REO Trucks I4 4WD Pickup Truck Starts at $21,500

7/18/2026 at 7:04:25 PM

Would be nice to see actual pics instead of silly silhouettes. I am in the market for exactly this kind of truck (especially a manual) but this doesn’t inspire me to want to buy it.

by temporallobe

7/18/2026 at 8:26:16 PM

The company was started no earlier than December, according to the articles linked in another comment. Very real possibility that no pics or semi-finalized CAD design even exist yet at this point.

by AlotOfReading

7/19/2026 at 7:25:30 AM

So its basically an underdeveloped kickstarter project.

by blitzar

7/19/2026 at 8:50:42 AM

Yes.

Or my preferred expression: "Bullshit."

by ssl-3

7/19/2026 at 2:16:31 PM

Turabian might disagree with your use of quotation marks.

by jschveibinz

7/18/2026 at 9:16:44 PM

It's basically an idea without enough funding to exist.

I don't think 25$ reservation slots are going to pay for a full assembly line.

by 999900000999

7/19/2026 at 9:02:58 AM

$25 is too low. $25 feels like "no one will go after the guy if the money just disappears".

by b112

7/19/2026 at 12:57:01 PM

Slate was $50.

by rationalist

7/19/2026 at 7:35:54 PM

Slate also had 3 years of skunkworks behind the scenes by Re:Build Manufacturing as "Project Re:Car" with millions being thrown behind it by Bezos and friends.

https://rebuildmanufacturing.com/work/slate/

The fact these guys are still trying to find manufacturing partners and suppliers is killing me when Slate's got Tier-1s (Vitro) already lined up cranking out windshields in Mexico for them (among the rest of the f*cking owl that is the truck coming together here in the US ;) )

by kotaKat

7/18/2026 at 9:23:06 PM

the hat claims that it was started in 1905?

by 8note

7/18/2026 at 9:40:42 PM

The original reo went bankrupt in 1967 and after series of mergers ended up as part of the truck company diamond reo. Diamond reo then had difficulties and stopped production in 1995. This reo is wholly unrelated, except the guy who started it bought the trademark.

by AlotOfReading

7/19/2026 at 6:10:07 PM

Worked for Packard Bell .. for a while https://dfarq.homeip.net/happened-packard-bell/

"In 1986, Packard Bell was the name of a defunct manufacturer of TVs and radios. Founded in 1926 or 1933 depending on how you count it, it survived until 1968 when it sold out to Teledyne.

In the 1980s the brand still had some name recognition on its own. But look at the other names it resembled: Pacific Bell, the telephone company. Hewlett Packard, the computer company. Packard, the defunct maker of luxury cars.

It sounded like an old-line company making quality products, which was what Beny Alagem counted on. He even put the slogan “America grew up listening to us. It still does,” on its early marketing literature.

People always confused them for something they weren’t, and for a time, it helped. “I don’t know about other brands,” one customer said to me when I was selling computers in 1994, pointing at Compaq and Dell. “But Packard Bell, that’s an old company.” Even my coworkers routinely thought Packard Bell was related to HP or to Packard, the car maker."

by rasz

7/18/2026 at 9:44:24 PM

TIL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/REO_Speed_Wagon

by palmotea

7/19/2026 at 8:53:30 AM

I still own a Diamond Rio Volt SP250 MP3-playing portable CD player. How does that fit into this non-timeline? (I bought it in 2001 if that matters.)

by ssl-3

7/18/2026 at 9:29:53 PM

The founding date for the original REO. I don't think they have an unbroken line back to the original

by coredog64

7/18/2026 at 10:29:08 PM

These new guys don't. The descendant of the original REO is Nucor Steel. REO owned a steel roofing company, and through a strange chain of events, that unit became the biggest steel company in the US.[1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucor

by Animats

7/18/2026 at 7:11:47 PM

also no real mention of body construction or bed dimensions. nice to see a 2 door though I guess

by convolvatron

7/19/2026 at 12:56:07 PM

Their website says body on frame.

by rationalist

7/18/2026 at 8:46:18 PM

Why are people designing such thoughtless websites?

by bellowsgulch

7/18/2026 at 9:29:36 PM

On the other hand, perhaps it is just that the company here has presented in its totality all existing information about the vehicle in question.

by margalabargala

7/18/2026 at 10:36:20 PM

That's the scary thought. Maybe the site is all they've got.

Slate at least is far enough along that someone got to drive the prototype.[1]

(Amusingly, Google pairs that video with an ad, "Freedom is Loud", for a Stellantis truck product.)

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0t7wpkFc6U

by Animats

7/19/2026 at 4:04:33 PM

I'm not up on the Maverick, but the comparison chart for the Slate EV feels pretty misleading:

- the Slate's range is now 205 miles across the board, not 150/240

- both the REO and Slate start as 2-door 2-seaters with pricier models adding capacity, but the chart boasts the REO seats "up to 6" while the Slate seats "2 (5 costs extra)"

- for repair costs, the REO just says "mechanical - affordable" (?) while labeling the Slate as "battery pack - $$$$". But an electric powertrain is far simpler and requires virtually no maintenance for 100,000+ miles, while an ICE engine requires regular oil changes, brake pads, timing belts, transmission work, etc.

- completely skips the cost of fuel over electric charging; between that and maintenance, the TCO of the REO is significantly higher

by Jordan-117

7/19/2026 at 5:07:37 PM

If you buy the common reliable gas engines, and stick to timing chains, you really don't have to do much. Our 4runner has 260k miles and hasn't ever had anything done but engine oil, trans oil, and differential oil. Trans and diff oil will still be done on electric cars.

I have a 300k Ford F250 gas that also hasnt had anything done basically.

And while for trucks the electric vs gas is huge, my Chevy Volt costs per mile about the same to operate on gas vs electric, because electricity is $0.46 a kwh in my California region.

by throwawaytea

7/19/2026 at 7:35:02 PM

> And while for trucks the electric vs gas is huge, my Chevy Volt costs per mile about the same to operate on gas vs electric, because electricity is $0.46 a kwh in my California region

For you.

Here in Canada gas is 4.90 USD /gal. (Diesel is 5.45)

Electricity is 0.093 USD / kWh. And it’s all from hydro.

Literally every tradesman in town has an F150 lightning because for fuel alone it’s about 1/4 the cost of any gas or diesel pickup. No oil changes just increase the savings.

I’m in a very snowy mountain town and EVs are booming. It will go insane when BYD etc are here any day.

by testing22321

7/19/2026 at 9:06:14 PM

>Literally every tradesman in town has an F150 lightning because for fuel alone it’s about 1/4 the cost of any gas or diesel pickup.

I thought ford killed the lightning because it didn't sell?

by smalltorch

7/19/2026 at 10:17:38 PM

They killed it because they didn’t know how to build it without losing money on every sale.

It sold like hot cakes.

Their new smaller EV pickup is designed and built by a bunch of ex-Tesla folks to try and build it inexpensively so they can turn a profit. It’s the model Y of 5 years ago.

by testing22321

7/19/2026 at 7:34:50 PM

Anecdotal evidence notwhithstanding, EVs have much lower long-term maintenance costs. See eg,

https://www.energy.gov/cmei/vehicles/articles/fotw-1190-june...

https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/electric-...

On electricity costs, California is an outlier---most people in the US pay less than half that $0.46/kwh, more like $0.15-0.20/kwh.

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.ph...

So for most people in the US, an EV will cost half what an ICE vehicle costs to operate.

by vannevar

7/19/2026 at 10:46:21 PM

> feels pretty misleading:

this is called "marketing". :)

Having owned both gas and electric cars, I think the reality is probably not what either side thinks.

You have to take electric cars into the shop too. But range problems aren't as much of a problem for adults if you plug in every night and don't forget. If you're the type that forgets to charge your phone, it might be. and if there's no charging in your domicile it might be an issue.

But gas cars are also bad for the people who forget to charge their phone. Or change their oil. or any type of routine maintenance that could turn a trouble-free gas car into an extra trouble gas car.

I think electric cars (and their batteries) last lots longer than people expected. And gas cars are trouble-free up until a certain age when things not only need to be maintained, but replaced and then you need a good relationship with a mechanic.

by m463

7/20/2026 at 12:28:38 AM

I think the range conversation has more to do with what you use your vehicle for than what your memory is. I.e. the oddball situations, not the regular trip to the grocery store starting and ending in the garage you plug in at.

by zamadatix

7/21/2026 at 4:24:53 PM

The issue is that it takes an entirely contrived oddball situation in order for range to be a problem.

