Scooter Station sure is excited about Nipponia. (Google translation) The designs are actually pretty novel and interesting (the “Renzo” especially). The Japanese company, now based in Greece, plans to produce these Italian-designed scooters in Greece using Chinese-made parts, and start selling them in Europe in late 2009. Type nerd trivia: Nipponia’s logo features the same godawful Revue typeface as PGO’s logo.
UPDATE: more from Motoblog.it.
I’m unimpressed by the three models they showed (a little different, some interesting details, but nothing exciting), but the Renzo prototype is pretty interesting. Not the sort of thing I’d buy, but it at least indicates someone’s rethinking conventional designs, for better or worse…
The production models are actually pretty lousy designs, once you get past the legshields. Footboard too small for human feet. Tiny topcase you couldn’t fit a kid’s helmet in. Maybe the designer should have consulted with some scooterists at some point?
http://www.cyberscooter.it/speciali/eicma08/nipponia/nipponia.htm
Eric, obviously fashion is more important than comfort. Are you not willing to suffer for art?
You’re the kind of person who dismissed such forward thinking designs as box full of glass and spike in the head.
http://www.kithfan.org/work/transcripts/one/uglyfashion.html
Professor Matthew,
That sketch owes more than a little to Steve Martin’s “Cruel Shoes” (1979).
http://snurl.com/58oic
I love design and will even inconvenience myself (“suffer” is a bit much) for good design, art or fashion. I’m less tolerant of bad design—like this.