Month: October 2004

Almost forgot: The Midwest’s Greasiest Hot Rod Show is Saturday at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL. Only pre-’65 scooters will be allowed into the competition area and judged, but all are welcome. A group of Chicago scooterists are meeting at 11am at the Krispy Kreme at I-55 and Harlem, and riding out 171 to Route 6 to 47 South. Since it’s a fairly long trip (55 miles), they ask that only scooters capable of 45mph+ join the ride.

This might be old news, but I just noticed it: Kudos to Geely for following TN’Gs game plan. Maybe your scooters are ho-hum Vino knockoffs and maybe you’re not so well regarded by the scooter community, but a well-organized site with parts sales, a discussion board, dealer info, and support goes a long way towards separating you from the faceless bastards selling scooters on street corners and at Pep Boys. Instant Karma may have already taken its toll, but hopefully if they stay on the high road, Geely will someday garner some actual respect.

Along the lines of LookAtMyScooter, the new site UK.ScooterZoom features nothing but scooter photos, and is searchable by make and model. It’s a great reference, especially if you all go post your own photos there right now. Thanks, Bill!

Durso tipped us off that tonight, Howl At The Moon (26 w. Hubbard) is giving away a Tn’g Venice. There’s no cover with scooter keys or helmet (Durso: “as opposed to a m/c helmet”). Forget the scooter, how often do you get to hang out with Durso and Markley at a tourist chain dueling piano bar?

Nordstrom’s even upitty-er boutique Fa?onnable is giving away two new Vespas of unspecified vintage and displacement, while E! Online is giving away a Vespa GT with a paint job trying to aproximate Jude Law’s Vespa SS from the current “reimagining” of ’60s Michael Caine classic Alfie. Why can’t they just make NEW movies? Michael Caine’s still alive, why not put HIM in a movie? Or just rerelease the old Alfie in theatres! How cheap would that be? Reissue the old, and make the new “new,” not “fake old.” The same advice goes for you, Vespa.

Also from Bill, and also from India: The worlds widest press release from Bajaj, something about Hoodibabaa. Make sense of it if you can. All I can figure out is that it costs about 4 crone rupees. Or is that .4 crone?

From Bill, some more Indian scooters and motorcycles to peruse, this time from Kinetic. Don’t miss the Zing Rockin’ Series. What’s that guy doing? Jo jee chaahe!

The VespaOnline (italian) “Raid of the Desert” is underway. Follow the trip with realtime GPS and Webcam updates. Also, here’s more detailed information about Luca Barzelogna’s “Vespa-puter.”

Bill found these fun LML TV ads. Be glad Genuine Scooter Co. based the Stella on the LML Star rather than the LML Trendy.

Marketing trade magazine Brand Republic reports that Vespa was awarded second place in the “Cool Motors” division of Superbrand’s annual “Cool Brandleaders” list. Audi topped the list. “Cool Brandleader” appears to be marketing code for “overhyped, overpriced, overrated trendy stuff,” because the list also includes David and Posh Beckham, Usher, Stella Artois, Keira Knightly, Diesel, and Puma. In fact, David Beckham’s on the list twice. In other news, the Honda Ruckus was not included in the 2004 Superbrand Cool Brandleader poll.