Plug in your car when you get home, and you never have to think about range, even for “oddball” situations.

by labcomputer

7/20/2026 at 3:37:04 PM

Almost no ICE vehicle requires “timing belts, transmission work, etc” outside of failures (which happen on EVs also) in the first 100k. That’s why manufacturer’s 10yr/100k power train warranties aren’t uncommon. Electric vehicles also go through tires faster due to their heavier weight, and ICE vehicles don’t require installation of a home charger, which on a 10k mile oil change schedule would more than offset oil changes by cost.

All of the things that are likely to break (electronics and sensors, usually) are the same for electric, and failures can happen with either vehicle.

Electric has “less” maintenance and no gas, but let’s not reverse-uno marketing FUD with more FUD.

by therealpygon

7/19/2026 at 8:50:02 PM

> I'm not up on the Maverick, but the comparison chart for the Slate EV feels pretty misleading

Well as a Maverick person, I'll say the following as far as 'hmm' about the chart.

For starters, You get it either in a Turbo 2.0 or Hybrid 2.5. The Hybrid 2.5 is an old but very proven design, no direct injection [0]. Also the Hybrid transmission is far simpler than most modern automatics/DCTs.

The Max spec towing Capacity is indeed 4K (with the tow package, which also requires AWD,) however it is uncertain whether an extra 500 pounds would make or break things; Keep in mind that Ford also wants to keep selling 'bigger' trucks like the Ranger [1].

But as far as listing the Hybrid battery as a 'Big Ticket Item' I can't help but chuckle. It's a paltry 1.1Kwh. As far as everyone can tell, as a car part of course it's way more expensive than just buying a home backup battery with that capacity, but at current prices replacement with labor is estimated around 3K and that's still way cheaper than a Transmission or an engine.

-----

All of that said, I think this is definitely trying to hit a certain market, and if it actually launches, and the Engine/Transmission choices are reasonable, that this would be a disruptor, but not necessarily for the consumer market.

This seems to be more targeting the fairly neglected 'low-end' of the commercial truck segment. Specifically the 2 door with "Drop-side flatbed"; IOW the sides drop down.

It's a body on frame; the challenge with the Maverick as a 'Fleet vehicle' is that they are Unibody and total out very easily. Versus with BOF trucks, I once worked at a place where the auto body shop we used was owned by my company's owners... made it cheap to keep things running I guess.

A lot of fleets unfortunately would not find 205 miles a safe enough range for their usages; That's almost certainly why they are doing this 25 gallon tank to get to 600 miles of range.

> transmission work

Eh, If I did get one I'd get the MT. Which I think is the closest to where this is targeting a 'niche consumer'. The "I want a cheap MT truck, I don't want a silly Rotary dial to pick a gear[2]". They are advertising it's 'repairability'; which again seems to be language targeting farmers sick of being locked out, but also the kinds of people who really don't mind doing that stuff.

But again, They are claiming a long powertrain lifetime.

---

Really at the end of it, What they are proposing sounds a lot like a Hilux Champ, Again I'm super curious to see what engine/transmission they plan on sourcing for this.

That's assuming this is a real thing, after all; the last decade has seen lots of cars that end up as vaporware or don't get past this phase.

[0] - Some DI setups result in carbon buildup long term.

[1] - Despite not offering US the Ranger Hybrid that is in EU.

[2] - To be clear I love my Maverick and intend to drive it into the ground. But I also bought in when the first year, the value per dollar is somewhat worse on new models.

by to11mtm

7/18/2026 at 7:17:27 PM

> Physical Controls Levers, rockers, and real analog gauges. One small screen for diagnostics and CarPlay — nothing more. No subscriptions. No feature locks. Ever.

> Right to Repair Every panel off in under five minutes with common tools. Plain-English diagnostics on a $30 scanner. A 20-year public parts catalog at fair prices. No parts-pairing — in writing.

I'm very excited about this and pray it is successful.

by agensaequivocum

7/19/2026 at 3:17:47 PM

This flimsy website and company is banking on your excitement and prayers.

by shermantanktop

7/19/2026 at 5:21:14 PM

If the product arrives at the quoted price, I could give a shit if their website was done in ActiveX controls for IE6.

by linksnapzz

7/19/2026 at 8:17:13 PM

Delivering on that is what I’m doubting, and the website isn’t helping. They have to revive some tech that is now outmoded, and that’s not a small problem. But hey, if they pull it off, great.

The economics of the industry are built around the preferences of consumers. The lower end doesn’t look like this, which isn’t encouraging, but maybe there’s room for it.

by shermantanktop

7/18/2026 at 6:41:40 PM

It's weird to see a new vehicle announced like this that's not an EV. I wonder what it's like launching a gas truck when new battery-powered trucks are looming in the distance (or already here).

by thatcherc

7/18/2026 at 7:24:46 PM

I say this as someone who will be buying an EV as his next vehicle:

EV proponents have a strong propensity to gloss over the very real drawbacks of battery-only vehicles:

- Towing anything outside of charging infrastructure/away from the highway rest stops is not feasible because of the range reduction, which in USA/Canada is a major reason to buy an SUV/pickup. Why buy an electric vehicle that can't tow your boat to the lake where there's no charger?

- Mileage goes down in the summer and way down in the winter, because the battery packs need to be cooled/warmed.

- Mileage evaporates slowly, even when the vehicle is "off", making these vehicles fundamentally unsuitable for, again, going pretty much anywhere you can't plug it in. When I was a teen we used to take week-long canoe trips into Algonquin Park. Imagine trying to get the kids home from camping on Sunday afternoon, you're an hour's drive away from the nearest city but oops the battery pack is dead because it's been self-discharging and cooling itself the whole time you've been camping. No thanks.

- Venturing far away from the charging infrastructure (camping, rural road tripping, jobsites/camp) is risky. If you run out of gas in the middle of nowhere, you can get a ride into town, fill up a jerrycan with gas, and then extricate your vehicle. If your battery-only EV runs out of charge in the middle of nowhere, you are completely fucked.

EVs are great, and when my 2013 TDI finally quits I will likely purchase an EV, but they're just fundamentally unsuitable for some use cases.

by stackghost

7/19/2026 at 9:07:47 AM

> Venturing far away from the charging infrastructure (camping, rural road tripping, jobsites/camp) is risky. If you run out of gas in the middle of nowhere, you can get a ride into town, fill up a jerrycan with gas, and then extricate your vehicle.

A 5KW generator costs less than 2% of the price of the average new vehicle and is a useful thing to have in a place that doesn't otherwise have any electricity regardless.

Meanwhile you then don't have to buy gas the 99% of the time you're not camping.

by AnthonyMouse

7/19/2026 at 9:24:19 AM

Would be best to have a modular generator for an EV, that would allow slower but practical charging while on the go or at rest. This would be basically a series hybrid with modular generator, not popular due to lower efficiency AFAIU. Just explicitly design for lower performance when battery critically low and is charging on the go.

by ansgri

7/19/2026 at 11:35:22 AM

These are called EREVs in China and are fairly popular. Ford has a patent for one in trucks but never built it. It makes a ton of sense. Use the generator to get extended range, but avoid all the moving parts of a driveline.

by prescriptivist

7/19/2026 at 9:29:24 PM

Stellantis almost built one, I think the Ramcharger?

A couple other companies tried EREVs but AFAIR one was suboptimal (Mazda had one but the motor was so small it was dangerous to use for uphill) and the other was in an expensive German thing.

Where it is challenging is that, AFAIK, a direct driveline (i.e. Honda's system) or close to (THS used by Toyota/Ford/Subaru/others), it is easier to hit a higher Gas-only MPG rating than with an EREV due to the conversion losses on each end.

And, If you compare a BYD Seal 5 DM-i to the Current Prius Prime, AFAIK if you compare euro WLTP numbers the Prime gets better MPG when it switches to gas, and has a competitive electric only range. The Seal 5 DM-I is a little bigger but close enough. The BYD certainly wins on 'price' however it is unclear how much of that is due to a truly simpler design versus labor/material input cost.

by to11mtm

7/18/2026 at 8:10:37 PM

You said it yourself, they're fundamentally suitable for most use cases. Yes, for the near future, there will be many use cases where gas is superior.

by binkHN

7/18/2026 at 10:11:04 PM

Sure. But I think the "near future" to which you're referring is going to be a longer tail than many EV maximalists expect.

