Scooters in the News

If it belongs nowhere else, it belongs here!
Post Reply
Guest

Scooters in the News

Post by Guest »

It’s a zoom out there: More scooter to work
Riders stung by gas prices spur motorbike boom

By Desmond Butler
Associated Press

Scooter sales have flourished in recent years as more people realize that the motorbikes get 100 miles per gallon in a $3-per-gallon world.

NEW YORK – With gas prices about $3 a gallon, software engineer Daniel Fry has been commuting to work over the Brooklyn Bridge in a car pool of sorts.

It’s actually more like a convoy – of motor scooters.

“It’s fun to ride in a group,” said Fry, 28, who joins a group of riders for coffee early Friday mornings before commuting into Manhattan via scooter. “In a big mass of scooters, people look out for you more.”

Fry is part of a growing community of scooter enthusiasts in New York and across the country who are taking to the streets in record numbers with gas prices so high. Fry fills up the 1.5-gallon gas tank of his scooter for less than $5.

“The funniest thing is pulling into a gas station behind an SUV and seeing them pay 75 bucks,” he said.

Scooter riders are also mobilizing in ways never seen before. Riders are joining clubs, setting up Web message boards, and even lobbying city governments for more friendly laws.

One club, the New York Scooter Club, meets Wednesday evenings at a bar in Manhattan. They discuss mechanics, the relative merits of classic metal-framed scooters vs. the newer synthetic models, and the simple joys of scooter travel.

After the gathering, the members mount up for an 8 p.m. ride around town. On weekends, they organize day trips out of the city on scooters, first popularized in the 1960s and ’70s by movies such as Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita,” and The Who’s “Quadrophenia.”

A scooter boom has been under way over the past few years as the vehicles came back into fashion. Retail sales in the U.S. have shot up from 12,000 scooters in 1997 to 113,000 in 2005, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, a promotional trade organization. But this spring, the boom has turned into a bonanza, with more and more people realizing that scooters can get up to 100 miles per gallon and can weave around traffic jams.

“The phone has been ringing and recently the calls begin with talk about gas prices,” said Aaron Peterson, manager of Vespa Soho, a Manhattan dealer of the classic Italian scooter.

Sales at the Chicago-based Genuine Scooter Co., one of the country’s larger scooter dealers, which owns the popular Stella brand, have been doubling annually for the past three years, with even faster growth projected for this year, according to owner Philip McCaleb. The Stella gets about 90 miles per gallon.

“We are trying to combine fun and fuel economy and $3 gas is helping,” McCaleb said.

Dealers say high gas prices have attracted a whole different crowd from the usual fashionable set, who buy classic Italian models.

“I’m seeing a lot of people from blue-collar businesses, who are paying $100 to fill up their vans,” said Nick Mendizabal, owner of Brooklynbretta, a scooter dealership. “A lot of people who thought scooters were not so masculine are now asking, ‘How fast do they go?’ and ‘What’s the mileage?’ ”

Scooter rider Gregory Heller helped organize a charity for fellow scooter riders suffering after Hurricane Katrina. He is also active lobbying the New York City government for designated parking for scooters and motorcycles, which frequently get knocked over when competing with cars for legal parking.

Heller says he got into scooters after traveling in Greece a few years ago. When he got back he thought it would be a romantic and efficient way to get around New York.

“It was go anywhere, park anywhere, wind in your hair,” he said.
***
LINK
.
.
We're all just really kids deep down:
.
.
Image
.
.
User avatar
Dardedar
Site Admin
Posts: 8191
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:18 pm
Designate the number of cents in half a dollar: 0
Location: Fayetteville
Contact:

Post by Dardedar »

DAR
I am thinking of carrying the IKOO. Might be a student machine:

Image

BLURB
The only retro thing in this post is the word scooter. I'm at peace with that. The $999 IKOO Transporter looks like it escaped from the year 2055 and beamed purposefully into your garage. It features a distinctive surgical stainless steel alloy frame, folding seat and a 600W electric motor capable of propelling you or your loved ones to a peppy 18 mph (29 km/h).

