Custer Specialty Company History

Custer Specialty Company was an American manufacturer of electric and gasoline mobility automobiles. The brand name was Custer also Cootie.

History

Levitt Lucerne Custer founded the company in Dayton, Ohio in 1916. By 1920 began the production of motor vehicles, mobility scooters and child cars. 1942, production ended due to the war. Between 1953 and 1960 emerged again vehicles, which were now marketed as Custer.

The offer included five models, all of which were electrically powered. The Cootie was a children's car, the Cabbie a mini-locomotive, the Chair an electric wheelchair, the carrier a transport vehicle for use in factories and the coupe a city car for two people.

The highest production figures reached the Chair, much to the delight of Lucerne Custer, who was himself war-injured. Second was the cootie. The only roadworthy product, the Coupe, was 1981 mm long and 1575 mm high. Until the provisional cessation of production in 1942 but only a few copies. After the Second World War, a Custer appeared again in 1953. This time it was a very simple platform car with two seats, which was powered either by a 4 -stroke gasoline engine with 6 bhp (4.4 kW) or an electric motor. The gasoline model cost 695 US dollars and reached a top speed of 64 km / h. The electrically driven vehicle had a range of 32 km.

In addition, further electrically operated vehicles were created.

After Custer's death on August 30, 1962, his wife Gladys Custer led the company. A fire on September 11, 1965 destroyed the factory. Subsequently, the company was dissolved.