I would be shocked if IC-engined vehicles were no longer being produced in 2050.

by stackghost

7/19/2026 at 8:42:55 AM

There will be a tipping point where production and wide distribution of petrol and diesel becomes unsustainably expensive; it really relies on massive volume to work at all.

by rsynnott

7/19/2026 at 3:49:44 PM

There are use cases for public transport. There are usecases for trucks and SUVs. EVs currently seem to be limited to a "city car" role, which is a category that's hard to understand.

by akho

7/18/2026 at 6:49:00 PM

There are many great EV cars. But when you have a trailer or caravan we still talk about a heavily reduced range (and often they aren't allowed to pull at all, or weight limits get a problem, at least in Europe)

by herbst

7/18/2026 at 6:58:52 PM

The interesting thing in the US is that a lot of pickups, possibly most of them, are purchased for regular daily driving. None of the people I know with pickups have trailers.

by analog31

7/18/2026 at 7:00:42 PM

I love seeing Ram 6000 Max Diesel Rampage Pros who’s sole job is going to work and Walmart.

by csto12

7/18/2026 at 7:06:37 PM

And when they pick up groceries they load everything onto the floor of the back seat because the bed is so high up you’d need a step ladder to use it

by wlesieutre

7/18/2026 at 7:31:00 PM

I think the more important reasons are to prevent the groceries from sliding around in the bed and to protect them from the sun and precipitation.

by Eueudhsbsj32

7/18/2026 at 10:59:43 PM

Dang, if only someone made an everyday car with a soft weather proof enclosed cargo area, possibly you could have the tailgate open up and away as well so it's not in the way. I would think Americans would love to have something more practical than a work vehicle

by bakies

7/19/2026 at 7:59:06 PM

Sure, I could buy a dedicated more efficient car for the rare days when there is zero risk of rain and I don't need to haul anything larger.

After more than 1cm of rain, the last 500m of the steep dirt road up to my off-grid house in the mountains is completely impassable without 4wd. And I, or my family-in-law, regularly haul large trees, construction equipment, several 100kg of fertilizer, etc. in the truck bed.

Buying a single vehicle, a pre-owned 4wd Ford Ranger made the most economic sense.

by Eueudhsbsj32

7/19/2026 at 8:54:30 PM

Not doubting there's a place for them. I'm in suburbia and all my friends have or want them for grocery getting. It's stupid.

by bakies

7/19/2026 at 9:39:30 PM

Suburban Americans are temporarily embarrassed farmers and outdoorsmen.

by analog31

7/19/2026 at 9:36:58 AM

Sounds communist

by antonvs

7/19/2026 at 2:03:04 AM

Still see this in the ones with tonneau covers as if they intended to put cargo in the bed

But who knows maybe it’s already full of stuff under there

by wlesieutre

7/19/2026 at 2:11:05 PM

> But who knows maybe it’s already full of stuff under there

This is why I'm excited for REO.

I live in a pretty dense city and don't have much storage space in my residence. On the weekends I'm clearing and developing a lot a couple of hours away. My vehicle doubles as storage for all the stuff I need for that and don't want to leave unattended (saws, tools, winch, etc).

I used a Forester for the first two years, which was cramped but doable. The bigger issue was messes. Oil has a way of getting everywhere. I also had one gas spill from a faulty saw gas cap which was both dangerous and a huge PITA to clean up. I also got to a phase where the difference between awd and 4x4 matters, and where I was yanking milled planks around which didn't feel safe doing with the forester.

I switched to a truck after a couple of years and went small. The box is completely full between tools, saws, gas, winch, ropes, etc. When I do groceries I can usually fit some of the "hard" bags back there (cans, bottles) but the rest has to go up front.

A REO would be great for my use-case. The price is low enough that for the price of a new Tacoma or F-150 I could (get close enough to) buying both a REO and a used beater 3/4 ton at the property, which is a better fit for the things I need a big truck for anyways. And I wouldn't be driving a dumb big truck around a very cramped city.

For now I'm stuck with a big truck in the city because owning more than one personal vehicle in this town is insanity.

by fultonn

7/19/2026 at 11:16:35 PM

Get a work van. It's a big capped pickup bed basically. But a reasonable size

by bakies

7/20/2026 at 2:11:15 AM

I did consider.

Maybe in the past, but the size thing isn't really true of the modern line-up. Relative to eg a base Tacoma or especially a Maverick, The Ford Transit has about the same wheel base, is slightly heavier, has worse visibility (for me at least), has a larger displacement engine, and is on a pragmatic level more difficult to maneuver and park. They also have far fewer creature comforts, which wouldn't be a huge deal if they didn't MSRP at $10K MORE than a base midsized truck!

Vans also don't have 4x4, have much lower ground clearance, no good mechanism for transporting longer stuff, and you can't hose them out nearly as easily as a truck bed. The main thing that those vans are built for is just lots of weight in the van. Great fits for some use-cases, but not mine.

And, again, they're just seriously expensive for what they are because of all the commercial applications.

I did also consider an old minivan or a used van from previous generations when they made the smaller transits. Again, 4x4/awd isn't really super optional in these parts, so pickins were slim.

by fultonn

7/20/2026 at 2:32:45 AM

Roof rack for long stuff. Maverick seems too small to even be useful for that.

by bakies

7/20/2026 at 8:21:37 PM

> Roof rack for long stuff.

Unfortunately I'm 5'7 and even the low roof transit is 6.8. So it's paying >$10K more for a pretty non-ergonomic solution.

> seems too small to even be useful for that.

One advantage of a bed when transporting 2x's is that you get the hypotenuse. So the bed goes further than you'd think in terms of load length. The 60/73 beds of the tacoma are certainly better than the mavericks, and those trucks are still smaller/same size as the transit.

But my actual observation is that, in cities, transits just really are strictly more annoying and dangerous to drive than a mid-sized truck. Maybe it's just me, but maintaining situational awareness on an unprotected bike lane to my right in a transit is way way way more difficult than the same in a mid-sized truck.

The shorty transit connects from the 2010s aren't what the modern line-up looks like. Modern transits are heavy long wheel-base vans with surprisingly large displacement engines and unfortunate blind spots.

I do get the animosity about trucks on city streets (...I bike to work and pass 4 ghost bikes every morning and evening and have had my share of close calls...).

But as a bicyclist, I'd rather ride next to a tacoma or ranger than a current gen transit. And it's not even close.

If you bicycle and prefer vans over trucks on your streets, I encourage you to test drive any 2026 transit. It'll change how you ride around vans, even if you're already a careful cyclist.

by fultonn

7/22/2026 at 4:51:15 PM

yep, wagons and roof racks are the ideal. It's too bad this is america and everyone hates them and buys these dumb trucks instead

by bakies

7/19/2026 at 8:01:06 AM

I once met a homeless guy who kept a mattress back there.

by t-3

7/19/2026 at 8:57:23 AM

The Ram 6000 Max Diesel Rampage Pro: Because homelessness can be anyone's future

by ssl-3

7/19/2026 at 12:42:18 PM

A friend with a RAM 1500 truck (a brute of a machine) bought a Harley in a neighboring state, I kept him company during the 8h ordeal. He rented a trailer because the bike was too heavy to hoist on the bed. Hillarious.

It's just a style thing, folks, however silly. Why do Texans wear cowboy hats and boots?

by stasomatic

7/19/2026 at 1:48:49 PM

> hoist

FWIW, transporting (even large) bikes in the bed of a truck is doable and normal. The typical way to do this isn't with a hoist. You just ride or walk it up a ramp and tie it down.

ofc a Forester or RAV4 with a trailer is a far superior solution, especially for interstate driving where the trailer is less of an annoyance.

by fultonn

7/20/2026 at 8:50:00 PM

I’ve seen that on highways. This thing was a fire breathing monster though. King or California something or other. My buddy looked like a teenage jockey on it, but he is a life long rider. I’m sure it could be coerced, but was tough even with the low height U-Haul trailer.

by stasomatic

7/20/2026 at 1:04:13 AM

What’s the “all hat no cattle” for pickups?

All truck no load?

by wlesieutre

7/18/2026 at 9:02:59 PM

Another reason is to avoid letting the inside of the bed get scratched. I lived in Texas for a while, and people were that fussy about their trucks.

by analog31

7/19/2026 at 11:43:40 AM

As a european I would have thought having scratches in the bed and dirt on the bodywork would be a mark of pride.

by prmoustache

7/19/2026 at 12:48:44 PM

Nope, sign of (relative) poverty. Big trucks are expensive, and having one that has obviously never seen so much as a 2x4 is very effective class signaling. The people who actually need trucks to work with buy the cheapest option that gets the job done and wring every last dollar back out of it.

by t-3

7/19/2026 at 5:59:15 PM

First thing I did with my truck is get a spray-in bed liner.

by rationalist

7/18/2026 at 7:40:54 PM

So true! My Ram 1500 was purchased to pull our travel trailer. It has the tow package and is factory raised up some. I'm kind of old, so I keep a three-step ladder in the bed so I can easily climb into it.

