After over a hundred years of operations where they produced many kinds of engines, for many different applications such as motor scooters, golf carts as well as industrial vehicles, the Cushman Company is best known for its production of the Cushman Scooter.
The Cushman Scooter was first introduced into the market in 1936 and to this day they are collected by a very dedicated group of enthusiasts. When the Cushman Scooter was first produced, its main target was the military, more so during World War II. The two-wheeler was small and lightweight, and fuel efficient as well. It turned out to be an excellent alternative to the use of automobiles, in terms of both cost as well as practicality.
One of their common models which were used by the military was the Model 53. This particular kind of scooter was used heavily in World War II and was designed so that it could be parachuted into the war zones along with the Army Airborne troops. This earned it the nickname the Cushman Airborne. The Cushman Airborne is popular not only with scooter enthusiasts now but also with military collectors and historians around the world.
The Cushman Scooter was in production until 1965 by which time the Eagle was the most popular model. The Eagle looked more like a motorcycle, and was produced by Cushman for at least 16 years. Due to the James Dean road racing era, the Eagle and more of the other scooters as well attempted to achieve a “bad boy” image. The Road King and the Pacemaker were made to have a very stylish look to give it a fast and dangerous appearance as compared to other more practical models of the scooters.
The Cushman Scooters were well ahead of their time when you look at the cost as well as fuel efficiency. The average fuel consumption was about 75 miles per gallon and most of the advertising campaigns claimed that it had an operating cost of literally a penny a mile. If you look at that taking today’s standards into consideration, that kind of claim could make a Cushman Scooter literally priceless.