Ransom Eli Olds (June 3, 1864 – August 26, 1950) was an American businessman and executive who was known as a pioneer of theAmerican automotive industry, whom theOldsmobile andREO brands were named after. He claimed to have built his firststeam car as early as 1887 and his first gasoline-powered car in 1896. The modernassembly line and its basic concept is credited to Olds, who used it to build the first mass-produced automobile, theOldsmobile Curved Dash, beginning in 1901.^[1]

Ransom E. Olds
Portrait of Olds, c 1920
Born	Ransom Eli Olds (1864-06-03)June 3, 1864 Geneva, Ohio, U.S.
Died	August 26, 1950(1950-08-26) (aged 86) Lansing,Michigan, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Hope Cemetery Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Business,Automobiles
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Metta Ursula Woodward
Parent(s)	Pliny Fiske Olds and Sarah Whipple Olds

Olds was born inGeneva, Ohio, the youngest son ofblacksmith andpattern-maker Pliny Fiske Olds and his wife, Sarah Whipple Olds. He was ofEnglish descent, with origins inDorset, England. His parents moved the family toCleveland, Ohio, when Olds was still a boy. He eventually settled inLansing, Michigan, where he attended high-school before dropping out so that he could work full-time at the family company, P.F. Olds & Son. The company built and sold some steam engines but made most of its money doing repair work.^[2] While in Lansing he also married Metta Ursula Woodward on June 5, 1889.^[3]

He founded theOlds Motor Vehicle Company inLansing, Michigan, on August 21, 1897. The company was bought by a copper and lumber magnate namedSamuel L. Smith^[4] in 1899 and renamed Olds Motor Works. The new company was relocated from Lansing to Detroit. Smith became president while Olds became vice president and general manager.^[5]

By 1901 Olds had built 11 prototype vehicles, including at least one of each power mode: steam, electricity and gasoline. In 1934, he received a patent for a diesel engine. He was the only American automotive pioneer to produce and sell at least one of each mode of automobile.^[6]

On March 9, 1901, theOlds Motor Works factory burned to the ground. Only one model, the little Curved Dashrunabout, was saved from the flames. Ransom Olds claimed it was the fire that made him select the runabout, from among his many other models, to put into production. His biographer questions the veracity of this story. He points to an Olds advertising blitz that had already led to more than 300 Curved Dash orders even before the fire took place. "Olds did not need the one rescued car from which to reconstruct the plans and patterns for the runabout."^[7]

Later that year, Olds had his company's test driver,Roy Chapin, drive a Curved Dash runabout to the second annualNew York Automobile Show. Along the way, Chapin opted to drive up onto theErie Canal tow path to escape the mire of New York state roads. After eight days of driving, he reached theWaldorf Astoria hotel but was turned away at the door. His mud-spattered attire was so disreputable that he was sent to the servants' entrance in back.

During the auto show Olds pushed hard to make sales. When one dealer offered to purchase 500, Olds retorted, "I would like to see you make this order for a thousand cars. Then the public would drop its jaw and take notice."^[8] The deal was signed, and though the dealer ended up selling only 750 to the public, it was the original number that everyone remembered.

TheCurved Dash Oldsmobile sold for $650, equal to $24,567 today.^[9] About 600 were sold in 1901, about 3,000 in 1902 and at least 4,000 in 1904.^[10] It was this car, rather thanHenry Ford'sModel T, that was the first mass-produced, low-priced American motor vehicle.^[11]

As Smith's son,Frederic L. Smith, came into the business, he and Olds clashed frequently until Fred Smith removed Olds from the position of vice president and general manager in 1904, and Olds left his company.^[12] He went on to form the R.E. Olds Motor Car Company. Its name was quickly changed toREO Motor Car Company to avoid a lawsuit from the Olds Motor Works. The name REO came from the initials of his name, but was intended to be anacronym, and thus pronounced as a word. Sometimes it was spelled as "Reo" to emphasize this pronunciation. Olds served as president (until 1925) and later chairman of REO. The bandREO Speedwagon took its name from theREO Speed Wagon light delivery truck, an ancestor ofpickup trucks, though the band pronounces each letter in REO individually rather than pronouncing REO as a word.^[13]

The Olds Motor Works was bought byGeneral Motors in 1908. General Motors discontinued the Oldsmobile brand in 2004, after 107 years in business.^[14]

In 1946, Ransom Olds started building lawnmowers as the Lawn Mower Division of REO motors.

Olds was the first person to use a progressive moving assembly line in the automotive industry.Henry Ford came after him, and improved upon this by developing a continuously moving synchronous assembly line to manufacture his Model T starting in 1913.^[15] The new assembly approach enabled Olds to more than quintuple his factory's output, from 425 cars in 1901 to 2,500 in 1902.^[16]

In 1916, Olds purchased 37,547 acres (152 km²) of land by the northern part ofTampa Bay inFlorida and developed the area into what is now the city ofOldsmar.^[17] He traded his land for theFort Harrison Hotel inClearwater, Florida in 1926.

In 1906, Olds organized the Capital National Bank, later called Lansing National Bank, andMichigan National Bank. Olds was also involved in the organization of the Michigan Screw Company and Atlas Drop Forge Company, all in Lansing, Michigan.

Olds was the primary financier of the Olds Tower. When completed in 1931 it was the tallest office building in Lansing and retains that distinction today. Located at 124 West Allegan Street, the building is now called theBoji Tower.

Olds was also involved in the Hotel Olds at 111 South Capitol Avenue in Lansing. Today this is known as theGeorge W. Romney Building, where the office of the governor of Michigan is located.

Olds was also famous for hisauto racing on thebeaches of Florida at Ormond and Daytona. He had the first timed run on the beach in a solo run sometime between 1894 and 1897. In 1896 or 1897, rich automobile pioneers Olds andAlexander Winton (Winton Motor Carriage Company) staged an unofficial event; Winton beat Olds by 0.20 second.

Olds was aRepublican and served as a delegate from Michigan's 6th District to the1908 Republican National Convention,^[18] which nominatedWilliam Howard Taft for president.

In the early 1900s, Olds built an elaborateQueen Anne-style mansion^{[notes 1]} on South Washington Avenue in Lansing. Among the home's many technological innovations was aturntable in the garage which allowed Olds to pull in at night and leave again the next morning without driving in reverse. The mansion was demolished in 1966 to make way forInterstate 496, which was then named for Olds himself. The architectural drawings of that house are in the archives of the State of Michigan.^[19]

He was inducted into theAutomotive Hall of Fame in 1946.^[20]

In 1992, the family'smausoleum wasvandalized and remains were taken.^[21]

• Irving Jacob Reuter
• Oldsmobile
• REO Motor Car Company

• R.E. Olds Museum