Because of the poor gas mileage, I always wonder at why people drive these gas guzzlers as their main transport. But each to his own. (BTW, some claim safety, but it's probably fashion.)

by bloomingeek

7/18/2026 at 8:29:10 PM

The safety aspect is intersting. The driver might be safer, but they are vastly more likely to kill anything they hit.

https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2025/being-hit-suv-i...

by lostlogin

7/19/2026 at 8:00:35 AM

Which a selfish person is definitely okay with, might even like it.

by pepperoni_pizza

7/19/2026 at 3:27:50 PM

To be fair it would slide all over in the bed.

by MisterTea

7/19/2026 at 3:26:42 PM

But they have a clean, covered bed and sparking clean trailer hitch that's never seen a trailer tongue - just in case.

by MisterTea

7/19/2026 at 9:36:02 AM

Speeding through school zones in a maximum impact people killer sure is fun too though

by hsbauauvhabzb

7/18/2026 at 7:32:37 PM

Isn’t the Ram Rampage a more compact non US market 4cyl variant? Like a maverick competitor?

by phoghed

7/18/2026 at 9:46:22 PM

Yes, the RAM Rampage is comparable to a Ford Maverick which is a unibody vehicle with a truck bed.

The massive truck they likely meant would be a RAM 3500 HD super crew cab full size bed Cummins diesel dually rear axle with a vertical dual stainless steel smokestack exhaust kit for good measure. Which is essentially the largest truck you can get with a pickup bed from RAM, GM, or Ford; and they go for over $100,000 with options.

There are even larger monstrosities with pickup beds built on top of 550/5500/Class 5 truck chassis which are basically a Canyonero from He Simpsons in real life: https://www.elevationoffgrid.com/

My favorite derogatory term for a vehicle type is ‘hausfrauenpanzer’ which means ‘housewife tank’ in German, which is used for a large SUV in Germany, lol.

by quickthrowman

7/18/2026 at 9:43:38 PM

I just made up a name. I know Rebel is a model that’s hilariously large. Don’t know about others.

by csto12

7/19/2026 at 3:09:19 PM

Drug store cowboys, aka "big hat; no cattle"

by apitman

7/18/2026 at 7:58:22 PM

It's honestly not that many. That's a very expensive truck for a daily driver. Most likely they have a large Airstream camper, horse trailer, or 5th wheel trailer or similar that they pull with it.

Sure, some people just like a big diesel truck for ego reasons. But the cost of them limits most people's ability to endulge that.

by SoftTalker

7/18/2026 at 9:05:31 PM

I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, and when I went back to visit the family home a few years ago, every street was parked up on both sides with giant vehicles. It was a sight to behold.

They weren't all the most expensive trucks, and many were noticeably older. Things in our town went up and down with the cycle of the car industry.

by analog31

7/18/2026 at 8:51:39 PM

That’s what one would expect, but in some parts of the US it’s not uncommon to see dilapidated houses with a shiny tricked out F-150 that’s never worked a day in its life sitting out in the parking lot…

I think for some it’s an identity thing more than anything else.

by cosmic_cheese

7/19/2026 at 9:41:18 AM

> But the cost of them limits most people's ability to endulge that.

Sounds like you’ve never been to the US. Thanks to cheap credit, every hillbilly and redneck has one of these. Which feels like about 60% of the population sometimes.

by antonvs

7/19/2026 at 6:12:15 PM

I have lived in the US my entire life. And yes pickup trucks are part of the "country" or "rural" identity to some extent but most people who live in rural areas actually use their trucks as trucks frequently. They pull trailers, or use them to haul furniture, appliances, building materials, trash... all the stuff that has delivery services in the city but you have to do for yourself if you live in the country.

by SoftTalker

7/20/2026 at 2:07:07 AM

Earlier, you wrote:

> It's honestly not that many.

I can't identify with this. You see these trucks everywhere. There are far more of them than there's any reason for - other than the whole weird only-in-America "light truck" regulations that relax emissions requirements for these trucks. Basically, a big reason we see so many of them is that the US simply refuses to take global warming seriously, instead basically saying "we're going to stick it to the planet as hard as we can, damn the consequences."

And when I said hillbillies and rednecks, I'm not talking about the actual people using their trucks for what they're supposed to be used for. I'm talking about the pavement princesses which wouldn't actually haul anything in their trucks because it would scratch the beds. They have the hillbilly redneck mindset without doing the work that justifies it. The truck is an emotional support vehicle for them, or a gender affirming vehicle. And there's no world in which you can honestly say "there aren't that many" of those in the US.

by antonvs

7/18/2026 at 7:31:07 PM

The suburban people buying Ram 9001 Warlord Editions are not the target market for this truck.

by stackghost

7/18/2026 at 8:29:23 PM

4 trips a year picking up a heavy excavator or tractor so you dont have to pay a tradesman a gazillion dollars and it pays for itself. "But just pay someone to haul it or rent a truck" lmao good fucking luck down my dirt roads

by mothballed

7/18/2026 at 8:22:43 PM

“Compensation” and extreme loneliness (cannot find my tribe without spreading its dumb peacock wings so they know I fit in)

by kylehotchkiss

7/19/2026 at 2:32:51 PM

American trucks are built for towing -- it's one of the reasons they are so big and heavy and expensive -- so I get where the "trucks are for towing" wisdom comes from.

But it's still funny to me. Because in my mind one of the main perks of an open bed is that you can do so much before having to deal with a trailer (which are super annoying, especially in cities, especially without off-street parking).

Which I guess is just to say: maybe there's a market for a truck that can't tow much, because maybe there's a portion of the market that wants an open bed but doesn't need to tow a massive camper or whatever.

by fultonn

7/18/2026 at 7:08:32 PM

That some people buy them and don't really need them has zero relevance on whether any people have need for them.

by thegrim33

7/18/2026 at 9:08:17 PM

How people use the vehicles that they buy is pretty well understood from the market research done by the car industry. In the US, the widespread use of pickup trucks a passenger vehicles is a known fact.

An odd thing is that my family visited a rural part of England last year, and we saw very few pickup trucks on the roads and in the towns. On a walking tour, you see a lot of farms up close because the paths go through farms and along fence lines. The farms had utility vehicles including light trucks, but they also had regular passenger cars.

by analog31

7/19/2026 at 11:29:26 AM

There was a phase where these ghastly large pickups with four doors were common. Never had a drop of mud on them, but they were available tax free as a “work vehicle”, so no income tax on it.

They are ridiculous in the lanes round here, and invariably are in the disabled parking spaces at the shop as they are too large to fit in normal spaces

by hdgvhicv

7/19/2026 at 11:41:57 AM

There isn’t much need in the UK. Farmers use tractors or vehicles like the classic 4x4 Land Rover, Subarus, etc. None of the roads or the infrastructure are designed for American size pickups, especially not the countryside. If people need to move something big, they hire a van.

People are also extremely sensitive to fuel costs and an enormous car that guzzles gas and can’t be parked on a tiny village road is a downside. Bear in mind gas in Europe is like $8/gal and salaries are much lower.

The statement car of choice for people who don’t need the functionality is the modern luxury Land/Range rover (ie the Chelsea tractor).

by throwaway219450

7/18/2026 at 8:04:42 PM

And a lot of people have occasional need for a truck but don't want to or can't afford to own more than one car, so they use the truck for all their driving.

by SoftTalker

7/18/2026 at 8:43:58 PM

some guy left a few hundred pounds of steel in the loading area of my workshop for stupid reasons. maybe about $80 worth in scrap. he kept coming by and claiming someone was going to pick up it up, and getting really threatening about us stealing the value from him. the scrap yard is 200 ft away. he drives a big jacked up truck. after a couple weeks of this I'm like 'look, I'll cut it down, and we can throw it in that truck of yours and you can roll 200ft down the road and we'll be done with it'. he was incensed, his bed liner would get all scratched up.

after that I dragged it out onto the curb for the meth addicts to sell.

by convolvatron

7/20/2026 at 3:43:17 PM

Lol pavement princess level of nonsense

by westmeal

7/19/2026 at 5:45:56 PM

Exactly. People are optimizing for the most capability on one car payment. And for a lot of them that looks like a pickup but it also drives what people buy in the SUV market as well. This has bee known for decades. Like it's literally defining principal behind the 4-dr jeep and the proliferation of 3rd rows in midsize SUVs. The fact that you're still getting downvoted for saying it speaks volumes.

by cucumber3732842

7/19/2026 at 8:59:23 PM

>the proliferation of 3rd rows in midsize SUVs.

Ehh, 3 row minivans are typically more practical. Alas, market forces are a fickle beast.

by to11mtm

7/19/2026 at 2:09:35 PM

What do you mean daily driving? Like commutes? That wouldn't make any sense.

by copperx

7/19/2026 at 9:43:03 PM

Yes exactly this. The parking lot of a typical American urban workplace will be filled with a disproportionate number of pickup trucks.

Our culture ties our cars to our identities.

by analog31

7/18/2026 at 7:03:53 PM

I find it somewhat amusing that this attracts a lot of ire, but most of us would prefer a 2,000+ sq ft suburban home with a lawn when we could live comfortably in a 500-700 sq ft apartment, like people do in most European cities.

