Category: Manufacturers

BBC America goes mod

BBC America

BBC America unveiled a new identity this week, designed by mOcean. The new logo is a modified “mod target,” aka “Royal Air Force rondel,” let’s hope they have better luck with that than Lambretta Clothing. A new series of channel IDs include this one, featuring a euro-spec Vespa P200E (right-click to download) parked at a biker bar. (Thanks, Steve. Video and still: mOcean.)

L-Series site update

The Scoop points out that CMSI’s “L-Series” Website has been updated. Not much, mind you, they’ve added a posterized photo and a couple press releases, but it’s a start. POC Phil insists the new “L-Series” is the same prototype they’ve been showing off for years, with some minor cosmetic changes, and even CMSI’s Seattle neighbors Microsoft have never stalled a release this long, but Lambretta fans remain hopeful, and we look forward to the chance to talk to CMSI at the Indianapolis Dealer Expo.

MP3 marketing, and good news

Just as I was about to post a contest to unofficially name the Piaggio MP3 for the American market, POC Phil posted a comment to the last post that shed some light on the MP3 marketing story:

We received our packet on the MP3 yesterday.
UP – They include a 2 minute DVD
Down – They visually compare the MP3 to several wild animals, Guh-hay.
UP – They actually show it doing a respectable stoppie.
Down – They are OFFICIALLY calling it the MP3.
Up – They’re putting a lot of energy into this launch.
Down – They won’t be available at your local dealership until mid/late March.
Up – They originally told us $7299 – They’ve dropped it to $6999
Down – The few MP3’s already here are being loaned around to press gigs, motorcycle shows etc. Not scooter rallies…yet.
Up – I am personally buying one and I will be riding it to everything.
Down – 3 times the chance of picking up a nail.
Up – Givi already makes a windshield for it…can the saddlebags and trailer be far behind?

So it will be called the MP3, a sorta-cruddy name, but at least consistent worldwide. The news that it will be less expensive than originally thought is certainly good, and perhaps the marketing campaign will be substantial and impressive. Good news, Phil, thanks. Phil (in another thread) also reiterates our argument that the extra wheel is there for better handling, not for balance:

Regarding the Mp3 article….�the scooter that won’t topple over�… I LOVE IT… it’s exactly these type of ads that will keep me in the clover fixing damaged MP3s. Yes, it will topple over, quite easily in fact. Just forget to press the yellow button and your ass is going down, and it’s a lot harder/heavier to deal with.

Exactly. It’s less likely to fishtail or flip at speed, but that extra wheel isn’t going to help you balance the bike or stop at a light without putting your feet down. I guess parking would be easier (locking the wheels while it’s upright, rather than pushing it onto a centerstand), but it’s not a tricycle. Which is a good thing.

MP3 marketing plan, or lack thereof

Marketing trade magazine MediaPost writes about Piaggio’s marketing plan for the MP3 in the U.S.:

Paolo Timoni, president and CEO of Piaggio Group Americas, … said the bike/trike targets urban and suburban commuters worried about global warming, gasoline prices and gridlock.
The approach isn’t new to Piaggio sibling Vespa, which has for the past two years been trumpeting its scooters as green machines in urban centers through mass transit poster ads promoting the iconic two-wheelers as gasoline and time savers in U.S. cities.
Timoni said that the company ran a study prior to launching MP3, based on a hypothetical situation in which 20% of car volume in New York City was replaced by scooters. “We learned that each of those drivers would save ten days a year,” he said.
Marketing for the vehicle will launch this spring when Piaggio runs a national road show taking the three-wheeled vehicle to cities, and a national open house at dealerships, talking up the environmental friendliness, savings and practicality of the vehicle. “We will run a traditional print push later in the year,” Timoni said.

So basically nothing new, he’s rehashing the Vespanomics/Vespetition screed. It’s a reasonable tactic on one hand, but there are very good arguments both for and against scooters in those regards. In any case, gas prices appear to be coming down, and the fickle American public will (sadly) soon hop off the environmental bandwagon, so their economy-based message may turn out to be just as futile as their luxury-based attempt. (Remember a few years ago when Vespa scooters were luxurious?)

