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A couple of weeks ago, I saw someone in one of the Slacks I’m part of mention Reo, a company planning to ship a Slate-like pickup truck with a gas engine for around $22,000. I didn’t give it much thought because who in their right mind would start a car company, let alone a car company with a model that only has a gas engine, in 2026?
As I said, I didn’t give it much thought.
But then I saw that The Autopian had run an interview with Reo’s CEO, and that other publications also had interviews scheduled. Why are my peers taking this company seriously? Do they have a product? Is there a prototype? Is there anything beyond some silhouette renderings and a promise? (Oh, and a rendering of a crotch-cooler vent?)
The company is even taking $25 (refundable) deposits.
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I perused the website, and they mention that their body-on-frame pickup truck will have a 500,000-mile powertrain. Is that a 500,000 powertrain warranty? No. Do we know what is powering this thing? Also no.
Say what you will about Slate or Scout, but when they took deposits, they showed a prototype. Building a prototype is actually pretty easy, so if you don’t have the funding to even have a rendering of your entire product, I have questions.
Certainly, the biggest complaint about the Slate when it was revealed was that there wasn’t a gas version. How much cheaper could you make the truck if it had a small internal combustion engine under the hood instead of the electric powertrain?
But again, when Trump is no longer in power, all those pesky regulations that went away will come back, and I don’t see investors flocking to a product that has to deal with that. Or deal with only being sold in some areas. If the engine isn’t Euro 7 compliant, it’s not going to go across the pond.
💡Do you have information about Reo? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me on Signal at chadkirchner.1701, or with another secure communication method.
Look, I can see why cheap cars are appealing right now. I said yesterday that I think the timing is right for a product like the Slate, even though I still have reservations about the overall product. But today you can go on Amazon and buy a Hyundai Venue for the same price, built by a manufacturer you know, and even get a $1,500 gift card if you’re a Prime member.
Other publications are free to do what they want, but I’m not going anywhere near Reo until I know way more information and can see at least a full rendering of what the company has in mind. With much larger attempts having failed, or might soon fail, I’m incredibly skeptical about why someone would want to start a car company, and if they understand what it actually takes to be successful at starting a car company.