Ultimately, life in highly developed countries is largely about the wants, not the needs, and different cultures emphasize different wants. The tech culture of the SF Bay Area doesn't glamorize big trucks, but it glamorizes making millions of dollars with no regard for privacy or social impacts of the tech we build.

by skippyfish

7/19/2026 at 6:02:13 PM

You're not allowed to speak the truth against group think.

For many people, their emotions are more important than being rational.

by rationalist

7/18/2026 at 11:49:50 PM

Gas vehicles suffer from that range reduction, too, as my brother-in-law learned the hard way last weekend during a road trip we took to Idaho and back (wherein he was towing a camper-trailer).

by yellowapple

7/18/2026 at 6:59:12 PM

My pickup truck burned 9 miles per gallon when I towed a 35 foot RV. Consider the energy flux and you'll quickly see how hopeless it would be to tow with a battery powered truck.

by greenavocado

7/18/2026 at 8:29:51 PM

Not everyone who owns a pickup tows with it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a minority of owners who do. Some just need them for hauling plywood, others because they like the aesthetics.

by otterley

7/19/2026 at 9:07:08 AM

A Honda minivan can fit 4x8 sheets of plywood in the dry, under-roof, with the doors closed. Other times, it can seat 8.

by ssl-3

7/19/2026 at 3:50:24 PM

Unfortunately, to Americans, that really doesn't matter. Even if they're not as fit for purpose, they prefer pickup trucks to minivans. It's a cultural thing.

(I realize you're probably being responsive to the word "need" - it's more what they claim they need than actually need. They could use a Japanese kei truck.)

by otterley

7/19/2026 at 6:57:33 PM

>They could use a Japanese kei truck.

I was hearing elsenet from someone who was planning to buy a Japanese kei truck until he borrowed one. Apparently with more than about 300 lb in the bed they feel dangerous to drive- combination of instability and poor braking performance.

by Ichthypresbyter

7/19/2026 at 8:36:56 PM

At what speed, I wonder? In Japan I don’t think I ever saw one fully laden that was going faster than 40km/h (25mph).

by otterley

7/19/2026 at 9:17:15 PM

He was saying 35-40 mph on small rural roads.

by Ichthypresbyter

7/19/2026 at 10:09:15 PM

Am American. Need work vehicle that can move some stuff that might be fairly big. Minivan is solution. It does the job very well.

If I needed to move more stuff, then the best answer still isn't a pickup truck. It is instead a full-size van (Transit/Express/Sprinter/ProMaster).

Kei trucks seem cool, but they're still trucks. Whatever's in the back is open to the elements, looky-loos, and thieves. Those concerns are greatly diminished with vans.

(A pickup truck with a cap on it that never comes off is a lot like a minivan is, but with more steps.)

by ssl-3

7/20/2026 at 2:12:35 PM

Depends on what you're hauling also. I'm not interested in doing my regular trash or recycling runs with a minivan, for example, but most of what I do haul would be fine with a minivan.

by rascul

7/20/2026 at 8:17:16 PM

I do that, too.

The recycling is in inexpensive stacking totes that have lids; the same kind of totes I sometimes pack in tight for cross-country jaunts. They stay stacked and they don't leak.

Food waste gets composted outside ("it's old, get rid of it"), or goes down the garbage disposal ("i'm just trying to prep dinner here, not save the world"), or frozen in a grocery bag for later trash runs (meat and grease that doesn't want to go down the drain or be composted).

The bagged trash that accumulates here is essentially just non-recyclable plastics that are dry, and an occasional small bag of frozen food waste. This stuff does not leak between home and the dumpster at the shop.

And, I mean: Why not? It's just a car, and before being in the car these things were inside of my house (which is a far more valuable and permanent thing to me).

by ssl-3

7/19/2026 at 5:51:52 PM

The venn diagram overlap between people who say "but minivans" and who hand wring hard enough to start a fire when someone has the gall to actually put 2000lb of stuff in a minivan or put a butt in every seat is too close to a circle for my liking.

Source: Minivan owner

by cucumber3732842

7/19/2026 at 9:27:28 PM

Also minivan owner. In terms of weight, it's pretty similar to a RAM 1500 in its ability to handle the gravity of its contents. I regularly move about a thousand pounds of stuff across the country without any issues.

I wouldn't expect it to work with 8 full-sized American adults over that kind of distance: The adults would kill eachother, removing load as it happens. But it seems fine for quick trips in town.

Being enclosed, as it is, does suck for moving things like sofas, but: On the rare occasion that I have needed to move a sofa, truck owners have always lined up to demonstrate the superiority of their road-going machines.

(And that's all fine. I didn't want to move the sofa by myself, anyway.)

by ssl-3

7/18/2026 at 8:54:35 PM

The Ford F-150 Lightning should be selling well, but it isn't

by greenavocado

7/18/2026 at 6:54:52 PM

I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t an ev. Very aggressive price point for a new IC vehicle.

by nonethewiser

7/18/2026 at 9:32:30 PM

I agree though I kinda wish it was a hybrid. Maybe down the line that will happen. The price point is a valid point and it ticks all our boxes - 4WD, manual transmission, not huge. I've priced out components for one of my trucks and $21500 is not gonna buy all of the running gear. I expect that none of this truck's drivetrain will use custom parts and that all of the critical drivetrain parts will come from existing supply lines for simplicity and ease of hitting their "repair in your driveway" messaging.

The guy is probably gauging interest through reservations and prepping his lie sheet (marketing data) to present to existing supply chain providers to try to earn discounts on volume orders.

I hope it all works. We will likely reserve one or maybe two. Our existing small truck, a 4WD Ford Ranger with manual transmission, is long in the tooth and I'm tired of dicking around with it.

by doodlebugging

7/18/2026 at 9:38:51 PM

Kind of like the Local Motors Rally Fighter, which was a kit car that kept costs down by using parts from existing cars instead of designing their own from scratch.

by fragmede

7/18/2026 at 9:53:13 PM

A bit like that. I don't see a new vehicle manufacturer spending the time or capital to develop drivetrain components when there are already trusted manufacturers with decades of experience and products on the shelf that already function perfectly together.

I expect this guy will be looking at reliability data for various components, popular aftermarket upgrades, etc and designing a drivetrain that already uses popular components known by the automotive community to be reliable. Otherwise he will have a hard time hitting the 500k mile target I think I saw on the site.

He needs a dependable I4 engine mated to a dependable 6-spd manual transmission, mated to a dependable transfer case that sends power to the wheels through dependable differentials. I bet one could pull data from off-roader forums and configure something in a couple of days for their marketers to build interest.

by doodlebugging

7/18/2026 at 10:37:49 PM

A hybrid drive train would have increased the price though, which seems to be a major selling point if this.

by fooqux

7/19/2026 at 12:08:54 AM

I agree on both points. They are testing the waters and trying to get a foot in the door. Starting with a gasser only configuration gets them into production with enough interest from people who would like a smaller truck at a lower price point.

I don't think any reasonable person expects the price of the 2-door truck to be $21500 when it finally is produced. That price is guaranteed to rise between now and the delivery of the first vehicle in 2028, it it ever happens. For potential customers it is a signal that they are committed to delivering a quality vehicle at a low price point. If you read the privacy policy, the reservation agreement, and payment terms it is all laid out in plain english.

Once they get vehicles on the road and a dedicated owner base they can determine whether there is interest in a hybrid drivetrain model. I understand why they aren't offering it right out of the gate. I do expect that they would be willing to consider it in the future should they ever make the leap from marketing vaporware to manufacturing.

by doodlebugging

7/18/2026 at 7:14:16 PM

There is a market for it. Cheap. Good range on a tank. 4WD. I've got a 2016 Tacoma TRD Offroad. It's only got about 115k miles (bought it new). I'm not planning on replacing it - toyota hybrid numbers for their trucks suck and an in kind replacement would cost me almost 2x what I originally paid (yes new tech, blahblah). $35k in 2015, $70+k now. Gas isn't going away and rural areas (I've lived in a few) often don't have charging options.

by jmspring

7/18/2026 at 10:01:20 PM

I was at the Toyota dealership today. A TRD off-road with TRD Off-Road Upgrade Package and other goodies has a MSRP of $61k and the tag hanging from the rear view mirror said the no haggle price was $54,608. Still a lot of money and it is a huge truck for the passenger and cargo payload.

https://www.smarttoyota.com/new-Madison-2026-Toyota-Tacoma-T...

by mgerdts

7/19/2026 at 5:38:20 AM

My numbers were based on when I was looking, not current Trump f’d up weird economy.

by jmspring

7/19/2026 at 4:40:17 PM

> I wonder what it's like launching a gas truck when new battery-powered trucks are looming in the distance (or already here).

