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REO is a “coming soon” car brand, promising something that commenters are constantly clamoring for: A simple, cheap, gasoline-powered pickup truck. The pitch is exciting: $21,500 list price, no spyware, focused on affordability and easy maintenance. But the company has also teased one luxury feature worth getting excited about—a crotch vent.
Crotch vents, sometimes more crassly called “ball chillers,” used to be fairly common. Many older cars have A/C vents below the steering column, firing cool air at the driver’s lower torso and between their thighs. In sweaty places like the American South, or these days, New York in summer, a crotch-cooling vent can really make car rides considerably more comfortable.
I’m still pretty skeptical about REO’s viability as a business long-term, but they’re saying all the right things to get low-cost truck enthusiasts excited. And this is definitely one of those things.
REO Industries Founder and CEO Zach De Bernardi is a Texas real estate guy trying to fill the market gap that’s basically only being served by used last-gen Ford Rangers. The logline is basically “The affordable American truck—gas, mechanical, body-on-frame. Engineered to run 500,000 miles. Built in Texas, sold direct.”
The Runabout, as it’s going to be called, racked up thousands of early reservations. But from where I’m sitting, REO is still a long way from anything resembling mass marketing. Building a car in compliance with modern safety standards that’s also as cheap and simple as something from the ’90s won’t be easy—but I’m glad at least one company thinks it might not be impossible.
Another enticing proposition, besides a low list price and a crotch-chilling vent, is an open-source nature—REO, so far, positioning itself as extremely right-to-repair friendly, going so far as to be basically open-source and fixable or modifiable by almost anyone.
I wish these guys luck. I’m skeptical of their odds of success. But on paper, REO is presenting what many people I know would consider the perfect truck. We’ll be watching their progress with a lot of interest.
Got any REO insights or opinions? Hit me up at andrew.collins@thedrive.com.
Automotive journalist since 2013, Andrew primarily coordinates features, sponsored content, and multi-departmental initiatives at The Drive.
