Antiques
Car Questions - R
My father talked about a car his family had when he was young, named Rio. Can you tell me about this car; I can't seem to find anything about it.
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I'm looking for information on the Rainier auto.The Rainier automobile was made in the U.S. from 1905 - 1911. The company began as the Rainier Company and manufactured in Elyria, Ohio from 1905 - 1907. Rainier was established to build a high-power four-cylinder touring car. It added a larger factory in Saginaw, Michigan but went broke in the 1907 panic. The company was reorganized as the Rainier Motor Car Company and manufacturing was done only in Saginaw from 1907 - 1911.
The first Rainier was a 22/28hp touring car. In 1906 it had progressed to a 30/35hp 4-cylinder engine. By 1908, the range had increased to three body types, from a $4,200 model to a landaulet priced at $5,800, and this 'Pullman of Motor Cars' was guaranteed to be free of repairs for one year. Unfortunately, the Rainier lacked the marquee reputation of other cars in its class, like the Locomobile and Pierce-Arrow, and it failed to find success in the luxury field. In 1911, four body types were built on a chassis with a 10 ft. wheelbase. The engine was a 45/50hp 4-cylinder unit with a 4-speed transmission. In 1912, the Rainier was succeeded by the Marquette.
William C. Durant, the wheeling-dealing founder of General Motors had rapidly expanded his GM empire in 1908-09 with a host of acquisitions, including the Rainier and the Welch (1903 -1911) companies. He bought out competitors and producers of key components for his supply chain to increase his company's self-sufficiency. His reasons for taking over Rainier and Welch are not clear but it was likely done to get into new markets, boost production and increase the company's clout on the stock market.
Durant soon found that neither of these companies were viable. In 1912, Oldsmobile, Rainier and Welch were big money losers. GM President James J. Storrow decided he would only attempt to save the Oldsmobile. Machinery and tooling from the Welch plants were transferred to the Rainier facility in Saginaw. Both Rainier and Welch were then dropped in favor of a new make, the first which originated at GM, the Marquette.
The Marquette was made in 1912 by the Marquette Motor Company and of Saginaw, Michigan. It was built in four body types, using 40 and 45hp engines. These were 4-cylinder T-head units. The larger engine being used only for the seven-seater touring model. The Marquette Motor Company was controlled by General Motors.
The Marquette was then absorbed by a new GM operation, the Peninsular Motor Company of Saginaw, Michigan, which was ultimately taken over by Chevrolet. In 1930 the Marquette resurfaced as a short-lived companion car at Buick.
Sources: The New Encyclopedia of Automobiles, 1885 To The Present,
The Complete History of General Motors, 1908 - 1986
My father talked about a car his family had when he was young, named Rio. Can you tell me about this car; I can't seem to find anything about it. There is no record of a "Rio" car. You are probably referring to the "Reo" motor car.
The Reo was made in the U.S. from 1904 - 1936. In 1904 the Lansing, Michigan company, known as R.E. Olds Co., was renamed to Reo Car Co. and then Reo Motor Car Co.
The Reo name derives from the initials of Ransom E. Olds who left Oldsmobile to form a new company. The first Reos were single-cylinder 8 hp runabouts with under-floor engines, dummy bonnets, planetary transmissions, and chain drive. They sold for $685, reduced to $500 by 1909. A companion 16hp twin at $1,250 had a capacity of 3.4 litres and a carburetor for each cylinder. These represented the company's main effort up to 1909, though a short-lived four had been marketed in 1906. 1911/12 brought the Reo The Fifth, another 4-cylinder car with 3.7 litre ioe engine, which offered central change and left-hand drive for $1,065.
Reo cars were steady cars right up to the Depression of 1929 - 1931, and the company did very well with their subsequent ioe fours and sixes, which were made with V-radiators during the World War I period. In 1918, 4-cylinder cars sold for $1,225. By 1927 there was a switch to side valves and hydraulic 4-wheel brakes, and in 1928 the company offered the Wolverine, a cheaper car with a Continental engine which sold for $1,195. This was the company's best year with 29,000 sold.
The Wolverine was dropped in 1929, and production centered on two versions of the Flying Cloud. In 1936, the Reo dropped production of private cars. Trucks and buses continued to be made from 1957, as a division of White. A 1967 amalgamation with Diamond T led to a new brand name, Diamond-Reo, and in 1971 this was sold by White to become an independent make.
Source: The New Encyclopedia of Automobiles, 1885 To The Present
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