Yeah it’s interesting to see how they do. The big and award winning electric truck from Ford is already discontinued. If we’re talking about US pickups how many other ones are battery powered? If anything, I would be more worried about Slate given what happened to Ford Lightning.

by rdtsc

7/20/2026 at 7:39:39 AM

There are a ton of people that want an affordable ICE powered truck, for a variety of valid and invalid reasons. The market is there, but they're going to need to be smart about how they do this if they want to capture that market.

by Suppafly

7/18/2026 at 7:25:27 PM

Slate already has that covered.

by zymhan

7/18/2026 at 6:44:51 PM

My first reaction after seeing a website with vibecoded aesthetics was to wonder if this is even real, but apparently, it is - at least to the extent of getting some press coverage:

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/usa/startup-wants-build-sma...

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a71667299/reo-industries-r...

by skippyfish

7/18/2026 at 6:50:15 PM

That cookies notice is awful

by greggsy

7/18/2026 at 8:34:33 PM

What's the best cookies notice?

by xbar

7/18/2026 at 8:44:17 PM

Well best would be websites not using cookies so there is no need for a notice.

by two_handfuls

7/18/2026 at 9:16:32 PM

Yes but what's the next best?

by tclancy

7/18/2026 at 11:57:17 PM

Don't bother with cookies at all unless they serve the interests of the user. And in that rare case, only do a cookie banner if required by law, and here's how to do it: just pretend it's "fine print." Make it functionally invisible, but good enough to get away with it. Nobody will complain about your cookie banner not being annoying enough.

by Panino

7/19/2026 at 8:44:53 AM

The EU cookie directive, at least, does _not_ require notification if the cookies are functionally necessary.

by rsynnott

7/18/2026 at 7:30:41 PM

Am I the only one around here who’s sick and tired of the bitching and moaning on every post about how something was vibe coded or written by AI? Without fail, someone complains and it shoots up to the top of the comments. It’s gotten ridiculous and it’s off topic.

The easiest thing for you to do is just not engage with the post if you don’t like it. You people don’t need to pollute the comment section for anyone else who’s actually interested.

Just about everything is vibe coded or written with AI these days. Assume that’s the default. Comments pointing it out or complaining about it is just noise.

by jm4

7/18/2026 at 10:22:05 PM

I'm confused by your response. I was trying to understand if the product and the company are real. An AI-generated website is not a positive signal. Neither is the lack of any product photos. And if you go to Wikipedia, you'll learn that the REO Motor Car Company went defunct in 1967, with no mention of any revival.

So my first thought was that it might be a subtle troll or a hoax. I did a bit more research and found the links to trade articles. It's not a dig at AI. And TBH, I'm sure that LLM's feelings weren't hurt.

by skippyfish

7/18/2026 at 7:45:27 PM

It seems like everyone is more worried about how something was made rather than what it is or whether or not the work is good on its own merit. Ironic from a group that is surely using AI tools in their own work.

by tlack

7/18/2026 at 7:49:30 PM

How it is made is often a strong indicator of whether or not the work is good.

You don't find many literary masterpieces scrawled in permanent market on a toilet wall.

by IshKebab

7/18/2026 at 8:26:55 PM

"...on the subway wall." - Paul Simon

by jschveibinz

7/18/2026 at 8:26:48 PM

But you do find plenty of dubious traits in the authors (both the toilet scrawlers and the literary gods).

by lostlogin

7/18/2026 at 8:34:43 PM

They are not in the website business though.

by rjsw

7/19/2026 at 11:35:03 AM

All businesses with websites are in the website business.

by IshKebab

7/19/2026 at 8:46:37 AM

I too find "looks written by AI" comments tedious. I feel that the following guideline [0] actually covers this, perhaps it should be updated to also specifically mention "AI written":

> Please don't complain about tangential annoyances—e.g. article or website formats, name collisions, or back-button breakage. They're too common to be interesting.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html#comments

by jonathanlydall

7/19/2026 at 3:54:52 PM

> Just about everything is vibe coded or written with AI these days.

And I’m supposed to just accept this? The fact that this is the case sucks. Don’t tell me to stop complaining about it. Just because you don’t have standards or have given up on trying to make things better doesn’t mean the rest of us have.

Plus, it takes up a slot on the front page that could be taken up by something worth reading.

by nearlyepic

7/18/2026 at 8:37:32 PM

Vibecoding your whole website is an indication of how seriously you’re taking a project. With how new this company is and how clearly this whole website was made with AI, how can you trust a single thing this website says about a product that barely exists? The AI probably just invented half of it

by superb_dev

7/18/2026 at 8:48:41 PM

Worse than vibe coding is vibe copywriting—and it appears to have that in spades. I have a really hard time taking something seriously that reads like it came straight out of Claude Code without even a minimal editing pass.

I hope it's legit, though, and that they succeed! I'd love to buy a product like they're planning to build.

by bruckie

7/18/2026 at 9:17:04 PM

Damn you, company who isn't making websites for a living, where are your priorities!?

by tclancy

7/19/2026 at 10:16:04 AM

Well when you don't even have a product to sell yet the website is the second most important part, right after actually making the thing. The website is there to sell preorders

by superb_dev

7/18/2026 at 7:42:26 PM

You could have simply just not engaged…? It’s no different. You’re doing a similar pollution!

The lack of self-awareness is baffling.

by martinky24

7/18/2026 at 7:47:53 PM

There is something to be said about this particular style of argument, as it's akin to the "paradox of tolerance".

Ultimately I think the most fair thing is to let both sides attempt to build support until a clear victor emerges.

by Rychard

7/18/2026 at 7:15:06 PM

Do I want to own one of these? No. I want my mechanic to be bored when I show up and need service…I guess that makes me a market laggard.

But I do love the pressure this (and Slate) puts on Toyota to restore some sanity to truck prices. There is a market of people who want reliable transportation without spending $40k++.

by iambateman

7/19/2026 at 12:08:51 PM

They won't have any pressure if it fails and this is unlikely to be successful to be honest.

by prmoustache

7/18/2026 at 8:50:56 PM

I don't want a mechanic. I want something basic enough I can fix it.

REO marketing clearly reflects this. We'll have to wait and see if the actual product hits the mark.

by topspin

7/19/2026 at 10:37:35 AM

They portray 5h charging at home as a downside. Something to scorn at. But, how long does it take to fill up a diesel truck at home? I haven’t gone to a gas station since getting an EV a few years ago. It trickle charges while I sleep. This is easily the biggest convenience.

by wronex

7/20/2026 at 2:07:36 PM

Depending on laws in the area, one could have a tank and pump at home, refilled regularly with potentially lower bulk pricing. It's a thing but pretty rare outside of farms in my experience.

by rascul

7/19/2026 at 12:24:36 PM

I am pretty sure that if you need an inexpensive car with a decent charging bed, you are better of buying a regular passenger car and tow a small trailer when you need it.

My dad bought one years ago and tow it with his corolla minivan whenever he needs it. Chance is that if you only need the bed a couple of times a year or are space constrained you are better of renting it.

I never understood those US mountainbikers who awkwardly wrestle their bike on a truck bed when they could more comfortably mount them on an hitch rack of a regular car or inside a van. VW Multivan must be the most popular van amoung mountainbikers here in europe.

by prmoustache

7/19/2026 at 12:40:13 PM

> I am pretty sure that if you need an inexpensive car with a decent charging bed, you are better of buying a regular passenger car and tow a small trailer when you need it.

Or a minivan. Or an actual van.

Truck's sole advantage is open bed. That is needed even rarer than "enough space for some plywood at the back"

by PunchyHamster

7/19/2026 at 1:14:39 PM

You can easily fit 8 full sheets of plywood (4ftx8ft) in a 2020 Honda Odyssey, with the seats still in the car. And you don't have to worry about them getting wet on the drive back home.

by mjh2539

7/19/2026 at 12:54:06 PM

True, not everyone goes camping or does their own hauling, repairing, etc.

by rationalist

7/19/2026 at 12:43:51 PM

I maintain that a Renault Kangoo is the best car format ever.

by nicbou

7/19/2026 at 1:37:15 PM

Yes. We still see an insane amount of Citroen C15 here in south of Spain.

by prmoustache

7/19/2026 at 6:52:20 PM

Spanish Citroen C15 memes are my type of humour

by nicbou

7/20/2026 at 4:17:30 AM

What kind of automotive company thinks customers will take them seriously if we can’t see a picture of the whole vehicle and interior on the website?

by schainks

7/18/2026 at 8:10:25 PM

I await real details, currently this is just a promise with nothing to back it up. Would love competition in this space for light trucks, pressuring companies to build better vehicles that last, but this is atleast 3 years away

by roshannarma

7/22/2026 at 3:44:45 AM

Hey everyone, my name is Zach De Bernardi. I'm the Founder and CEO of the new REO.

