NARRATOR: At the start of the 1900s,
Americans couldn't even envision a future that included trucks.
If you think about the early part of the 1900s,
we were still in the horse and buggy era.
NARRATOR: Between actual horses and iron horses,
our hauling needs were met.
Adding an automotive option seemed an absurd indulgence.
Keep in mind, at that point, the automobile
was a very sophisticated thing, and rich people had them.
NARRATOR: But the auto world would soon give rise
to two familiar names who would become
the first titans of trucks.
And their battles of innovation began early, when one of them
first made vehicles affordable.
His name was Ransom E. Olds.
ROBERT GABRICK: Ransom E. Olds is one of these self made men,
who starts out working in the machine shop
and becomes very successful in the development of engines
and, of course, the motor car.
JEFF GLUCKER: He was a very smart guy, ahead of his time.
I think at one point, he had 11 prototype vehicles made over
the course of like a few years.
There was a gas one, a steam one, and even an electric one.
NARRATOR: But in 1904, Ransom's relations with his investors
soured, forcing him to walk away from the company he founded.
So he left Oldsmobile behind, and formed a new company,
using his initials as the name, REO.
He was the only Detroit manufacturer to have two
car companies named after him.
NARRATOR: Ransom Olds was now in position
to become a godfather of the truck industry,
but he wasn't yet ready to strike.
It was the other soon to be titan who fired the first shot
in the truck wars, Henry Fold.
Ford first began making cars in 1901,
joining a booming industry that saw
the number of autos on the road go from 8,000
in 1900 to 78,000 in 1905.
Ford, sensing an opportunity, tried
to get a jump on the market for a light duty
truck with the Model E.
The Model E delivery car was Ford's first real attempt
at like a commercial vehicle.
It was about $950 in 1905, which was a lot of money.
And they really only sold 10 of them.
So it wasn't exactly a triumph.
NARRATOR: Ford would lick his wounds,
learn from his mistakes, and go on to perfect his passenger car
design with the iconic Model T.
REPORTER: In 1909 came the revolutionary Model T.
1,700 were produced in that first year, a miracle of
mass production for the time.
NARRATOR: Ford stormed to the top of the car world.
But his earlier Model E flop made him gun shy of entering
the truck market again.
So his customers started doing it themselves,
kickstarting a truck modding scene that's
still going strong today.
Ford was convinced that all America needed to get by
was the Model T. He was wrong.
ERIC NOBLE: It was farmers saying,
old Bessie can only go 12 miles today.
I need to go 15 or 20.
What I want to do is take the bed off the back of my farm
wagon, and I'm going to just figure out how to put
that on the back of my Model T.
MATT ANDERSON: Americans are an inventive bunch.
And if we want something, we'll find a way to get it,
whether we have to go to someone to build it for us,
or whether we just have to build it ourselves.
NARRATOR: Yet, despite the obvious demand for trucks,
Henry Ford still wasn't ready to jump in.
Instead, he would be beaten to the punch
once again by a familiar competitor, Ransom Olds, whose
breakthrough design was arguably the most influential
civilian truck of all time.
In 1915, the REO Motor Company released the iconic REO
Speedwagon, scoring the first major victory in the battle
for truck supremacy.
And while most autos were stuck at the piddling industry
standard of 15 miles per hour, the Speedwagon was
20% faster, earning its name.
It was also one of the first trucks
to sport an electric starter and pneumatic tires.
Combine those game changing upgrades with its quickness,
and the Speedwagon blew the doors open on what
a civilian truck could be.
STACEY DAVID: Crank starting a car,
you know how you get on a car now, and you hit the starter
and you let it wind, think of that with your arm.
If it kicks back and you're not ready for it,
it can break your arm.
It is not something that you just do on a whim.
JASON TORCHINSKY: Utility vehicles
and hauling vehicles before then had hard rubber tires.
So pneumatic tires made the ride softer and better.
And if you had cargo that was fragile,
it was that much less shock that you'd have on it.
NARRATOR: The Speedwagon came out of the gate
with approximately 13,000 units in annual sales,
an impressive mark considering its hefty price
of around $1,000.
It would also evolve into numerous models,
from fire duty to farm duty, over an impressive 38 year
run proving that trucks were here to stay.
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