How Expensive is Gas Near Stanford University?

I'm not kidding...$5.19/gallon for Supreme Unleaded Full Service.
Now, what dork would get full-service supreme gas during this gas crisis? Well, maybe a sweet old lady in a luxury car. I'd guess that even sweet old ladies are now pumping their own mid-grade at these prices!

Can you beat my recent high gas price pic? Post your own!

Things I Hope Happen in 2009

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I want to post a list of things to look forward to in 2009. It's not a forecast, just a wish list of sorts. Feel free to leave comments with your scooter-related wishes for 2009.

1) Another scooter sales boom over the Spring/Summer
2) Continued awareness of a scooter as a smart, economical transportation choice
3) More women scooterists!
4) More experienced, qualified riders who take proper training
5) Less scooter accidents, injuries and fatalities (see above)
6) Less scooter club politics and polarization
7) More FUN rallies
8) More time for April to travel to those fun rallies (!)
9) More scooterists making custom scooters (let's see some cool murals!)
10) More celebrities and influential folks coming out of the "scooter closet" [Let's hear it for Carlos Alazraqui, our current cover story!]
11) More cool riding clothing for the ladies
12) More motorcycle/scooter parking
13) More people subscribing to Scoot! (I can be a little selfish, can't I?)

Blog entry soundtrack: "The Shadow of Love" by The Damned

Buy a Condo, Get a Scooter

Scooters are known for being a part of the urban lifestyle. Now in Cleveland, you can have that urban lifestyle in one step. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer's website:

Another urban developer has jumped on the low-mileage-vehicle-giveaway bandwagon.

Vintage Development Group announced this week that it will be giving a free Vespa scooter to those who buy a home at one of two Cleveland developments: Battery Park in Detroit Shoreway or Chester 82 near University Circle.

If a customer doesn't want the scooter, they can opt for $5000 worth of upgrades to their new home, Vintage said.
Plain Dealer file photoThose who buy a loft at Bluestone in Cleveland Heights are eligible for a free Smart Car -- or cash knocked off the purchase price.

At Battery Park, prices range from $169,900 and $314,900 for condos and single-family homes.

NYC-only Vespa

Looks like Vespa is once again trying to convert New Yorkers into scoooterists. Story from Animalnewyork.com.

Is money the only reason to ride a scooter?

I came upon an opinion piece keepMEcurrent.com about whether or not to buy a scooter. It started out bad,

I never imagined myself capable of riding a scooter. I eschewed scooters not because I was centripetally challenged but because I had trouble understanding how any self-respecting male could ride something pastel-colored or with a name like Vespa.

But eventually, I bypassed his ignorance and got to the meat of his piece, which was that the cost of purchase + the cost of operation of a new scooter would not save him money over just driving his used car. That's true. It would take him several years to be in the black on that purchase. But, this brings the question, "Is money the only reason to ride a scooter?" I emphatically say, "Heck, no!" [well, I actually didn't say "heck" but...]

While the author did factor in scooter insurance, he didn't mention anything about contacting his auto insurance company and requesting a reduction in annual mileage on the car. If you drive over 15,000 miles a year now and then earnestly get a scooter to ride often, it may benefit you to reduce the amount of miles you report for your car. 12,000 miles used to be the average. I drove about 25K annually when I commuted from San Jose to Foster City each day for 5 years. So if I could report a marked reduction in miles it may have impacted my insurance.

That being said, he totally ignored all the other positive things that come along with scootering: reducing traffic & parking congestion, reducing the overall fuel one consumes, and just having *fun*! I've said it before and will probably say it again. Americans should look at scooters as a new mindset, a new way to approach transportation, not just some short turn way to save money. Long-term lifestyle changes are what we need in our society on many fronts, and scooters can provide some welcome positive change for the US. Perhpas looking at it as, "what am I doing for the world?" instead of "What am I doing short-term for my pocketbook?"

Siphoning?

I was wondering if any of the blog readers have encountered siphoning from their gas tanks? With gas prices rising, a helpless scooter parked on the side of the road may not have a change. It happened a few years ago t my boyfriend and I. Someone siphoned gas from our P200s. I'm guessing with today's scooters this won't be a problem, but let me know if it has happened to you...

I'm interviewed in San Jose Mercury News

Several years ago, before I was Scoot!'s editor, I was interviewed about scooters by Matt Nauman of the San Jose Mercury News. I've kept in touch with him since then and have been bugging him (gently) to do another scooter story. So the Merc decided that scooters were a big story and Matt contacted me for an interview. You can read it here. Photo by David M. Barreda from the article.

$4 a gallon is waking up America

I've been riding scooters for about 12 years. Before that I owned cars that got excellent gas mileage, my current car gets 36mpg on the highway. I looked many models but scoffed at the 20 or 25mpg that they offered. I've been fuel-conscious for some time. But it doesn't surprise me that Americans are starting to feel the pinch of gas prices. We've had it too good for too long. When I was in England in 2004 it was about 80p per litre, which I figured was over $5 a gallon when the conversion was factored in. So, to them our $4/gallon is nothing. However,when we told some of our English acquaintances that we drove 800 miles in one week they were shocked at the distance. So, I guess their gas prices keep them from driving very far, which is what is happening here. Unfortunately, since America is one huge country we often don't blink an eye at driving an hour or so to work each day.