I found this forum post because our team keeps an hourly tracker via UTM tags on new reservations. I noticed that 30 have recently come from news.ycombinator.com (this site) and so I was pleasantly surprised to see the comments here.

My reason for posting is to see if anyone had questions for me directly. I'd be happy to answer them here directly in the forum.

by zachdebo

7/18/2026 at 7:00:22 PM

What have the Dodo, a Fisker and that in common?

Well, you all know the answer.

by GuestFAUniverse

7/18/2026 at 6:44:34 PM

I’ll save my money for the 2030 Speedwagon.

by aaronbrethorst

7/18/2026 at 7:15:47 PM

No dealer sales is such an enormous perk. We need this everywhere but of course there's too much incumbent vested interest to keep the status quo.

by declan_roberts

7/18/2026 at 11:53:09 PM

Much like how I'd be reserving a Slate right now if 4WD was an option, I'd be reserving an REO right now if electric was an option. Kinda frustrating how this new slate (pun half-intended) of non-behemoth pickup trucks manages to be devoid of an option that's all of affordable, reasonably-sized, 4WD, and electric.

by yellowapple

7/18/2026 at 7:16:18 PM

At some point, the leadership team had a conversation that went something like this:

CEO: “We’ve spent tens of millions of dollars designing, developing, and tooling up to bring a new truck to market at a competitive price. We’ve worked out the entire manufacturing supply chain and have contracts in place with numerous vendors. We’ve placed orders for the thousands of parts, and hired highly skilled labor, and have extensively planned to have the man, machines, and materials all in the same place at the same time to actually pull this off. We have the working capital loans in place to let us run these operations. All that remains is the marketing outreach.”

CMO: “Okay, got it boss. Let’s start with one of the most highly visible parts of the marketing plan that literally every customer will interact with because of our sales model. Our contract marketing agency says they can develop a fantastic site for $200k - they have a great portfolio that shows they can make exactly what we need.”

CFO: “Fuck that, I just asked Claude to vibe code a marketing landing page. Looks great. Ship it.”

by abtinf

7/19/2026 at 1:11:50 PM

Except this company is brand new and 100% skipped the ceo and cmo steps.

by soared

7/19/2026 at 10:25:53 AM

Slate is an EV that's so much better than a world-polluting ICE.

ICE vehicles will hopefully be banned for sale everywhere by 2030 because they're more expensive and toxic to run than EVs.

by burnt-resistor

7/19/2026 at 12:09:21 PM

They won't.

by prmoustache

7/19/2026 at 2:46:03 PM

You do realize EV’s pollute as well? Batteries are nasty.

by waynecochran

7/18/2026 at 8:51:13 PM

the site almost sells you on a ford maverick

"Wow, the same style engine, a reputable dealership network, a hybrid system with battery, and a turbo charger for only another 7 grand?"

by serf

7/19/2026 at 9:32:31 PM

Even as a Maverick owner, I do actually think there's a market for these.

Not me, but if it was real I could see it filling a lot of fleet type orders.

by to11mtm

7/18/2026 at 7:11:57 PM

The website is black on black, not easy for me to see at all.

by raver1975

7/18/2026 at 8:34:15 PM

The truck photos are too.

by lostlogin

7/19/2026 at 7:53:37 PM

- 5-min refuel

These brave souls, touting the advantages of gasoline. The website is almost satirical in places.

by seff

7/19/2026 at 8:20:19 PM

satirical aka AI Slop

by ahahs

7/18/2026 at 7:23:13 PM

At this point the killer feature would be: privacy, control of your own vehicle, and repair ability.

Does it offer this? Wish someone would make that product.

by bilsbie

7/18/2026 at 7:26:02 PM

That's what they claim. Right to repair and direct parts sales.

by pudgywalsh

7/18/2026 at 8:42:36 PM

Pretty sure Slate offer exactly this.

by BatFastard

7/18/2026 at 7:13:39 PM

Makes sense to me... the Toyota mini trucks of the 80s/90s were super useful and Tacomas are basically full-sized and not as efficient.

by jeffrogers

7/18/2026 at 11:42:52 PM

I love the concept here. The site and preannounce feels a little gimmicky. It’s definitely of the time but kind of hard to commit to without more detail. Like $25 isn’t a lot of money to reserve a real truck but seems like a lot for a maybe we’ll bring a real product to market.

by rubyfan

7/19/2026 at 5:38:09 PM

i'd love a series hybrid version of this. to match performance of that I4 you can probably fit both electric motor and gas generator in a normal sized engine bay.

like a compact pickup version of what Edison Motors is doing to the fullsize pickup. i'd take an Edison conversion of an early 90s F250 over any new truck on the market.

https://edisonmotors.ca/trucks/pickup-conversion/

by otekengineering

7/20/2026 at 12:00:21 AM

Interesting if it's not vaporware. As others have said, it's too soon to feel certain about this yet. It looks really exciting though.

by everdrive

7/18/2026 at 7:35:49 PM

It'd be great if they could come up with a photo of the truck. But an alternative to the oversized absurdities we have on the roads these days can't come soon enough.

by btbuildem

7/18/2026 at 7:37:36 PM

[dead]

by 3327

7/20/2026 at 2:09:04 AM

Hoping for a slantback variant!

(all the erm dashes and AI copy make me wonder how far along things really are though)

by 4d4m

7/18/2026 at 8:18:28 PM

can they pull this off - maybe - IDK the team - but this is possible.

cause of concern?

- i4 gas engine instead of using 4 electric motors - then using smaller engine to act as generator. plenty of Chinese have done this - quickest way to start a car company. otherwise they're gonna find out real soon - why other auto manufacturers went out of business or why reliability is a cause of concern even for big manufacturers. engines and powertrains can be complex.

electric motors are simpler.

by dzonga

7/19/2026 at 10:23:41 AM

Claude did a nice job of the website.

by drcongo

7/19/2026 at 10:53:47 AM

No pictures, no interior, no features. I'd wait until they demonstrate the truck exists.

by LoganDark

7/19/2026 at 7:16:47 PM

Am I missing something here ? There are no images available of an actual truck ?

by DivingForGold

7/18/2026 at 7:07:57 PM

Do that not have any pictures of it?

by par

7/18/2026 at 9:41:01 PM

Today it only exists in the imagination of the company CEO and a few trusted others, none of whom have figured out how to hire someone with automobile CAD experience to produce a mock-up that might increase interest for their proposed product.

by doodlebugging

7/19/2026 at 11:39:10 AM

People are so worked up online in places like Reddit and YouTube comments about how there aren't small trucks anymore. It feels almost like a strange mania. So it makes sense that someone like this would come along and capitalize on that (and probably never produce anything). People will throw $25 at a company without intention to actually purchase the truck, just because they feel some weird memetic vibe to support a small truck movement or whatever.

by prescriptivist

7/19/2026 at 6:34:43 PM

There is a lot of truth here. Especially the part about capitalizing on the interest without ever producing a vehicle. This is something that I have considered when looking at Slate, Rivian, and other interesting vehicle concepts. Those two did end up with production vehicles. Others were a lot more vaporware.

It feels great and sad at the same time that automakers have lost touch with their customers and no longer produce vehicles that the average consumer would buy and use.

Ford, with the Bronco, took years to commit to resurrecting the nameplate. In the process, they gathered so much critical information from Bronco drivers and other 4WD enthusiasts that they were able to condense their configurations to match the options that buyers were requesting and to offer factory installs of and warranties for components that buyers usually had to buy from aftermarket sources. They did everything right and even though there are hiccups with the vehicles, some due to pandemic parts shortages, others due to similar quality issues, they have a bonafide hit. It is hard to go anywhere around me in NTexas without seeing multiple Broncos and Bronco Sports.

If this guy at REO is smart and committed to the process he will scour forums for configuration information for his vehicles so that he can select components that buyers prefer. He can work on styling once he hires someone with CAD experience.

by doodlebugging

7/19/2026 at 1:52:09 PM

Who makes the engine and powertrain? I didn't see it on the site.

by mistyvales

7/19/2026 at 4:23:10 PM

Sad that in 2026 were getting excited about gas powered vehicles.

by breakyerself

7/18/2026 at 7:14:07 PM

The comparison table is laughable.

"Best value": Over how many miles? A hybrid often has a lower TCO.

"Gas I4, proven": Maybe it's a skill issue, but I can't figure out which I4 they're using or if they DIY. Meanwhile, the "unproven" Ford hybrid system is pushing trucks to 200k miles on a regular basis. (of course, your mileage may vary but it seems like they did a great job with this)

There's other issues as well.

by parl_match

7/18/2026 at 8:17:24 PM

I love how they list refueling only taking 5 minutes from anywhere, but they leave out that you can't refuel at home. The EV side should be updated to say refueling time is zero because every time I leave my home I'm already completely fueled up.

by binkHN

7/19/2026 at 6:38:27 AM

A truck with less towing capacity than my Honda Pilot?

by throwawaypath

7/18/2026 at 9:17:31 PM

I need to know if Ransom Olds is involved or not.

by tclancy

7/18/2026 at 7:08:13 PM

>Why Gas?

