The Eshelman company began production of commercial light aircraft in Dundalk after World War II, but was best known toward mid-century for its inexpensive light garden tractors and similar machines (including the Kulti-Mower) which were widely promoted in small advertisements in the back pages of mechanical and scientific magazines.
In 1953 the Cheston L. Eshelman Company, which had produced light aircraft immediately after World War II and then pleasure boats (including the spectacular "Rocket Boat", built from surplus military aircraft wing tanks), lightweight garden tractors and other implements, began producing a tiny air-cooled, one-cylinder automobile, the "Sport Car", in two versions: a basic $295 15 MPH "Child's Sport Car" (CSC) for two children and powered by a two-horsepower Briggs & Stratton #6 engine, and the $395 25 MPH Model 2 "Adult Sport Car" (ASC) for one adult which featured the three-horsepower Briggs & Stratton #8 engine, battery-operated head and tail lamps, seat-cushion upholstery, and trademark chrome "rocket" emblems on its flanks.
A factory brochure advertised 70 MPG fuel consumption and claimed the car was Ideal for short trips.
In the earliest models, power from the engine (which was mounted in front, started by rope, and operated with a hand throttle) was transferred by a long drive belt to a simple lever-operated forward/reverse transmission between the rear wheels.
Several basic colors were offered (and at least one two-tone combination), with contrasting-color interiors on Adult Sport Car models.
US Congressman Francis E. Dorn campaigned for re-election using a specially lettered 1954 Eshelman Child's Sport Car.
The Adult Sport Car was 40inches wide and was equipped with headlamps and taillamps powered by a separate battery that needed occasional charging, as there was no generator.
The 72-inch-long Eshelman Sportabout had more appurtenances, including electric starting and windshield wiper, reverse gear, directional signals, a 60-inch tall aluminum top, doors, spring suspension, foam upholstery, and a horn.
A new battery-powered child's car, the Model 200, was added, and thousands of the company's blue Mailster mail-delivery vehicles were seen on the streets of America, closely resembling the very similar Cushman mail carrier design.
Concurrently, Cheston Eshelman moved to Miami, Florida, and worked on marketing his patented "crash absorber," a pioneering 15 mph (24 km/h) energy-absorbing front bumper fashioned from a vehicle's spare tire.