In this week’s Ask Nathan:
- Is the REO cheap pickup truck the real deal?
- Do we need to have the BYD Dolphin imported here?
The first question comes from a fan who wants to see if the startup company REO is serious about providing an inexpensive pickup truck to rival SLATE and Ford.
Q (Via Facebook): RE: Is the startup REO Trucks for real?
Hi Nathan.
A friend of mine told me about REO trucks and insisted that they were going to build these really cheap pick up trucks in the United States. I kept thinking that he was getting confused with SLATE trucks, but he swore up and down that REO was the real deal. Finally decided to go to the website, and it looked like a pretty good website, but there was a lot of teasing going on. I don’t see a real truck, or even a completed image on the website. It’s hard for me to get behind something that may or may not be real. Do you guys over at TFL have any information on this?
– Humberto 79
A: Right: Are REO trucks for real?
That is a very good question, and it’s not the first time someone has asked me about REO. I’ve seen the website, and our friends over at The Autopian have interviewed founder Zach De Bernardi, who has given some pretty good answers. But good answers do not automatically equal a legitimate automobile company.
I’m not trying to be harsh on REO. I actually like the idea. But after more than a few decades around the automotive industry, I’ve seen this movie before. Sometimes it ends with a new vehicle in somebody’s driveway. Often times it ends with a really nice website, a prototype, a bunch of investment money and absolutely nothing rolling down the road.
Alpha Motors is a good example of why I’m cautious. They have shown running a vehicle, the Alpha Wolf pickup, but a drivable prototype is still a very long way from having a production vehicle you can actually buy, there’s no assembly or production line, there is no real product after years of investment.
So, what exactly is REO proposing?
The company is developing a small, body-on-frame pickup called the Runabout, with three versions planned: the two-seat T4X, the four-door T4C and the S4C SUV. REO says the vehicles will use a naturally aspirated gasoline four-cylinder, mechanical four-wheel drive and either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. The target starting price for the T4X is $21,500.
Yep.
Twenty-one thousand five hundred dollars. That’s where my brain starts making that old Windows 95 dial-up noise.
REO is also targeting roughly 600 miles per tank, 4,500 pounds of towing capacity and a powertrain designed to last 500,000 miles. The company wants real switches, levers, rocker controls and analog gauges, with one small screen for diagnostics and Apple CarPlay. It also says the truck will be designed for owner serviceability, with a public parts catalog and no software locking of replacement parts.
Honestly, I love that philosophy.
Give me a real switch. Give me a lever. Or, at least give me something I can understand without asking the truck’s artificial intelligence what happened to my headlights. But there’s a gigantic difference between saying you’re going to build a $21,500 four-wheel-drive truck and actually building one for $21,500.
REO says reservations are open for $25, and that money is fully refundable. The company currently says production-design details will be revealed in November 2026, pilot builds and validation are targeted for 2027, ordering for 2028, and the first deliveries are targeted for late 2028 or 2029. Those are targets, not guarantees. In fact, REO’s reservation agreement specifically says the reservation does not guarantee a vehicle, price, specifications or delivery.
And that’s exactly why I’m keeping my eyebrow raised.
I want to see the production-intent truck. My god, I just want to drive the thing. I want to see the underside, the engine, the four-wheel-drive system and, most importantly, the factory actually building trucks
That’s when this stops being an interesting idea and becomes an automobile company.
The REO name itself is legitimate history. Ransom E. Olds founded the original REO Motor Car Company in 1905, and the company eventually became known for trucks, including the famous REO Speed Wagon. The modern REO Industries is a new company using that historic name.
And you know what?
I hope they prove me wrong.
A simple, inexpensive, gasoline-powered American pickup with four-wheel drive, a manual transmission and actual buttons sounds fantastic.
I just have no idea how they’re going to build all of that for $21,500.
If they can, I’ll be one of the first people to admit I was wrong.
And after watching a lot of automotive startups come and go, that would actually be a pretty damn nice surprise.
— N
The last question comes from a fan who thinks the BYD Dolphin should be imported into our country.
Q (Via Facebook): RE: We need to sell the BYD Dolphin here.
Just wanted to let you know that I drove two different versions of the BYD dolphin when I was in Europe.
I’d stay there nearly a year, and my company allowed me to lease a vehicle in Germany that fell under a certain price line. When I saw the BYD dolphin surf, I went crazy because it was so damn cheap. I was even more amazed with the other BYD dolphin that was even cheaper. Seriously the cheapest cars available that were fully electric.
I wasn’t disappointed, I think they drove really well, better than the Chevy Boldt I have at home. The range is around 200 miles, maybe a little bit more if you drive it right, and that’s more than adequate for a small little car like this. For several months, I drove it back-and-forth to my office, I was able to sync up my phone, and I was able to listen to some pretty good tunes and a barely comfortable little car. I know we can’t have them in the United States because all the tariffs in trouble we’re having with China, but maybe there’s a workaround?
Maybe you know?
— Anonymous
A: I don’t see an easy way to make that happen.
There may not be an easy workaround for bringing the BYD Dolphin into the United States. You’re absolutely right that tariffs and other trade restrictions are a major part of the challenge. Chinese-built electric vehicles currently face tariffs exceeding 100% in the United States, and there are also additional regulatory and national-security considerations surrounding connected-vehicle technology.
That makes the situation particularly difficult for automakers that want to bring vehicles developed or manufactured outside the United States into this market. The economics can change dramatically once tariffs, compliance costs and other requirements are factored into the equation.
There may, however, be a silver lining.
President Trump recently said he would be open to Chinese automakers building vehicles in the United States, provided they establish manufacturing operations here and employ American workers. He specifically distinguished that from simply building vehicles in Mexico and importing them into the US.
My understanding is that any such arrangement would likely come with significant government oversight, particularly regarding the electrical and connected-vehicle systems that could raise national-security or data-security concerns. At the same time, local production could create American manufacturing jobs and generate additional economic activity around the facilities and their suppliers. The current regulatory environment, however, still presents significant hurdles for Chinese automakers, even if the vehicles are assembled in the United States.
As for the vehicle itself, I’ve heard a lot of positive things about the BYD Dolphin and the broader Dolphin lineup. I’m actually trying to find a way to get some time behind the wheel myself, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the car is really like.
Thanks again for reaching out and for the email. I really appreciate it.
— N