Timoni also glosses over the fact that, publicly anyway, the MP3 doesn’t even have a name in America. Pre-launch marketing seems a waste of time when they can’t even connect it to the actual branding of the product. There’s a good buzz going on the MP3 now, but will that translate to brand recognition when it finally appears? (Wasn’t that supposed to be in December?) “MP3” was a horrible naming choice in the first place by the Italians, but does it make sense to leave it nameless until a week before it hits showroom floors? If so, why hype it at all, until then? And has anyone seen the cited Vespa “mass transit poster ads” in the U.S., let alone print advertising outside scooter publications? Sure, there’s been local, dealer-driven print advertising, but not much else.

I hope the MP3 (I feel dumb even calling it that, maybe I should go back to “X3“?) is the second coming of scooters in America. I hope Piaggio has a great name and a big, impressive, national media blast ready to go, and that bikes and spares flood into (and out of) dealer showrooms without a hitch. I hope Piaggio makes me regret my lack of faith in their marketing department. The MP3 is a truly original and exciting scooter, with merits well beyond the economic, environmental, and newbie-friendliness, and I hope Piaggio makes the most of this opportunity.

In the News, January 22, 2007

DiamoUSA: More about new Italjets

After discovering late last night that Diamo USA was bringing Italjet scooters and motorcycles to America, we were stupefied, excited, and to be honest, a bit skeptical. Diamo has a fairly good reputation among scooter dealers and riders, but were they the right company to re-introduce the legendary Dragster to the U.S.? Where were these bikes coming from, and how did Italjet rise from the dead seemingly overnight? We contacted DiamoUSA early this morning, and we heard back this afternoon from Mathu Solo, who very candidly answered our questions:
Continue reading “DiamoUSA: More about new Italjets”

Italjet Dragster to return to US in February

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In a surprise announcement today, Diamo USA announced they’ll import the Italjet Dragster and Torpedo, and other Italjet bikes including the Griffon 650 motorcycle, starting in February. We’ll have more details and analysis tomorrow. (Note: these will be Italjet-branded Dragsters, not the “Italiano” models that were once expected to be built under license by Kinetic in India)

News Bits, Jan 8, 2007

We’re still catching up on news reports from our holiday break. This should bring us up to date:

  • Authorities have banned the Segway from public streets and sidewalks in the Netherlands, citing their lack of a mechanical brake as a safety hazard. It’s easy to make jokes, and we should, because Segways are ridiculously stupid, but this does pose an interesting question about how governments will react to the many alternate-fuel vehicles coming to market, especially those that don’t conform to standard vehicle categories. Few companies can afford the luxury of developing and marketing a product that may likely be banned on streets, just one more reason why huge companies already armed with lobbyists and lawyers will probably continue to dominate the market. In other words, good luck getting licence plates for your new Vectrix electric motorscooter (what’s the displacement, sonny?), and welcome to 2007.
  • New Honda Metropolitan rider tells the Arizona Daily Star how much she loves her scooter.
  • “At one point I was going to lease a BMW to try to meet women,” Jeff Schultz tells the Louisville Courier-Journal. Luckily, he came to his senses and bought a Kymco People 250. We assert that scooters’ environmental impact is notable, yet generally overstated, so we found both comments pretty funny.
  • Kymco has expanded its relationship with ARI to improve customer relations by streamlining warranty claims and product registration.
  • Following up the results of an earlier report, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries confirms that scooter sales are kicking ass in Australia. While several Australian companies, notably Bolwell, have been importing rebadged scooters from Asian makers, Vmoto has gone a step farther and bought their Chinese supplier, Freedmoto, outright. (That’s ONE way to ensure decent quality control from a Chinese company.)
  • Motorcyclenews.com reports on a 112-horsepower Italian racing scooter built by Team Cristofolini Racing. The custom-made aluminium 4-cylinder 350cc engine is mounted in what used to be a Malaguti F12 frame.

Lambretta > No. 50 Bus

Birmingham, UK, transport chief Coun Martin Mullaney made a name for himself by demanding that other public officials use the bus system, but he admitted to the local paper that he usually rides his vintage Lambretta because public transportation is so backed-up. “Birmingham is seen as anti-bus, and some of the things we have done have added to that perception,” says Mullaney. Um, yeah. (Thanks for the story, e*rock.)