So.. my point is that scooters are now a hot topic for people who are looking for any way to save money on gas. But what many people (especially the media) overlook is the total ownership benefits that scooters provide:

1) Soaring gas prices: Scooters get between 40-100 mpg depending upon the model.
2) Low Operation Costs: purchase price, fuel, insurance, and maintenance are all considerably lower. Personally, I have 2 scooters insured for $120 per year.
3) Better parking and mobility: Scooters are more nimble on crowded city streets and can park in spots that cars could never fit. Moreover, many cities are encouraging scooter traffic by creating free or discount scooter parking. I have several examples of cities that have done so.
4) Lower-emissions: Today’s scooters are much more environmentally friendly than cars. Some models are even Zero Emision Vehicles, powered by electricity.
5) Fun!: Scooters are a blast to ride. Folks find them less intimidating, less expensive and more versatile than motorcycles. They are more fun to drive than most cars and commuting on a scooter makes the trip more pleasant.

There are lots of articles in magazines, on TV and online, but most overlook the total picture. When you are approached by people asking about the fuel-efficiency of scooters, don't forget to tell them of the other benefits.

The Price of Gas..

If you have been reading/watching the news lately, you'll know that reports are up on people buying scooters to combat the high price of gas. I can say that I have no problem filling up my tank with supreme unleaded when riding my scooter. Why not? I barely notice a difference on a 2-gallon tank.

Being a scooter owner for over a dozen years, the savings are fully realized by me. Those who are putting out $2-5K for a new scooter thinking it will "save" them money, may find out that the gas savings only offset the purchase price if they drive the scooter each day and keep the car parked for an extended amount of time. No matter...they'll be having fun, enjoying the freedom of scootering, marveling at convenient parking and cheap liability insurance, that they won't even think about it.

Check out some recent news items from around the country:

Channel 10 News in San Diego, CA

Citizen-Times of Asheville, NC

WLBT in Jackson, Mississippi

WGHP, North Carolina

The one thing this type of mass scooter-buying brings to mind is safety. Look at this quote from the Asheville news story:
Scooters are still easier to drive than motorcycles, Williams explained, with no gears to shift and all the controls at your fingertips. “Anybody who can ride a bicycle can be riding a scooter comfortably in five minutes,” he said.

While it is true, I do hope that all dealers are giving their customers a firm dose of reality by instructing them on proper safety gear and by encouraging them to take a safety course. I know that once Piaggio came back to the USA, I felt really unsafe riding with packs of new scooter riders who were squirrelly at best with their new bikes. I also know several people that picked up fairly new, but slightly damaged GTs that were offloaded once their new riders had a minor spill and were scared off.

I'm concerned that without proper training and awareness we'll see a lot more of these:

Woman dies in wreck
By Antonia Robinson

Staff writer

A woman died in a motor scooter accident on Mt. Olivet Road, April 23.

Darla Kupfer, 57, of 34 New Hope Road, was riding east on Mt. Olivet Road, said Trooper Anthony Coleman. She was going around a curve and the scooter drifted off the road and into some nearby trees.

Kupfer was taken to Hart County Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

She was often seen riding on her scooter by residents near the accident, said Sheriff Mike Cleveland. Kupfer lived about three miles from the accident and would mention to others how she saved money on gas with her scooter.

If you are a new scooter rider, please make the effort to understand how to ride safely. Buy good quality riding gear, study up on proper riding, and practice riding outside of just your commutes to work or on errands. I suggest going to an empty parking lot to ride around. Make tight turns, weave in and out of tight spaces. Create your own obstacle course. Perhaps even get a group together to practice.

And if you are a long-time scooterist, don't be afraid to kindly and gently offer advice to new riders who could benefit from your experience. It's better ( and a lot less painful)to learn from the experience and mistakes! of others.

Solar Powered Scooter

Have you heard about the Solar Scooter? No joke, Don Dunklee has developed a way to charge his electric scooter by solar power and he has created an instructional that you can download on how to do it. According to his guide:

"The basic bike is a stock EVT 4000E available from various dealers around the U.S. The rest of the system consists of a Xantrex (formerly Trace) C-40 charge controller, and 4 Atlantic Solar 30 watt, 16 X 25 inch panels mounted two to a side. The panels fold open while in charging mode and are closed while driving. Mounting hardware is basic off the shelf parts available from any hardware store."

The result is something a little hokey-looking but useful and very affordable for Don's commute to work.

Check out Don's Solar Scooter at Build It Solar.

Sydney getting on board

I happened upon an article about Sydney, Australia's push to make the city more scooter friendly to reduce congestion and improve the environment. The movement is part of an overall transportation strategy that is also encouraging walking, public transport and bicycling as alternatives to using cars.

As I've said in the past, pro-scooter planning should be a part of responsible city planning. In my city, we're working to address more scooter parking in congested areas. I am currently working on an article for the August issue of which discusses what has been done in cities such as San Jose and Portland, OR. I've sent and email to the Mayor of Sydney to offer some suggestions and to request an email interview. We'll see what comes of it.
Read the Daily Telegraph's article.

Vespa PR Machine Gears Up For Summer

A recent press release by Piaggio USA is once again playing on high gas prices, the relative affordability of scooters, and the concern over automobile's part in global warming to sell scooters. While this may seem like no news to us scooter riders, these press releases aren't geared towards us. As much as we can say that scooter sales have been growing, they still are just a small part of the automotive market. The fact that Hummers still sell means that us Americans just don't get that our over-the-top lifestyle is at the expense of the environment and the world. It is for those people (especially the city-dwellers) that these releases are sent out. Piaggio is the big kid on the block so they take the lead. I wish other scooter manufacturers would get in on the action and make more noise, but for now, we'll be glad that someone is spending the big bucks to get the message out. Now, if only we could convince Piaggio/Vespa US to get their website to reflect these pushes as well...

Read the press release.