I actually checked them out after talking to The Expired Meter, they are a big improvement over the old adhesive receipts, and definitely better than the cheapo thermofax paper. We appreciate the effort from the city and LAZ, though my concern about theft still stands (not to mention the hundreds of other complaints people have about the whole parking meter operation in general.)

All that said, most meters have a very limited parking window anyway, so they’re not an option for commuters or overnight parking. And even though Chicago’s metered spaces seem to be growing exponentially, a Chicago Road Use Tax medallion allows you to park on a wealth of (unmetered) residential side streets without a neighborhood permit. Eventually, those will probably be metered as well, but for now, parking in the city is about as clear and hassle-free as it’s ever been.

Note: This story is three months old, I was sort of busy in late October. Thanks, Victor. Luckily, I never clean out my inbox.

A lot of fly-by-night scooter shops (and a few good ones) have already closed down, and many more will close in the next few months. This attrition of dealers is actually a good thing in one way: we’ll finally see fewer strip-mall dealers selling questionable or illegal bikes with virtually no aftersales support. Dealers that survive are the ones that know their stuff and love scooters. Anyone who’s been involved in scootering for more than a few years knows the market is brutally cyclical, but scooterists in the know hoped to see these “good guys” — great shops run by true scooter fanatics — survive. These shops aren’t bandwagon jumpers, they knew what they were getting into. They realize that a hemorrhage of sales can be replaced with chirping crickets in a matter of months. A few shops have been around since the eighties and have already been through the cycle. But even with vision and responsible planning, the triple whammy of the global recession, the end of a scooter-sales boom, AND the winter lull is proving too much to endure.

So this is a call to arms: if you like your local dealer, they need your support now more than ever. It just plain sucks to be a scooter dealer right now. So if you’ve been considering a new bike, or a performance upgrade, or a new jacket or helmet, or a rebuild, now’s the time to do it, and it’s more critical than ever to buy local and support the people that have supported you. Your dealer’s prices might be a bit higher than online or catalog prices, but they’ve worked hard for your business and chances are, they’re up against a wall. Your dealer needs you. Fewer dealers and fewer sales means fewer new scooter models being imported and fewer new scooterists, and reduced parts and accessories availabilty. If your local dealer closes, you may be stuck driving to the nearest big city (or the bigger city past that) for service and accessories. If importers start shutting down, you’re going to need to learn foreign languages to find parts.

If you’re new to scootering, 2008 was as big as it gets, but the lean years are great, too. A smaller scene separates the real life-long scooterists from the trendies, creates tighter bonds between scooterists, and paves the way for the next ‘boom.’ We’re going to lose some dealers, it’s a fact, but we MUST keep the best dealers going. With just a little boost from customers to survive these worst-case-scenario next few months, the best shops will eventually thrive, even through the lean years ahead.

When that’s done, Bradford, Eric Almendral and I need your help getting Silent Ron to Dakar on a Blur 220EFI next winter. Eric and I have a new years’ resolution to make Ron the first American to not kill himself in the desert of South America on a Taiwanese moped.

Well, 2SB reader “JSH” tracked down some real numbers, and his comment was so thorough and insightful, we’ll just reprint the whole thing here:

Cecil’s story is quite accurate. As he said, it really depends what your goal is. If you are interested in reducing CO2, energy security, and global warming than scooters are the clear choice. If you are concerned about smog forming emissions regulated by the CARB and the EPA then scooters, even 4-strokes, are gross polluters compared to even SUV’s.

My only issue with Cecil’s story is that he compares emission standards, (the amount of pollution a vehicle is allowed to emit) instead of actual measure emission. Data for actual emission is easily available, all one needs to do is go to CARB’s website and look at the certification data. Here you will find the actual emissions data submitted by manufacturers to CARB in order to certify that the vehicle meets emission regulations. This data is collected by running the vehicle through a uniform test and measuring the emissions.

Some Scooter data:

Vehicle	HC	CO	NOx	Total
Aprilia Scarabeo 100	0.200	1.000	?	1.200
Vespa LX 150	0.100	5.000	?	5.100
SYM HD 125	0.900	1.000	?	1.900
Genuine Buddy 150	0.400	7.000	?	7.400
Genuine Rattler 110	0.900	7.000	?	7.900
SYM HD 200	0.700	4.000	?	4.700
CARB Regulation	1.000	12.000	?	13.000

(Note: All numbers are grams per kilometer, scooters are not tested for NOx)

As you can see actual, scooter emission vary wildly but all are much lower than what CARB allows. One can’t really stereotype 2-stroke vs 4-stroke either. While the Rattler 110 is a 2-stroke and is the most polluting on my list it is only 7% worse that the 4-stroke Buddy.

Car and SUV data:

Vehicle	HC	CO	NOx	Total
2010 Toyota Prius	0.031	0.025	0.002	0.058
2009 Suburban 6.0L 4×4	0.026	0.559	0.012	0.597
CARB Regulation	0.056	2.600	0.043	2.699

(Note: All numbers in grams / kilometer (converted from grams / mile)

Again, vehicles vary widely but even the worst cars and SUVs are well below the emission standard. However, even the best scooter emits 20x more pollution than a Prius and 2x more than a 4×4 Suburban.

So again, it depends on what one is more concerned about. If one is more concerned about the air quality of their city than any car is better than a scooter. If one is more concerned about reducing the consumption of gasoline and other natural resources than a scooter is the better choice.

Well done, JSH, if your research and math is correct, we’re convinced, and very disappointed (Our apologies to Cecil Adams, too).

It was always hard to believe scooter manufacturers’ vague ecological hype, but on the other hand, it seemed impossible that modern 4-stroke scooters could be bigger polluters than cars. Even so, they have other benefits, but it’s hard to see past these numbers comparing actual emissions per kilometer.

As far as we’re concerned, these numbers put a pretty serious dent in any argument that scooters are “green” or environmentally-friendly, and lower gas prices temporarily put the fuel economy arguments to rest (which are also overstated in most cases), maybe now we can all get back to riding scooters because they’re fun and practical.

With all his superlative accomplishments in film, “Slap Shot” might not have been his most critically acclaimed movie, but what other film is so crass, funny, and ridiculous while being so well-acted, gritty and poignant? Hard times demand comedy, do yourself a favor and watch it soon.

Alix got some news coverage in Cleveland the other day, and her months-long journey will end Friday (August 8, 2008) with a victory lap around the White House (a group ride leaves from Vespa Arlington at noon), then Scoot Richmond is hosting a party for her at 5pm on Saturday, featuring the final raffle drawing. Congratulations Alix!