Cushman is a manufacturer of industrial, personal, and custom vehicles. It is based in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, United States, and is owned by

Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engin ...

History

The Cushman scooter company started in 1903 in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, by Everett and Clinton Cushman. The company incorporated as Cushman Motor Works in 1913. website,

Nebraska State Historical Society History Nebraska, formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." I ...

. Retrieved on July 10, 2009. Cushman began production of their

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

Husky engine in 1922. Cushman produced engines for farm equipment,

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they u ...

lawn mower A lawn mower (also known as a mower, grass cutter or lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower, but g ...

s, and

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s. Cushman began making Auto-Glide scooters in 1936 as a means to increase the sale of Husky engines during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Cushman scooters were widely used by the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and as an alternative to automobiles before and after the war. One famous Cushman was the model 53, a military model from the World War II era. Designed to be dropped by parachute with Army Airborne troops, Shattuck, Colin, ''Scooters: Red Eyes Whitewalls and Blue Smoke'', pp. 17–18 it became known as the Cushman Airborne. Other models were used on military bases for messenger service. The most successful model of Cushman scooter, the Eagle, was in production approximately 16 years. It resembled a motorcycle with its exposed engine and top tank. Other Cushman models, like the post-war "turtle back" Model 50 and 60, or the economy Highlander, used a step-through design common for scooters. The step-through design and ease of operation made it popular with men and women alike. Some late-1950s Cushmans, designated Road King and Pacemaker, had "jet-age" body styling.

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...

sold a version of these models under the Allstate brand. Cushman scooters featured an automatic centrifugal

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...

, which allowed the rider to twist the right grip to accelerate. Oddly, the throttle twisted forward during acceleration, opposite the usual pattern in most other motorcycles and scooters. Cushman claimed , and advertised penny-a-mile operating cost. Cushman scooters usually weighed about to and had as much as . In comparison to European scooters, Cushman scooters had a higher weight, larger cubic capacity (up to 0.4 L), but not more power. In 1958, 15000 Scooters were produced by Cushman.''Cushman-Modelle''. ''Kraftfahrzeugtechnik'' 9/1960, page 367-368. Scooter production ended in 1965, but some remaining Eagles were sold as 1966 models. After scooter production ceased, Cushman manufactured

golf cart A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced ...

s, industrial vehicles, and turf maintenance equipment. In Belgium there was a licence-production of Cushmann scooters under the label ''Belgian Cushman''. Cushman scooter orange

Cushman Trucksters were produced from 1952 to 2002. Small and light duty, they have been used for ice cream sales, mall and stadium maintenance, and by NYPD. Cushman became a division of the

Outboard Marine Corporation Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC) was a maker of Evinrude, Johnson and Gale Outboard Motors, and many different brands of boats. It was a multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 corporation. Evinrude began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1907. OMC was based ...

in 1962. Ransomes (of Great Britain) purchased Cushman in 1989, and then Textron purchased Ransomes.

Models

* AutoGlide - Models 1-2 (1936) * AutoGlide - Models 1-3 (1937) * AutoGlide - Models 1-3, R-1, 5-7, 5T-7T (1938-1939) * AutoGlide - Models 12, 14, 21, 22, 24, 29 (1940-1941) * 30 Series - Model 32 (1942-1945) * 30 Series - Model 34 (1942-1945) G679 - motor scooter, with side car, 3-wheel * 30Series - Model 39 (1942-1945) G551 or G672 - motor scooter, package delivery 3-wheel * 50 Series - Model 52 (1946-1948) * 50 Series - Model 52A (1946-1948) * 50 Series - Model 53 (1944) G683 - motor scooter, airborne 2-wheel * 50 Series - Model 53A (1946-1948) Civilian Airborne * 50 Series - Model 54 (1946-1948) * 50 Series - Model 59 (1946-1948) * 60 Series - Model 62 (1949-1956) * 60 Series - Model 62A (1949-1956) * 60 Series - Model 64 (1949-1956) * 60 Series - Model 64A (1949-1956) * 60 Series - Model 69 (1949-1956) * 710 Highlander - Model 61 (1949) * 711 Highlander (1950-1957) * 714 Highlander (1952-1957) * 715 Deluxe (1953-1957) * 721 Highlander (1958) * 721 Highlander (1959-1964) * Allstate - Model 811:30 (1950-1957) * Allstate - Model 811:40 (1950-1957) * Allstate - Jetsweep (1958-1960) * Allstate - Standard Model (1959-1961) * 720 Series - Model 722 (1957-1959) * 720 Series - Model 722 (1960-1962) * 720 Series - Model 725 (1957-1959) * 720 Series - Model 725 (1960-1962) * The Eagle * Haulster, small industrial multi-purpose truck * Truckster * Bellhop Series, golf carts * Tug, large truck * Minute Miser, truck * Titan, larger industrial multi-purpose truck * Model C engine, patented in 1911, . Commonly known for driving oat binders. * Trackster, track-based ATV * Golfster, golf cart 3-wheel & 4-wheel * motor scooter, with side car, 3-wheel, model 34 (G679) * The Trailster offroad model *

Westcoaster Mailster The Westcoaster Mailster was a small three-wheeled vehicle used for mail delivery by the United States Post Office Department during the 1950s and 60s. They could haul 500 pounds of mail, including large parcels, versus the 35-pound limit of a foot ...

, used by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

* Jacobsen models made by Cushman *

White Truck The White Motor Company was an American automobile, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980. The company also produced bicycles, roller skates, automatic lathes, and sewing machines. Before World War II, the compa ...

References

External links

*
Cushman Trackster Fan site
{{Textron Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1903 Textron Truck manufacturers of the United States Motorcycle manufacturers of the United States Three-wheeled motor vehicles Scooter manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Georgia (U.S. state) Companies based in Augusta, Georgia

History

Models

See also

References

External links