, credible team of engineers and finance guys?
I call bullshit — fake as a three-dollah bill!
Reo, Reo, como el agua tan frio
O caliente, como agua de la fuente
Tibio, tibio, como un beso que calla
Y se enciende, si es que acaso le quieres
— Juan Luis Guerra, Frio Frio (1992)
I suspect the same, Jim –
As you noted, there is no press contact. That said, I thought it was worth writing about if only to publicize the idea of it; to show just how much interest there is a small, simple affordable truck such as this. If REO doesn’t do it, maybe someone else will.
On the REO Trucks site, 80 percent of the content could have been cribbed straight from EP Autos.
If the author wants to be paid $25 for his laudable efforts, why didn’t he just start a substack?
That’s another telltale item missing from the REO Trucks site — merch! Hell, it already exists on ebay:
https://ibb.co/fYfy6rjK
Smells like tulipmania, to me.
Is it the REO Thing, or no thing?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Off topic, but….
Camel’s nose, meet tent:
https://www.pressenterprise.com/2026/06/23/california-needs-ab-311-to-reward-safe-drivers-and-protect-our-roads/
>Telematics is the use of cell phone apps or other devices to provide real-time feedback on driving behavior such as speeding, hard braking, or risky cell phone use.
>Participation is completely optional.
For now…
Brake for a squirrel, get “points” on your driving record?
Your *rented* Dodge Durango’s “by wire” controls malfunction, giving you “rocket starts” and “panic stops” every time? BTDT. Scary enough without “points” on my driving record because of malfunctioning equipment I *do* *not* own.
I think not, comrade.
This journalist managed to do the legwork and track down the guy (Zach De Bernardi) behind it.
https://thegentlemanracer.com/2026/06/reo-runabout/
By the way the Hilux Champ does have airbags, ABS, forward collision avoidance. These things are requirements in many markets.
It uses the 2TR 4 cylinder that was in the 2005 to 2023 Tacoma, so EPA certification is not a problem.
Toyota could do the crash testing, they’ve gotten hundreds of cars certified for sale in the U.S. They do not think the sales are there.
Hopefully Slate and REO can prove a cheap and simple truck is still viable in this market.
Without the nanny tech and airbags the only place you will be able to drive it is on private land or for export. I can see a possible market for this as a year round vehicle on ranches, farms and on site maintenance vehicles for industrial use.
On site maintenance vehicles for industrial use is one of the few market niches well served by Battery Electric Vehicles.
Something like an electric Smart Car, which could be loaded piggyback onto rail cars *might* work, if they could be made cheaply enough. Fed gov regs will prohibit economical manufacture, of course.
The physical model is doable:
Sideways loading, head to head, double or triple decked. Onboard batteries provide climate control in transit. Patents exist to stop freight trains very precisely. Drive on, back off. Read your email or watch a video while in transit. No such thing as “distracted passengering”.
Santa Ana Canyon, where Metrolink on BNSF tracks competes with SR91, reputedly the most congested highway in the U.S., would be a great test bed. Too bad it will never happen.
Hi Landru,
Yes, but in that case, it would be much too expensive. Most people need a vehicle they can drive on public roads. If I need something to drive around in the field, I can easily buy a side-by-side for half the putative cost of the REO. Or just put an old truck like my old Nissan out to pasture.
Hard to believe. We’re well into our inflationary currency collapse. And the US is well into a its degenerate cultural phase where the welfare cases are able to “afford” luxury in the form of touch screens, automatics, and air conditioning. The only people who want this are smart , working, and not rich, which is a despised and deplorable lot.
Color me cynical, I build my own vehicles using plentiful old hardware and lots of knowledge. And the communists are actively now trying to ban 3d printing and cnc to keep us uppity bourgeoisie easily controlled.
I’ll believe it when I see it… 🤔
I hope they succeed.
REO will need hundreds of millions
of dollars in traditional venture capital
or institutional funding to establish
factory manufacturing. What they say now
about their imaginary truck and its imaginary price
are to get people interested in investing.
The company has only shown digital renderings
rather than working physical prototypes,
meaning the project could easily face delays
or failure before 2028
Many automotive experts and online communities
remain skeptical about whether this truck
will ever make it to American driveways.
This reminds me of somebody promoting a gold mine:
(a hole in the ground with a liar on top)
This article about EV’s may interest readers here:
“Electric car batteries last much longer
than researchers and people thought.
Why?”
https://www.sciencenorway.no/battery-cars-and-traffic-transport/electric-car-batteries-last-much-longer-than-researchers-and-people-thought-why/2675418
Will it become available?
It’s hands vs. hands.
That is, calloused hands need and want it. Soft hands will do what they can to prevent them from having it.