More Hip Than We Know We Are......

The following story appeared on the Yahoo News Service today......


US drivers hop on scooters to dodge rising gas prices

by Virginie Montet
Mon Sep 4, 7:03 PM ET



WASHINGTON (AFP) - With rising gas prices an increasing number of US drivers have hopped on scooters, long a favorite in parts of the world familiar with pricey gasoline.

Karl Levithan, retired at 55, tools around the Washington suburbs on his silver Vespa from April to November while the weather is agreeable.

"Sometimes, less is more," he said, noting that fuel is often more than three dollars per gallon (3.8 liter) now. "Americans should think about more efficient means of transportation."

Scooters get a whopping 60 to 80 miles (97 to 129 kilometers) per gallon of gas compared to fuel hungry cars which average 20 miles (32 kilometers).

This year is set to mark a record in scooter sales although the streets are far from resembling traffic in Milan.

"The big markets are urban markets, vacation destinations and college towns," said Mike Mount, spokesman for the Motorcycle Industry Council.

According to the industry group, 113,000 scooters were sold in 2005, up 18 percent from the year before.

The market is led by Japanese makers Honda and Yamaha, but storied Italian brand Vespa from Piaggio, which was pulled from the market in 1985 because of pollution problems, made a big splash went it was reintroduced in 2000 with retro looking models.

The maker has 180 stores around the country with the most sales in the cities of New York, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle on the Pacific coast, and Dallas, Texas, according to Piaggio Americas spokeswoman Kathleen Reynolds.

Randy Campbell opened a shop in Dallas three years ago and will open a second in a few weeks in near-by Fort Worth, Texas.

"The more you see them riding the more they are gaining popularity," he said. He said his clients are mostly between the ages of 35 and 55 and that 40 percent or more are women. Half are buying the scooters, which sell for between 3,000 and 4,000 dollars, for pleasure, a quarter for economy and "some for the hip-cool."

Suburban rider Levithan agreed that the look helped.

"The more retro it is, the better it is," he said. He added that scooters are "more socially accepted" than motorcycles. "People smile at it."

The service manager at Campbell's university-town store, Rian Sumner, also noted that riders skew older.

"More professors are riding them than students who get big cars with air conditioning," he said.

But in Washington, where gasoline is more expensive than in Texas, prices are driving scooters' popularity, according to Gerry Helfgott, an Italian who opened a Vespa store in the nation's capital.

However, two wheels cannot replace four and Campbell said few of his customers use scooters as their only mode of transport.

But, he said, "a few customers replace their second car with a scooter."

The northwest city of Boise, Idaho, has only 200,000 residents but Valery Aker sells about 20 scooters per month at her two-year-old shop.

"The more people see them, the more they like the idea," she said. "And they are fun."