The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-03
BALLOON TIRES
 GOING ON REQ
Car Has Been Foremost In
 Matter Of Pioneer , Developments

Purely by coincidence, Rec Motor Car company embarks upon the twen- tieth year of it's existence with the announcement that balloon tires will be selective equipment on all passenger models of the Rec Six" says R. H. Scott, president and general manager of the Rec Motor company.
 Thus the company again draws at tention to it's record in pioneering de- velopments which at the time of an nouncement have seemed radical be- cause they were not in general use.
 ''Reo has been testing balloon tires for many months, in it's laboratories on it's test cars, and in conjunction with tire manufacturers. Data and facilities Reo accumulated when it pioneered pneumatic tires for trucks in 1915 have been used in many.of the tests. @satt
 Back of many automobile features so commonly used now as to be taken for granted lies, the. story of pioneer faith and seasoned judgment of the men who have guided Rec through 20 years.
 Contributing consistently toward the permanent betterment of its own product and all others in general, Rec has enhanced its, reputation for pro- gressive engineering. In the same measure it has built up an experimen- tai department and engineering or or ganization virtually without parallel in the industry.
 'This department functions as fully to prevent mistakes as it does to de- yelop refinmonts."
 Among the. more common improve ments which Rec pioneered in the sense of either creating, developing or popularizing in the face of con- tradicting practices, the following are interesting examples
 Before 1905 the two piece radiator, consisting of core and shell, was al- most unknown, Reo popularized it.
 Tn 1909 Rec adopted left hand drive in the midst of a controversy through out the industry concerning its suit ability for American road, rules.
 Dry Disc Clutch
 In the same year Rec adopted the dry disc clutch as standard equip ment, and has since watched its gen eral use by the industry. Dual foot control was made standard with Rec that year; it is still used.
 Tn 1911 Rec pioneered the center control.
 At time when electric starting and lighting systems were little more than a curiousity, in 1913, Rec adopted both as standard equipment and did much to prove their necessity on vehicles of all classes.
 "Reo pioneered pneumatic tires for trucks by fitting them regularly to the Speed Wagon in 1915. By adding electric starter and lights, it became first to make this equipment stand ard on strictly commercial vehicles.
 In that year it also introduced on its cars the oval-tube radiator, trans. mission speedometer, successful use of Lynite or aluminium alloy pistons. ; .Reo is largely responsible for the ! general use of the spiral bevel gear rear axle, also, =. r-------- =
 There are many other features, some of major importance in the chas- sis, and other related to shop practices, which have helped the industry at large fully as much as Rec alone. Ample returns from it's investment in hroad-visioned /. engineering are being enjoyed by Rec today in the form of remarkable public confidence and stability of dealer connections"