As you might have guessed, Carter Brothers and Cobra Powersports aren’t in love with 2strokebuzz right now. I had a cordial and enlightening talk with Bill Pierce at Cobra this morning, and rumor has it there’s an email on the way from Carter Brothers. More tonight
Category: Dealers
SYMpathy for the scooter industry
I recently learned from a third party that my friend and colleague Steve Guzmán of The Scooter Scoop was let go by SYM distributor Carter Brothers shortly after DealerExpo. When I asked Steve about it, he was modest and polite as usual, and I don’t pretend to know what happened behind the scenes, but it’s a real disappointment.
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How’s your Piaggio stock doing?
According to Reuters UK, Piaggio reported a 28% drop in net profit in 2008, which reminded us to check on our Piaggio stock: It’s at €0.95, an all-time low since Piaggio’s June, 2006 IPO at €2.30. Poor sales, a bad economy, and the weak Euro all hurt Piaggio last year, as did nearly €100 million in new debt from stock buybacks and a €.06-per share dividend last year, which will be offered again this year, which seems counterintuitive, but what do we know?
Continue reading “How’s your Piaggio stock doing?”
Black Jacked
POCPhil says “We just unloaded 8 boxes of BADASS.” Genuine’s “Black Jack” Buddy has been released into the wild. This season’s most highly-anticipated scooter (this season’s only new scooter, aside from the Symba, which is a motorbike, really,) will be at a dealer near you any day now.
Dealer Expo 2009, Part 2.5: Sorry, Chuck D.
“Public Enemy” “welcome to the terrordome” rap song lyrics
Lots more to cover, but here’s a little ditty while you’re waiting:
I got so much scooter on my mind
Newcastle Sign
“Michelle Rodriguez” on my ticket
Hear Phil Waters get wicked
My crew is few, we hype the Black Jack
Attack then we drank
and yacked, Then slapped the iMac
Now Im ready to post it
(you know I made up most of it)
Hear my favoritism roll, oh
OMG, is that Mattheu Solo?
TGB Lasers, scooters like Razors
Hallways to blaze, with brain and foot pain
The way Im livin, forgiven
What Im givin up
Ron on the Nikon, shoot this now
Where’s the party at later?
As for now I’m grillin at the Chinese pavillion
Man Ive had it up to here
CF Moto logos appear
Kymco’s a no-show,
saw P-town just a bit ago
never-ending show,
Adjust the white balance.
Work to keep from gettin jerked
Changin’ some ways
To way back in the 2-stroke days
Chinese hockey mask molds,
never mind the highway codes
Still thousands sold.
Never question what I am, Who knows?
Cause I’m comin from the bar
What I got better get some
(soft pretzels) master of scooter culture
hard-ridden
Been splashed in the face
But the helmet keeps fittin’
Eating nothing healthy, ranting with Chelsea
Seth and Dave and everyone elsee
Check the spec sheets
ripped a hole in my jeans knees
rolling on the ground, looking for a VIN please
Walked the halls, took the falls
Broke the laws
my Sambas are fallin
more or less square
Getting up there in years
Still. I growl at the plastic cowls
Thanking Christ Indiana’s not my home
So welcome to the Hooiserdome.
Win a sweet Pink Puch!
Dan from Moped Army tells us his shop, 1977 Mopeds, is is raffling off a sweet-looking pink Puch Maxi ZA50 moped custom-built by Graham French. Tickets are $5, or 5 for $20, or get a free ticket with a one-page letter sent via snail mail. A winner will be announced at a party at the shop on March 6, 2009.
Dealer Expo 2009, Part II: The Bikes
In Part I of our Dealer Expo coverage, we mentioned there really wasn’t much new to see at DealerExpo, and fewer importers and distributors than usual. In Part II (you are here), we’ll look at a few of the more popular distributors, and a few newer importers looking to make a a bigger impact.
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Dealer Expo 2009, Part I: Overview
Every February, powersports dealers from around the nation descend on grey, shivery, boring Indianapolis to see what’s new in the industry. It’s a chance for manufacturers, importers, and distributors to wine and dine their dealers and hopefully round up some orders for the upcoming riding season. This was our third year at DealerExpo, though it was our first with actual 2strokebuzz press passes. Continue reading “Dealer Expo 2009, Part I: Overview”
Chuck Mead: behind the scenes
We posted Chuck Mead’s great new video a few days ago, but it’s since been pulled from YouTube, The same YouTube link appears on Chuck’s MySpace page, so that’s strange, but being a big-shot music video director myself, I’m aware things don’t always happen the way you’d like, ha.
So we’ll get that re-linked ASAP, BUT! There’s good news! There are two other videos on YouTube with outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage from the video shoot, both of which are nearly as entertaining as the real video, especially because Chuck gets hassled by the Man in one of ’em. Check it:
The Crush
Valentine’s Day is Saturday, and I’ll be spending it with POCphil, who wrote this love story:
Your concept drawings were phenomenal, pure sex. Your designer must have been hacking my dreams while I slept.
When you fail the CWC, at least document it thoroughly
0° is pretty darn cold for Lexington, KY, so Whit and Michael of Vespa Lexington decided to give the Cold Weather Challenge a shot. Despite exceptional video, photo, and text documentation, Michael only did 7 miles and Whit just rode around the block in shorts and a t-shirt like, in his own words, “an idiot.” Nice work anyway, guys, and I believe Michael’s still leading the CWC Kentucky division.
Scooterworks’ “Cabin Fever”
Scooterworks here in Chicago’s having a big “Cabin Fever Sale” on (Saturday January 24, 2009). They’ve got free t-shirts for the first 50 people there, closeouts on helmets and apparel, and new and used scooters at “The best prices of the year,” including 1.9% financing on new Genuine scooters. (click on flyer to enlarge) Guess they’ve got to make room for all the Blur 225 Turbos and Stella 300 Eco-maticas.
A modest proposal?
Mike Frankovich at NoHo Scooters is trying an interesting new offer on Craigslist. NoHo will accept accept your broken-down Chinese internet special for $100 off any Genuine, Kymco, or SYM, and include a free helmet. It maybe doesn’t sound like much, but it’s $100-and-a-helmet more than most scooter dealers would give you for your broken dreams.
Pennsylvania DOT delays Chinese scooter registrations
The Scooter Scoop (welcome back, Steve, where have you been?) reports Pennsylvania’s DOT is holding all registrations of Chinese-made scooters for review. If this initiative covers any scooter with a VIN starting with “L,” it would not only target the fly-by nighters, but many legitimate NHTSA/DOT/EPA-approved importers and even top brands (like Piaggio and Kymco) that make some models in China.
We’re happy to see a state taking a stand against unsafe scooters and fly-by-night importers, but it seems Pennsylvania has cast their net a bit too wide, and is targeting dealers and consumers rather than importers. Hopefully the new system allows speedy processing of legitimate scooter titles, and penalizes the importers rather than the buyers of questionable Chinese scooters. The dealers deserve a big slap on the wrist, but the importers are the real criminals here.
Find more information about scooter VINs at our scooter VIN database and from Dr. Buzz.
Genuine 2009 rumors
The Genuine dealer meeting/rodeo in Wisconsin has come and gone, and our usual spies didn’t come through with much info, luckily a few people on Modern Buddy have been doing detective work. Sadly, unless Genuine is keeping some big secrets, there’s no 4-valve Blur 200 (or mayonnaise-cooled Stella 250 2-stroke 5-speed) to report, but there are a few interesting new twists.
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