Mike Compagnoni

Car guy. Spouse. Lobbyist. Photographer. Racing fan. Dog lover. Roadtripper. Errant motorcyclist. Foodie. These views are mine alone.

[Tyler Rogoway @Aviation_Intel]

This is where the US military can broadly impact the relationship with Venezuela again. They are now our friends? Go big helping them here. We are prepared and ready for this mission. Huge opportunity here.

[Jonathan Berk @berkie1]

"As we know, The English historically struggle here in Massachusetts."

- Fox World Cup Broadcast

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

🇺🇸

[Michael Mathes @MichaelMathes]

“England historically has struggled here in Massachusetts”
— #WorldCup announcer on Fox
👀

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

Transportation Committee today. #mileg

[The Farmer's Dog @FamersDog]

An update and a message from Jeremy.

“Thank you so much for all the kind messages I've had but now, an announcement.”

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

An incredible summary of some of the underlying issues in the auto industry and what they have meant for consumers. No idea if these guys can deliver, but 10/10 for trying!

[REO Industries @reoindustries]

Full text of our letter below:

A letter from REO - The Case for a Simple Truck

The vehicle we deserve.

There is a vehicle missing from the American market. It is small enough for a real garage, big enough for a family or a day's work, cheap enough to skip the seven-year loan, and built well enough to outlast it.

What is REO?

In 1901, Ransom Eli Olds built America's first mass-produced car, and it sold for $650 — about $25,000 today. After being pushed out of Oldsmobile, he founded a new company on his initials in 1905, and for seventy years REO built some of the most respected trucks in America, including the 1915 Speed Wagon, the ancestor of the modern pickup. We're bringing REO back to do the same job in a different era.

What Broke?

The average new vehicle now costs over $50,000, and the cheapest new pickup opens above $28,000 before anyone touches the options sheet. None of this happened by accident. Fuel-economy rules rewarded bigger footprints, a 25% tariff walled off small imported trucks (and still does), dealers bury the sticker under fees, and the manufacturers walked away from the bottom of the market because the loaded trim pays better than the honest one. Toyota still builds exactly this kind of truck, brand new, on three continents — but you can't buy one here.The buyers didn't leave. The products did.

What We're Building

The Runabout carries the name of Olds' first car. It is a family of small, body-on-frame, mechanical-4WD utility vehicles powered by a combustion engine — built in Texas and sold direct, with no dealers, no markup, and a website price with no hidden fees. First comes the T4X, a two-seat work truck targeted at $21,500, with the T4C crew cab truck and the S4C compact family SUV to follow on the same frame. We call this class of vehicles the Ameri-Kei, as they're heavily inspired by the simplicity and utility of the Japanese kei trucks.Initial design work is underway, and you'll know a REO when you see one: steel, authentic, honest, all business.

Why Gas?

Every new car startup in America is electric, while 90% of American buyers are not. Those companies raised record money chasing a fraction of the market, and every American EV maker except Tesla now sits billions in the hole. We exist because of those failures, and we build for the everyday American who simply wants a vehicle that works.Gas refuels in five minutes in every town in America, and every mechanic in the country already knows how to fix these powertrains. When the law and the supply chain change, we'll add other powertrains — but we'll do it late and on purpose, because delayed adoption buys proven parts at falling prices. The same goes for autonomy. We'll never bolt beta software onto your truck. The Runabout is engineered to be modular and forward-thinking, with a roof and wiring ready to accept sensors without cutting metal — so when self-driving is boring and proven, an REO can take it. Tried and true is the strategy, whatever it happens to be bolted to.

Built Open

The Runabout is designed to be repaired and modified by the person who owns it. Every control is a physical switch or lever, and the only screen in the cabin is a small display for diagnostics and Apple CarPlay. There is no parts-pairing, which means no component is ever software-locked to your VIN, and the diagnostics read out in plain English on a $30 scanner. The parts catalog is public, fairly priced, and backed for twenty years, and the bumpers, door cards, headliner, and trim all come off in under five minutes with common tools. There are no subscriptions and no feature locks.And then we go somewhere no automaker has gone: the truck itself is fully open source. Anyone can build a part for it, because nothing on the vehicle checks where a part came from. On top of that, we run an authorized maker program. Makers who pass our quality verification get the factory mounting patterns and a spot on our online marketplace, where they sell directly to owners at fees lower than eBay, RockAuto, and Amazon. Verified makers competing on the same shelf means the customer wins twice — prices come down and quality goes up. And our owners' community will live in the same app as the marketplace, run by the factory in the open: no more Facebook groups to dig through, no more forums to chase. Other companies fight their aftermarket. We're building the Runabout around the customer, and we want the customer to talk to us — on a forum sponsored and monitored by us, the OEM, in the most transparent way possible.