Because we hate you, and need to make some money off it

by cyanydeez

7/18/2026 at 6:43:06 PM

Is there anything special in making a $21k gas truck in 2026? I’m guessing you could get a second hand gas truck for this price?

by nico_h

7/18/2026 at 6:55:08 PM

Similar competition (Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger, etc.) would start at around $35k these days.

by scrapcode

7/18/2026 at 7:08:51 PM

They show a 28k Ford in the comparison.

by cenamus

7/18/2026 at 9:53:29 PM

Ah, I didn't realize (nor that it was possible) they made a shittier version of the Ranger.

by scrapcode

7/18/2026 at 6:56:13 PM

I think you should try and make the case that its not special. Considering a $21k new gas truck doesn’t exist currently.

by nonethewiser

7/18/2026 at 8:30:31 PM

> How it stacks up.

Pretty much says it all. I'll take two.

Not to mention, a real body-on-frame SUV. Can you even get one of those new for < 35k?

by jollyllama

7/18/2026 at 6:54:34 PM

Ford Maverick starts at $28k, and they're running about $3k in incentives at the moment. So it's a competitive price but nothing too wild versus what we have already.

by tailscaler2026

7/18/2026 at 7:59:38 PM

The Maverick is a different class of vehicle: it has a unibody with no mechanical 4x4.

by davidsainez

7/19/2026 at 12:13:44 PM

The amount of people who need and take advantage of 4x4 in a truck is probably around 5% of the user.

People mistake 4x4 for safety but really the most important part is the tires. A 2wd car with winter tires will be much safer and have more traction in the snow/ice than a 4x4 with all-seasons tires.

by prmoustache

7/18/2026 at 6:45:44 PM

Depends on the truck. Pickups in the US can get very expensive very quickly, they’re basically luxury vehicles and they retain their value better for some reason I haven’t really looked in to. Budget trucks are not as plentiful, $21,500 is a pretty competitive price.

by Forgeties79

7/18/2026 at 8:23:36 PM

They retain their value because they _are_ useful for real work and are mostly built for longer lives. Even if new purchases are for luxury reasons used purchases have prices pushed up for working people.

by bnjms

7/18/2026 at 6:51:22 PM

The main reason is scale and support, here in ukraine we bought all 21k pickups in europe, it is very hard to sustain tham at same time, so if you have any enterprise you'd want a park of SAME vehicle, so for single buy - yes, it will your beloved hilux for rest of your long life. but if you want 100 pickups, 1000? and parts are scarse now. and than you can even customize them. but even in retail you will have extra support and guarantee for new pickup. Steering rack is just unabtainium here, so there will be every other part for 20 year SUV/Pickup soon.

by maroziza

7/18/2026 at 8:38:23 PM

> here in ukraine we bought all 21k pickups in europe

I wasn’t aware of this - this article mentions 100k purchases in the first 2 years of the war.

https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-war-rely-pickup-truc...

by lostlogin

7/18/2026 at 6:48:24 PM

There are golf carts/lsv's that cost 15k-20k these days and a fiat 500 is 25k iirc, for perspective

by lostnfound8778

7/18/2026 at 7:01:48 PM

My current daily is dual-fuel (petrol and LPG) and cost £250, but I got quite a good deal on it.

I tow quite heavy things with it, taking 3500kg trailers a long way off road.

by ErroneousBosh

7/18/2026 at 6:53:27 PM

This is an appealing price point for the US market for what it is. I suspect outside of the US you'd need to be a little cheaper still, I hear there are various kinds of trucks under $10k in India for example, though I really have no idea about their size or specs.

by Glyptodon

7/18/2026 at 6:44:58 PM

Sure, a Tacoma with 100k miles on it already...

by cpursley

7/18/2026 at 6:50:33 PM

Except it’s supposed to launch in 2029 at the earliest?

by markn951

7/19/2026 at 8:51:03 AM

i think im getting good at recognizing claude code designed landers

by fabijanbajo

7/18/2026 at 7:11:54 PM

Looks like a Lada

by smokeyfish

7/18/2026 at 7:45:17 PM

The website is all hype with very little substance, as well as the taint of AI slop. If they aren't willing to share details, I'm not interested.

As a benchmark, I would use Slate, who have so far done an excellent job providing information and updates on their truck.

by whyenot

7/18/2026 at 7:12:23 PM

Yes, let me throw money at this vibe-coded vaporware.

by paxys

7/18/2026 at 7:27:55 PM

I’ll reserve one when I can test drive it first.

by nkrisc

7/19/2026 at 3:06:47 PM

REO missed one important point: monster trucks are about vice signaling and political identity. Most people that own monster trucks know they don’t need them for truck-like things, they need them to identify with their chosen group. There are also a lot of people who own them who think they will need them (like monster SUVs) and overbuy because literally bigger is better in their minds. REO is right in that there is no bottom market and I’m sure folks want a normal pickup, but I don’t think the market for small pickups is big enough when identity and politics (and existing policy) drive decision making at scale.

by bartlebone

7/19/2026 at 12:59:57 PM

I heard this from a friend who

by pipeline_peak

7/18/2026 at 7:28:00 PM

Um, if you're going to market a vehicle, you really, really, really, need to have pictures or at least detailed renderings.

Atm, this is a DoA product.

by calmbonsai

7/18/2026 at 7:37:26 PM

Incredibly disappointed to see it will be using a gasoline combustion engine.

by aejm

7/18/2026 at 6:47:10 PM

fiction

by pengaru

7/18/2026 at 7:57:25 PM

[flagged]

by pudgywalsh

7/18/2026 at 9:37:52 PM

Very true. This truck, if it ever exists in the promised form, ticks almost everyone's boxes. The one thing I would change would be the CarPlay offering. All I want in a vehicle is a DIN or double-DIN slot. I'll fill it with whatever I end up wanting. I don't need a radio or other entertainment device when I'm driving since that is the only time I really get to practice singing all the songs I thought I had learned over the years. I'm comfortable driving for hours singing to myself, inventing lyrics as I go or warbling my way through tunes I've mostly forgotten.

by doodlebugging

7/18/2026 at 8:00:40 PM

And an ICE. Snooze.

by behole

7/18/2026 at 8:01:57 PM

EV pickups are a novelty.

Good luck replacing 800 proprietary battery cells yourself or attempting any kind of repair on contemporary iPads-with-wheels without mandatory specialized equipment and documentation.

by pudgywalsh

7/18/2026 at 8:14:46 PM

I hate CarPlay; yet another dumbed down interface that's inextricably linked to a phone.

by binkHN

7/18/2026 at 9:45:39 PM

I agree. The last thing I want in a dumbed down vehicle is a function that is tied to a smart phone. I know that many people use CarPlay but I think the best way to deal with music, etc in a new vehicle would be for the manufacturer to include suitable slots, like DIN slots, where the buyer can add their own preferred system any time in the future when it becomes useful to them. Just keep a list of popular options on hand that are available in pre-order so that those who want it can have it on day one instead of making everyone have it.

by doodlebugging

7/18/2026 at 7:42:23 PM

It's another kickstarter/"pre-order"/vaporware car. Like Slate. "If all runs smoothly, first customer deliveries will take place in late 2028 or 2029." Expect price creep and delivery date slippage.

In the end, it's basically a Toyota Hilux.

by Animats

7/18/2026 at 8:08:44 PM

> In the end, it's basically a Toyota Hilux.

A Toyota Hilux, sold in america would be nice. The small truck market is slim pickings... other than the slate (which is still vaporous), nothing small with a regular cab has been built in a while. Old trucks won't last forever.

by toast0

7/18/2026 at 8:54:44 PM

> In the end, it's basically a Toyota Hilux.

that's quite the optimistic end! There's absolutely zero chance this ends with a pickup powered by the venerable Toyota 22R-E I4 or an equivalent.

"I4, proven" proven to be genai slop and nothing more.

by pengaru

7/18/2026 at 7:46:03 PM

My question is: why select a name that for most people, if they recognize the name at all, is a band from the 70s-80s? How many people other than old farts like me even know how to properly pronounce the name? (Because they'll think it's pronounced like the band name.)

It's one thing to ride on nostalgia, but how much nostalgia is there for a company whos heyday was 100 years ago, and went out of business (well, merged) 60 years ago? The only nostalgia this old guy has is remembering my grandfather talking about the Speedwagon he had back in the day.

by mikestew

7/18/2026 at 8:06:20 PM

I don't see the big deal. If it was 100 years ago, then the name, perhaps, is effectively new.

by binkHN