REO is back, and the first truck on the board starts at $21,500. That is the starting price REO prints on reotrucks.com for the Runabout — billed as “America’s New Affordable Truck.” Reservations are open for $25, fully refundable. The factory pitch is body-on-frame, mechanical 4WD, a gasoline inline-four, Texas assembly, and a claimed ~600 miles per tank. Production sheet metal is still ahead; the site’s own timeline is labeled “Timeline targets · subject to change.”
The clutch is on the factory card
This is the clutch graf. REO’s homepage lists the transmission as 6-spd MT / AT — a six-speed manual or an automatic. The stick is not a rumor or a brochure footnote; it sits in the same headline row as mechanical 4WD, the gas I4, ~600 mi/tank range, a 500,000-mile powertrain life claim, Texas USA assembly, and a 4,500 lb towing claim. If you want three pedals on America’s cheapest new truck pitch, the factory already wrote it down.
Three variants, one platform
REO says three variants share one body-on-frame chassis, powertrain, and parts bin:
- T4X — 2 seats, 2 doors, steel drop-side flatbed, starting $21,500
- T4C — crew cab truck on the same platform
- S4C — compact family SUV on the same platform
In The Case for a Simple Truck, founder and CEO Zach De Bernardi calls the class Ameri-Kei — small, utility-first machines inspired by Japanese kei trucks, aimed at a real garage and a price that skips the seven-year loan. Direct sales, no dealers. Physical levers and rockers, one small screen for diagnostics and CarPlay, no subscriptions or feature locks. Right to repair in writing: common tools, plain-English diagnostics on a cheap scanner, no parts-pairing, and a public parts catalog the company says it will back for 20 years.
What the site will not invent yet
REO’s FIG.01 “spec sheet” still shows zeros for payload, length, width, height, fuel economy, curb weight, and fuel tank — marked engineering targets · subject to final validation. The head-to-head block does publish a 4,500 lb max towing claim next to Maverick and Slate, and the hero row repeats that number. Autogonzo is not inventing dimensions, MPG, or payload the factory has not filled in.
The gas-first rationale is blunt: the company says ~90% of new cars sold still run on gas, that refueling stays five minutes in every town, and that delayed adoption buys proven parts. Autonomy sensors get a modular roof and wiring path later — only when self-driving is “boring and proven,” per the letter.
Timeline targets — subject to change
REO’s own roadmap, with its disclaimer intact:
- Now — reservations open ($25, refundable; position by reservation time)
- Q4 2026 — models revealed (production design and full lineup)
- 2027 — pilot builds and validation
- 2028 — order book and configurator
- Late 2028 / 2029 — first deliveries in reservation order
Labeled on the site: Timeline targets · subject to change. The Case letter adds that there is no fixed delivery date and no final price locked yet — the $21,500 figure is the published starting target for the T4X.
A name with mileage
REO walks the history in five beats: 1901 Curved Dash Runabout (Ransom E. Olds, America’s first mass-produced car at $650); 1905 REO founded on his initials after Oldsmobile; 1915 Speed Wagon; 1975 close; 2026 return. The new truck borrows the Runabout name. Whether Texas builds it on that schedule is the open question the reservation is meant to answer.
Images courtesy of REO (official teasers from reotrucks.com). Specs and claims from reotrucks.com and reotrucks.com/the-case as of September 12, 2026. Company targets labeled as on the factory site.
Sources / Learn more
- REO Trucks — reotrucks.com — Runabout pricing, specs row, variants, timeline
- The Case for a Simple Truck — Ameri-Kei framing, gas rationale, open parts, reservation terms (Zach De Bernardi)
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