The Great Depression killed off a lot of the independent automakers. But two of them survived by finding a niche market: building premium-quality trucks with features unavailable in trucks built by the Big 3 in Detroit. Diamond T dated all the way back to 1905, and R.E.O. (
maker of the famous Speedwagon) was founded that same year by Ransom Olds after selling Oldsmobile to General Motors. These two companies would eventually merge, making "Diamond Reo" brand trucks until 2010.
How good was the Diamond T? In the 1940's,
it had a drivetrain that made other trucks look like something from the Dark Ages, and an interior as comfortable as most cars.
The Model 980, made for the military during the war, dwarfed other big trucks like GM's famous
"Duece-and-a-half".
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