“1938 REO Speedwagon Fire Truck” by Joe Ross
is licensed under CC BY SA 2.0

If you’re a gearhead, history buff, or fan of design you’ll love visiting The R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in nearby Lansing, MI. The museum’s extensive collection of auto memorabilia and over 60 vehicles that range from 1886 through to 2003!

Ransom Olds founded Olds Motor Works in 1897, in Lansing, Michigan. Olds was a true pioneer in the automotive industry. He created the moving assembly line, used to build the world’s first mass-produced car: the Curved Dash Oldsomobile.

Olds left Oldsmobile in 1905 to start a new automotive manufacturing company in Lansing, the REO Motor Car Company. REO Motor Company produced vehicles from 1905 to 1975, concentrating primarily on trucks after the mid 1930’s. You may recognize the name of one of its vehicles as also belonging to a popular 1970’s and 80’s rock band: REO Speedwagon.

Visiting The Museum

The R.E. Olds Transportation Museum traces more than a century of automotive history with thousands of pieces of memorabilia and a large collection of rare and classic vehicles.

The collection includes classics like the 1886 Oldsmobile Steam Carriage, a 1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash, and a 1953 Oldsmobile NASCAR Race Car. They also have a 1927 REO Wolverine, a 1938 REO Speedwagon Fire Truck, and ‘Darth Vader, a custom 1985 Olds Cutlass Salon factory one-off.

With the rotating nature of the museum’s vehicle collection, you never know what gems you’ll see!