What We're Asking For Today

We're opening reservations now, before the renderings are finished and before the configurator is live — and we're doing it on purpose, because REO gets built in the open. A reservation is $25, fully refundable, and we hold that money separate from the company and never spend it to operate, so it is always there to come back to you the moment you ask. You are not buying a finished truck. You are putting your name down early and watching it take shape, and we'll keep you posted as the design, the specs, and the configurator come online. There is no fixed delivery date and no final price yet, and we won't pretend otherwise. Cancel any time before you buy and the $25 goes back, no questions asked. Every reservation tells us — and every supplier, engineer, and partner this truck needs — that it should exist.

We're REO. Let's build cars like they used to be.

Sincerely,

Zach De Bernardi
Founder & CEO, REO Industries, Inc.

[Andrea Bitely @AndreaBitely]

I spent the last nine months as former gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan’s communications director. What struck me most traveling the state wasn't how different people’s concerns were, but rather how similar.

Read more here:
https://t.co/n8KO71kb8L

[Motorsport @Motorsport]

Nobody champions the love of the automobile quite like Jeremy Clarkson.

Sending our thoughts and best wishes to Jezza following his cancer diagnosis.

[Polymarket @Polymarket]

JUST IN: Putin rejects Zelenskyy’s call for peace talks, orders Russian army to push forward with operations.

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

I've heard their foods have what plants crave.

[Polymarket @Polymarket]

JUST IN: Kraft Heinz is pushing into protein Mac & Cheese, electrolyte Capri Sun as part of innovation push to revive growth.

[Bill Schuette @SchuetteOnDuty]

Michigan lost a fine man in Joe Schwarz. We will miss his heart and his wonderful sense of humor. Legislators would line up at his desk if you had a cold. He would conduct his doctor diligence and give advice or a prescription. Very good doctor and very good legislator.

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

Therapy session after Horsecrap Island (TM).

[Zach Gorchow @ZachGorchow]

Joe Schwarz was extraordinary. This quote from his '02 farewell speech stood out:

"Some days I think we – including myself – are a bunch of vapid dilettantes who never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Other days we do much better.”

Free link:

https://t.co/YdavQ4eOiq

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

Congressman was one of my first bosses and I’ll say this; you’d be hard pressed to find a smarter, more caring, and harder working man. Politics certainly doesn’t have enough people like him.

[Gongwer Michigan (State Affairs Michigan) @GongwerMichigan]

Joe Schwarz, who championed higher education and healthcare during a 16-year run in the state Senate and then served one term in the U.S. House, has died. He was 88.

https://t.co/UDbB2U6eNv

[Polymarket @Polymarket]

NEW: Ferrari unveils the Luce, its first electric vehicle designed by Jony Ive.

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

Amazing book on this subject: Six Frigates by Ian Toll. We have a lot of issues in this country that certainly aren't new and it really feels like we're fighting the Barbary Wars again.

[TheHistoryOfTheAmericans @TheHistoryOfTh2]

Fun fact: When Thomas Jefferson asked Congress for six frigates to fight Muslim pirates attacking American shipping, they had to be built in six different shipyards in order to get the votes.

This is not a new problem.

[Midwest vs. The Rest @midwestern_ope]

There’s two types of Midwesterners on Memorial Day weekend

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

The last Samsung fridge we had died after three years…how about just keeping food cold for longer than 1000 days.

[Polymarket @Polymarket]

JUST IN: Samsung upgrades its smart refrigerators with Google Gemini to recognize more than 2,000 foods.

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

@midwestern_ope at least 5-8 pens of which only one or none of them work.

[Mike Compagnoni @MikeCompagnoni]

This is the face of a Beagle who did his job but realized he's not getting to eat any of the sandwiches.

[The Washington Post @washingtonpost]

Merla, a detector dog with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Beagle Brigade, alerted her handler about potential contraband inside two duffel bags.

CBP discovered two passengers were carrying 100 sandwiches from Thailand, all illegal. https://t.co/MYozxkNISe