Oldsmobile and R. E. Olds

The Oldsmobile was invented by a man by the name of Ransom E. Olds. He came to Lansing in the early 1880�s and while growing up he worked at his father�s engine shop during the day. But at night it was a whole different story because E. Olds was working on a development of the first horseless carriage. In 1897, olds began his own automobile factory in Lansing but it was not long before he was persuaded to move his company to the Detroit area. In 1901 the factory was destroyed by a devastating fire, when this happened many people in Lansing saw an opportunity to try to bring Olds back. 

Mr. E. Olds believed this was the best idea too and decided to put his new factory south of Main Street in Lansing. His choice paid off and within 3 years (1904) Lansing became the leader in the American automobile industry. Because Olds was such a big company, many other businesses opened to accommodate the factory and its workers.

Ransom Eli Olds was a man of business and he knew what he was doing when it came to cars. In 1904, he decided to leave Oldsmobile Company and within 10 months he opened a second auto company in South Lansing which became known as REO Car and Truck Company. No one truly knows if this was a strategy of his and if he still somehow was a part of Olds but whatever it was it was working.

As stated above Oldsmobile was a brand of automobile and it was produced in the United States from 1897 till 2004 when it went out of business (bought out). In its 107 years of existence it produced over 35 million cars, including 45% of those cars being produced in the Lansing area. As you can see Ransom Eli Olds was a man and had great potential and he helped start a new era in America with starting Oldsmobile and inventing all different cars. It really made America the land of opportunity because more people could now travel and get places.

Now Lets look at R. E OLDS

project..reoldsmuseum.org/- this is not just a website it talks about the museum that is placed in Lansing and it goes into great depth about how Olds got started and how the car changed American culture and history.

 project..scripophily.net/reomotcarcom.html

 project..lansingpolice.com/site/History/REO.htm

Ransom Eli Olds was a great man like Mr. Ford that helped change society as a whole. Ford and Olds truly made a difference around America and it is still building today the automobile.

Page created by Shawn Rosema, a GEO 333 student

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