Cushman
Encyclopedia
Auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw or three-wheeler is a usually three-wheeled cabin cycle for private use and as a vehicle for hire. It is a motorized version of the traditional pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw...
s.
Models
- 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, patented in 1911, 4 HP engine most commonly known for driving oat binders.
- Trackster, track-based ATV.
- Golfster.
Military
(see G-numbers for List of G-numbers)
- motor scooter, airborne 2-wheel, model 53 (G683)
- motor scooter, package delivery 3-wheel, model 39 (G551 or G672)
- motor scooter, with side car, 3-wheel, model 34 (G679)
Company
Cushman is based in Augusta, GeorgiaAugusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and is owned by Textron
Textron
Textron is a conglomerate that includes Bell Helicopter, E-Z-GO, Cessna Aircraft Company, and Greenlee, among others. It was founded by Royal Little in 1923 as the Special Yarns Company, and is headquartered at the Textron Tower in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.With total revenues of...
, Inc. Textron also owns other companies such as Cessna
Cessna
The Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
, Bell Helicopter
Bell Helicopter Textron
Bell Helicopter is an American rotorcraft manufacturer headquartered in Hurst, Texas, near Fort Worth. A division of Textron, Bell manufactures military helicopter and tiltrotor products in and around Fort Worth, as well as in Amarillo, Texas, and commercial rotorcraft products in Mirabel, Quebec,...
, and E-Z-Go Golf Carts.
History
The Cushman company started in 1903 in Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, by Everett and Clinton Cushman. The company officially incorporated as Cushman Motor Works in 1913. Until 1936 it produced engines for farm equipment, pump
Pump
A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...
s, lawn mower
Lawn mower
A lawn mower is a machine that uses a revolving blade or blades to cut a lawn at an even length.Lawn mowers employing a blade that rotates about a vertical axis are known as rotary mowers, while those employing a blade assembly that rotates about a horizontal axis are known as cylinder or reel...
s and boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
s. From 1936 until 1965 Cushman produced motor scooters
Scooter (motorcycle)
A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
, widely used by the US military in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and as 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, 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 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 50s Cushmans, designated Road King and Pacemaker, had jet-age body styling. Sears sold a version of these models under the Allstate brand. Cushman scooters featured an automatic centrifugal clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
, 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 in the world. Cushman claimed 75 miles per gallon, and advertised penny-a-mile operating cost. Cushman scooters usually weighed about 250 to 335 pounds and had as much as 9 hp. Scooter production ended in 1965, but some remaining Eagles were sold as 1966 models. After scooter production ceased, Cushman manufactured golf carts, industrial vehicles and turf maintenance equipment.
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
for parking patrol.
Cushman became a division of the Outboard Marine Corporation in 1962. Ransomes
Ransomes
Ransomes is the common name for the Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies engineering firm. It may also refer to several other organisations or locations name after the firm:*Ransomes and Reavell Sports Club Ground*Ransomes Industrial Estate*Ransomes Sports F.C....
(of Great Britain) purchased Cushman in 1989, and then Textron purchased Ransomes.
See also
- Golf carGolf carA golf cart or golf buggy is a small vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course or on desert trails with less effort than walking.Golf cars come in a wide range of formats and are more generally used to convey small numbers of passengers short...
- G-numbers for Army G-numbers (G551, G672, G679, G683)
- TM 9-2800 military vehicles dated 1947