OLDS, Ransom Eli

  General Notes:

Ranson Eli Olds was a pioneer of the American automobile industry, for whom both the Oldsmobile and Reo brands were named. He claimed to have b uilt his first steam car as early as 1894, and his first gasoline powere d car in 1896.

Olds was born in Geneva, Ohio, the son of blacksmith Phiny Fisk Olds an d Sarah Whipple Olds, moving later to Lansing, Michigan.

He founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing, Michigan on Augus t 21, 1897. The company was bought by a copper and lumber magnate named Samuel L. Smith in 1899 and renamed Olds Motor Works. The new company wa s relocated from Lansing to Detroit. Smith became President while Olds b ecame vice president and general manager.

In 1901 Olds designed the Curved Dash Oldsmobile which sold for $650.00 Although the factory was destroyed by fire that year, they still sold o ver 600 models of the Curved Dash. In 1904 sales were up to 5000 units.

Olds and Smith clashed frequently until Smith removed Olds from the pos ition of vice president and general manager in 1904 and Ransom E. Olds l eft his company. He went on to form the R.E. Olds Motor Car Company whic h was quickly changed to Reo Motor Company to avoid a lawsuit from the O lds Motor Works. The name REO came from the initials of his name as an a cronym. Olds served as president (until 1925) and later chairman of REO.

The Olds Motor Works was bought by General Motors in 1908. The Oldsmobi le brand, after a production run of 107 years, was discontinued by Gener al Motors in 2004.

Ransom E. Olds created the assembly line in 1901, although most credit Henry Ford, whose contribution was to refine the process and perfect the standardization of components. This new approach to putting together au tomobiles enabled him to more than quadruple his factory’s output, from 425 cars in 1901 to 2,500 in 1902.

Olds was also famous for his racing on the beaches of Florida at Ormond and Daytona. He had the first timed run on the beach in a solo run some time between 1894 and 1901. In 1902, rich automobile pioneers Olds and Alexander Winton (Winton Motor Carriage Company) staged an unofficial ev ent; Winton beat Olds by only 0.2 days.

In 1913, Olds purchased 37,541 acres (152 kmø) of land by the northern part of Tampa Bay in Florida and developed the area into what is now the city of Oldsmar.

In 1906 R. E. Olds organized the Capital National Bank, later called La nsing National Bank, and Michigan National Bank. Mr Olds was also involv ed in the organization of the Michigan Screw Company and Atlas Drop Forg e Company, all located in Lansing, MI. Mr. Olds was the primary financie r the Olds Tower. When completed in 1931 was the tallest office building in Lansing, and retains that title today. Located at 124 W. Allegan St. , the building is now called the Boji Tower. Mr Olds was also involved i n the Hotel Olds located at 111 S Capitol Ave in Lansing. Today this is know as the George W. Romney Building, where the office of the Governor of Michigan is located.

In the early 1900s, Olds built an elaborate Queen Anne-style mansion on South Washington Avenue in Lansing. Among the home's many technological innovations was a turntable in the garage which allowed Olds to pull in at night and leave again the next morning without driving in reverse. T he mansion was demolished in 1972 to make way for Interstate 496, which ironically was then named for Olds himself. He had another house in Ann Arbor, which is still standing, and is open to the public for tours.

Ransom married Metta U WOODWARD.