If you’ve gotta write an Earth-Day column about something, why not write it about a thirty-year-old-design 2-stroke engine saving the planet?
Category: International
Operation Vectrix
Vectrix has been lending out 100 electric scooters in European cities (more than they’ve sold to date, by some accounts) to celebrate the third anniversary of the Kyoto treaty. Riders can reserve a bike to test for a limited period, and are then offered incentives to purchase (EU “green” credits and discounts make the bike much more accessible in Europe, Vectrix is lobbying for a similar program in the U.S.). The program started in Rome, is currently running in Bologna, and will visit Milan, Turin, Madrid, and Paris in coming months. Vectrix has also started taking pre-orders for its three-wheeled electric scooter based on the Piaggio MP3 system.
Malaguti: “Draw your own conclusions”
Baron Motors’ BBS announcement-of-sorts is actually more of a caption contest than an announcement. (BTW, that’s one “t” in Malaguti). I suppose the gist is that CFmoto is building Malaguti-branded bikes and selling them here via Baron. (See also: PSF/QJ/Benelli, LS/?/Italjet.) Also, just for fun, read the Wikipedia Malaguti page and guess who probably wrote it. (Thanks, Matty.)
Cackalacka News bits: 4/3/08
A bunch of stories to block out election coverage:
- AutoWeek reviews the Vectrix, which will replace gas-powered bikes at the Boston Marathon, which seems like a long-overdue idea.
- A florida girl was trapped under her scooter for three hours.
- British scooterists strut their stuff in Hastings, North Wales, North Allerton, and Rotherham.
- A Miami scooter dealer epitomizes Vespa USA’s marketing shift from “Show off that bling!” to “Save the planet!”
- More “Save Gas” stories from North Cackalacka, another from North Cackalacka, and, wait! another one from North Cackalacka! Way to come up with original story ideas, N.C. media. I guess you had to get that out of the way before the primary.
GPS horror!
As if mobile phones, ipods, and conservative talk radio aren’t distracting drivers enough, GPS navigation systems can actually tell a distracted driver to go ahead and run right into you (w/gory photos!). On the other side of the coin, more and more scooterists are using cell phones, iPods, and GPS navigation systems as they ride, which scares me even more.
Electric Buddy?
I posted this last week after skimming it, and I skimmed right over the part where PGO UNVEILED AN ELECTRIC-POWERED BU BU at EICMA. Electric-powered chinese scooters were a dime a dozen at Dealer Expo, but maybe PGO will get it right. And is it a coincidence that the model shown apppears to be painted in Genuine’s Buddy Italia colors?
NSU Lambretta: Bear powered!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfeuZk0lqSQ]
The coolest vintage scooter video since the Lambretwist! Still blows my mind how more and more magical stuff continues to appear on YouTube. (Thanks Matt!)
“Norwich Is The ‘New Rome’”
A recent study found that Norwich is the UK’s scooter capital, with one scooter per ten residents. Way to sell your Lambretta last week, Cy. The study was conducted by Bennetts, who listed the top ten as follows: Continue reading ““Norwich Is The ‘New Rome’””
Tata’s scooter inspiration
More detail about how a scooter accident inspired Tata’s $2500 car, from the Toronto Globe and Mail.
Taiwan @ EICMA
Here’s a nice PR roundup of Taiwan’s offerings at the EICMA show in Milan. If you think I’m taking a long time to write up DealerExpo reports, remember that EICMA was last November, and these dudes are presumably getting paid to write this stuff.
Vespa’s punchy “new” scooter
If this article is to be believed, the Vespa LX150 was just released in Canadia. Maybe they meant to review the Vespa LXS, which just came oot, and is being promoted in Canada under the banner “Born to be Square”, with what looks like 4/5th of the Kids in the Hall, circa 1992, with LXS headsets for heads.
Many people hate the square headlight on the “S.” Those people are dumb, it is awesome, and VofC is smart to turn it into a selling point. If you want a round headlight, buy the “new” LX 150!
Tu Trung, a Vietnamese Vespa restorer
Thanhnien News profiles Tu Trung, a Vespa restorer in Ho Chi Minh city. I don’t know his work, but it’s neat to read a local perspective on the Vietnamese Vespa restoration industry.
Vermont and Canadia were brought in for questioning
From the Brown Daily Herald (Providence, RI)’s Campus News’ police blotter:
1:59 p.m. A student reported that sometime between 11 p.m. on March 14 and 9 a.m. on March 16, someone poured maple syrup all over her motor scooter in Lot 77 at Brook and Benevolent Streets.
Scooter Rider Punched
Another good reason to wear a full-face.
Royal Enfield floats on
Sify’s story about Royal Enfield‘s modest success, which can been seen as somewhat analogous to LML’s story. It’s a good model for business; targeting a small-but-fanatical market that’s totally ignored by bigger corporations.