Auto History: 1931 REO Royale Eight a Major Styling Advance
The REO Royale Eight was produced from 1927 until 1931. Interestingly, the REO company was founded by Ramnson Olds, who also founded Oldsmobile, in 1905. The REO company began producing cars in 1905, with 2 cars produced. In 1926, they produced 34,542 automobiles.
The car was often portrayed in advertisements with a cloud in the background. The car was dubbed “The Flying Cloud.” The REO Royale Eight was the first car to use Lockheed’s new hydraulic internal expanding brake system and featured some novel styling by Italian Fabio Segardi. Do you think the cloud advertisement and the Italian styling made the car attractive to consumers?
REO Royale Eight, The Flying Cloud, Summary
The car was a race car that had made its way into the consumer segment and was available to the public. The REO Royale Eight was often portrayed in advertisements with a cloud in the background. The name, “The Flying Cloud,” produced images in the minds of consumers of speed and lightness, and that changed the way automobiles would be named in the future. The car had a 115-inch wheelbase.
The advertising was very effective; in fact, the final REO Royale Eight model of 1936 was dubbed the Flying Cloud. The car was a trendsetting design, introducing design elements that were a precedent for true automotive streamlining. The eight-cylinder model was sold until 1933 with very few updates. Why would the company mess with success?
There was a cheaper, less powerful alternative. That version had a six-cylinder engine. The lower-priced six-cylinder model through 1935. Beverly Rae Kimes, editor of the “Standard Catalog of American Cars,” called the car “the most fabulous Reo of all.” That is the way people of the time thought about the car. The coachwork was designed by their Amos Northup. The Royale also provided buyers with a 125-horsepower straight-eight engine featuring a nine-bearing crankshaft, one-shot lubrication, and thermostatically controlled radiator shutters.
The Royale also featured wheelbases of 131 inches and 135 inches, in two distinct models. The 1932 custom version of the car rode upon a 152-inch wheelbase. Three coachbuilt bodies were built on 148-inch wheelbases in 1931. Beginning in 1933, the Royale also offered REO’s semi-automatic transmission, the Self-Shifter, as an option.
Trucks
After REO stopped producing cars, it produced trucks with some success, though the company ultimately failed and was merged several times. It was all downhill for the company after the commercial success of the car featured in this article. The REO company stopped producing cars and started producing trucks.
The REO company’s greatest commercial success was during World War II. Most of the trucks produced during that war, a major boon to automotive producers, were made by Studebaker. However, REO subcontracted with them and produced several thousand trucks during the war.
Frequently Asked Questions
This article was about the 1931 REO Royale Eight. It was a powerful and trend-setting car. It had a novel eight-cylinder engine that was very powerful and derived from racecars. This was probably the first car where the advertising campaign, which featured a cloud in the background of the car, proved to make the car very popular with consumers. After the war, some of the trucks were exported to the Soviet Union.
Parting Shots
The REO Royale Eight was important to American Automotive history. It was powerful, with an eight-cylinder engine, and there was an eye-catching advertisement. The car was ground-breaking in its power and its design. However, it should be pointed out that this may have been the first time that an advertising campaign sparked consumer interest. There was a natural demand in the United States for automobiles, but the market was quite competitive.