With a range of up to 18 miles, the IKOO is the ideal vehicle for a commute to the train or across campus. Since it folds and weighs a puny 70 lbs, you could even sneak it past security and into your cube for the day. Dual disk brakes are standard, and a $200 accessory pack includes such spine tingling add-ons as halogen lights, rear view mirrors, a seat extension, kick stand, front foot pegs, and an extra ignition key.

This little scooter is unique and you won't look like a complete dork riding one. Hell, it might even get you a few dates.

[Update: The company listed on the IKOO site, SQK Worldwide LLC, appears to be a San Francisco based venture capital firm. Nice to see cool non-pooter tech coming out of Silicon Valley.]

LINK
.
.
User avatar
Dardedar
Site Admin
Posts: 8191
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:18 pm
Designate the number of cents in half a dollar: 0
Location: Fayetteville
Contact:

Post by Dardedar »

Press Release Source: Piaggio Group Americas

30 Percent of Americans Would Consider Using a Motor Scooter for Everyday Transportation Needs

Monday May 22, 9:45 am ET
Scooters Could Save American Consumers 14 Million Gallons of Gasoline Per Day

NEW YORK, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- As gas prices soar to record highs, a new national survey released today found that 30% of U.S. consumers would be extremely or somewhat likely to consider using a motor scooter for their everyday transportation needs. According to the survey conducted in the first week of May of 2006, these individuals indicted a willingness to transfer 35% of their weekly mileage to a scooter.

By comparing the results of the survey to Department of Energy national averages for fuel consumption and emissions, the findings establish that if Americans were to utilize one of the latest eco-friendly scooters available in the market today, they could, in aggregate, reduce national fuel consumption by 14 million gallons of gasoline per day and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 324 million lbs. per day.

"Scooters" were defined in the survey as two-wheel vehicles that can reach 40-100mph, whose average cost is $2,000 or above. The survey was fielded by ICR on behalf of Piaggio Group Americas, the manufacturer of the Vespa® brand scooter and a leading manufacturer of two-wheel vehicles.

"The benefits of scooters are well known around the globe, as they are part of the daily behavior for millions of people worldwide," said Paolo Timoni, President and CEO of Piaggio Group Americas. "While growing in popularity, scooters are only marginally embraced in the U.S. where millions of individuals drive cars in situations where motor scooters would be perfectly appropriate and convenient. Scooters are an additional transportation solution to help reduce consumer gas spending, but also provide an environmentally friendly transportation mode as a result of its low MPG and modern engine technologies."

The survey found other strong factors motivating consumer's willingness to consider utilizing a scooter, including environmental concerns and overall cost savings. The survey found that 33% of Americans would be likely to use a scooter to reduce emission harmful to the environment, 35% would be likely to use a scooter to save $25.00 a week on gasoline.

This survey underscores the growing popularity of two-wheel vehicles. Scooter sales have increased tremendously over the past two years and manufacturers are preparing for a busy summer of record sales. U.S. sales of all Piaggio brand scooters through its dealer network increased by an impressive 15% in 2005. These achievements were driven by the launch of new dealerships, new products and overall increased brand awareness in key U.S. markets. Piaggio, which re-entered the U.S. market in 2000, now has dealerships in over 100 locations -- over 50 of which have opened since January 2005.

LINK

Image
User avatar
Doug
Posts: 3388
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:05 pm
Designate the number of cents in half a dollar: 0
Location: Fayetteville, AR
Contact:

Popularity

Post by Doug »

DOUG
Scooters are popular. And it's not just because of the 7th annual naked scooter run across the Brooklyn bridge. (That's "annual.") In winter.

Image

See here.
"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
Jiellen_27
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2010 9:22 pm
antispam: human non-spammer
Designate the number of cents in half a dollar: 50

Re: Scooters in the News

Post by Jiellen_27 »

Wow!

This is awesome...
Post Reply