• REO Trucks Runabout series promises back-to-basics engineering and affordability—and styling by a pretty famous designer.
• Frank Stephenson has supercars like the McLaren P1 in his portfolio, but he also excels at simple-but-attractive designs.
• It's theoretically a great pairing, but there's plenty of work yet to be done.

When Ford says it's going to produce a low-priced pickup truck, company history suggests the chances it'll succeed are pretty good. When Amazon-backed Slate says it can do so even more cheaply, it does have the logistics expertise. For REO Trucks—a Texas-based startup looking to go even more back to basics with familiar combustion-engined pickups—credibility is more valuable than diamonds.

The company recently bolstered that credibility quotient by revealing the design team who has already been working on the three products REO plans on rolling out over the next couple of years. It's none other than Frank Stephenson, a mainstay of the automotive design world who has penned everything from the BMW X5 to the McLaren P1.

Perhaps more importantly, Stephenson is also the driving force behind the relaunch of the BMW-backed Mini and the modern Fiat 500. These two runabouts both successfully married retro appeal with practicality and were all about doing more with less. That's exactly what REO Trucks has as its mission statement.

In a release from REO, Stephenson noted the opportunity to again relaunch a historic nameplate, and that the task ahead was unusually clearcut. The combustion-powered trucks REO is promising are a type of rebuke to the age of the software-connected car. They are being designed to be serviced outside of a dealership network, feature proper switches and levers rather than touchscreen controls, and have powertrains that can last a promised 500,000 miles.

That's a big number to go with a small one, the projected price of $21,500. REO intends its Runabout series (one work-focused single-cab pickup, one with an extended cab, and one SUV) to deliver a pared-back experience that's just the basics. Basically, think 1970s F-150 or 1980s Toyota pickup, just built to modern safety regulations.

Seems simple, but it won't be. Having an experienced designer like Stephenson onboard should help with the project, but it also helps with customer confidence. Like any startup, REO Trucks has to survive the cash-burn of R&D until it can get to delivery and profitability. Just ask Rivian how difficult that journey is.

A digital look at what the REO Runabout range looks like is planned for later this year, with a physical truck to be shown next year. With those milestones successfully passed, there will then be regulation and production hurdles to overcome. Adding Frank Stephenson's skills to the mix is a great way to start, but there's miles yet to go.