Who's Riding and Why May Surprise You
Sold on the maneuverability and ease of parking, not to mention the considerable fuel savings, more people are choosing scooters as their preferred mode of transportation. In San Diego where the mayor’s wife rides a candy-apple red Kymco, scooter sales have jumped 300% since 2000, according to Jen Dreis of the Motorcycle Industry Council. Padres fans seeking a quick way to maneuver through downtown traffic and avoid parking hassles on game days have created a niche market for Alex Cohn, owner of Motorsport Scooters in North Park.
“The average scooter buyer is about 46 years old and makes roughly $50,000 a year, according to MIC numbers,” states Kelly Davis in “Scoot Over, San Diego,” a fascinating article from the May 10, 2005 edition of San Diego CityBEAT. (Read the entire article at http://www.sdcitybeat.com/article.php?id=4357.)After Word War II, Enrico Piaggio was looking for a way to turn aircraft parts from the family’s bombed out factory into cheap ground transportation. CityBEAT tells the story: “The war was over, there was no point in trying to rebuild the factory, and people with little spending money needed a way to get around heavily damaged roads. One of Piaggio’s engineers borrowed some ideas from airplane design and came up with what Enrico Piaggio said looked like una vespa—a wasp.”
Long popular in the crowded cities of Europe and Asia where $7 per gallon pump prices are the norm. Americans are starting to tune into the “green” benefits of scootering. According to Paolo Timoni, CEO of Piaggio USA, “motor scooters are far more fuel-efficient and emit 90 percent less carbon monoxide and 80 percent less carbon dioxide than automobiles.” Averaging 80 miles per gallon, scooters easily breeze past cars at 22 to 25 miles per gallon and leave Hummers, typically only 9 miles per gallon, gasping in the dust.
“But for Max Stromberger, who works for Cohn at Motorsport Scooters,” notes Davis for CityBEAT, “there’s something infectious about owning a scooter. People will smile or wave or ask about fuel efficiency, a topic Stromberger is happy to discuss. 'There’s no amount of stress that a 20-block ride home can’t cure,' he said.”
At Scootertronics we can help you find your ultimate stress reliever. Check out our website at http://www.scootertronics.com to see the latest models and find out more about the convenience, affordability, economy, and just plain FUN of being a scooter owner.
