Ransom E. Olds started manufacturing vehicles in 1897 at the Olds Motor Works in Michigan. The most famous product of these early years was the 'curved dash Oldsmobile' that from 1901-04 was arguably the world's first car manufactured on an assembly line, in spite of other claims made by Henry Ford. However by 1907 the company was bankrupt and RE Olds walked away to found the REO motor Company which continued in production until 1975 mainly specialising in commercial vehicles especially after WW2. The curved dash had been referred to as an 'Oldsmobile' and when the General Motors Company purchased it in 1908 they used that as the brand name. Under General Motors Oldsmobile were marketed as a premium brand, but lower than Cadillac and Buick, and they led on some innovations for the company particularly in the 1950s. From 2000 GM decided to reduce its brand names and a slow cull of Oldsmobile took until 2005 to complete.