When scooter news breaks, we put it under a tarp in the garage.
Carl Sagan uses Paolo, an italian teenager on a Vespa, to explain travel at the speed of light. (from episode 8 of Cosmos.)
One question: why is that Tuscan kid (at 1:06) wearing a Cleveland Barons sweatshirt?
(Awesome link, Matt, thanks very much. I actually remember watching this very episode in my parents’ family room in 1980.)
Piaggio announced today that they’ll be incorporating the operations of wholly-owned subsidary Moto Guzzi into Piaggio’s infrastructure by the end of November, moving Guzzi production to Piaggio or Aprilia facilities, and “rationalising the technical, industrial, design and style operations of the two companies.”
A review of Pippo Cappellano and Marina Cappabianca’s film Forever Vespa from the 13th Cathay Pacific Italian Film Festival in New Zealand. The reviewer is a Vespisti (and admittedly a bit snobby about it!) with an astute grip on the current scooter craze, he notes that it’s an independent film so well-supported by Piaggio’s archives that it sometimes appears to be a Piaggio promotional video. It’s played at a few festivals, but I can’t find a trailer or any more info… anyone?
Italy’s usually-decent F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella is having a not-so-great season with Force India, which will give him plenty of time to serve as an “Electric Ambassador” for Vectrix scooters.
Piaggio chairman Roberto Colaninno and his group of investors have withdrawn their bid for Alitalia, after failing to gain support from the airline’s unions.
Neato, and it works up to 70mph. I love the Nixie-Tube look. It’s designed for bicyclists, but the concept works even better for scooterists, where motorists may be less likely to pass a rider already going over the speed limit.
Speaking of zero-emissions, rumors are spreading that a new, electric BMW Isetta will be available in 2010. (The photos are all photoshop renderings, but it gives you something to think about.)
That’s pretty much how I play GTA, too. Totally righteous. Via POCphil.
MotoGP coverage coming tonight.
NoZone magazine’s 100 Year Forecast is pretty right-on, funny, and well-designed.
PiaggioUSA is awesome, according to a story written by a PR guy who’s written other stories about Piaggio for several PR magazines. This story will be be re-written (with a few token quotes from the local Vespa dealer) and published as “news” by all major news outlets in the next week or so.
Nashville musician Will Hoge was struck by a van on his way home from a recording session earlier this week. The officer’s description of the accident upset a lot of scooterists, and Hoges’ blog post is a beautifully-written first-person account of the confusion and pain and drama of a serious accident.
I don’t want to put words in Will’s mouth (he’s clearly much better with words than I am, even in his hospital bed), and we look forward to reading more of his perspective on the accident, which he’s promised to post, but his story drives home a point that seems obvious on the surface, but that most people forget from time to time:
A top priority in motorcycle and scooter safety (even above protective gear in my estimation) is giving your undivided attention to your surroundings. Anything can happen at any time, and it pays to be 100% aware and prepared for anything, always. I’ve posted before about how foolish it is to ride when you’re riled up after a near-accident or confrontation with a driver, but there are many other kinds of distractions, and the good (A good day at work, love, lust, or, in this case, the chance to work with Bruce Springsteen) can distract you just as much as the bad. I’ve had plenty of near-misses, most were avoided because I was carefully watching the road. Other near-misses were caused by lapses in my attention, and I was luckily saved by the other driver reacting quickly. Most accidents can be avoided if someone’s being careful, but it’s not smart to leave it up to the other guy. In most situations, it’s up to you to control your destiny, and you can never take another drivers’ actions for granted. It’s likely that Will was watching the road carefully and got creamed anyway, it happens all the time (and that’s where good protective gear sure doesn’t hurt), but he implies that he had a lot on his mind, and that the collision was a total surprise.
Get well fast, Will, The Boss will still be around when you’re ready. Our wishes are with you.
Piaggio SpA chairman Roberto Colaninno, will head a new privatized Alitalia, and the weird Italian business cycle of salvation, success, abandonment, failure, government intervention, more failure, more government intervention and more salvation begins anew. Since Piaggio went public, press announcements from Pontadera have slowed considerably, this new pet project will likely divert even more of Colaninno’s attention away from Piaggio.
Here’s one of David Viggiano’s Slaughterhouse bits from Fox News this morning. There were more gags and adventures, hopefully someone can convert Tivo to Youtube. All in all it was fun, and loads better than this. As I was leaving, I heard MadTV’s Michael McDonald was on his way over to try out the Gymkhana. Thanks to Johnny of Motoworks for putting it together. Slaughterhouse starts tonight, of course. Be there!
UPDATE: Thanks to Thanks to Fox, Gapers Block, Time Out Chicago, and Love, Chicago for hyping the rally!
Every few months, there’s an “End of the Vespa PX” story, even though I’ve read that Piaggio officially ceased production in December, 2006. They’ve offered a few “limited editions” since then, and the standard PX has been available from European shops, so who knows? In any case, this story isn’t winning any awards for implying that manual-transmission scooters are illegal in Europe, or for ignoring the fact that Eddy Bullet and other importers sell a fair number of PX-clone LML Stars in Europe, though perhaps that will come to an end, too. Which may be why LML is perpetually rumored to be working on a 4-stroke automatic helium-powered 8000cc PX-style scooter.
I was just Googlestalking someone (more about that link in a minute) and found the famous “Hamara Bajaj” commercial in her YouTube favorites. I’ve always heard how great this commercial is, but never seen it until now. Assuming the swastika at :28 holds a different meaning in Indian culture than it does in Western culture (I’m pretty sure it does), it is a very touching tribute. Now MAKE SOME, Bajaj! I stand by my assertion that Bajaj will unveil the perfect scooter exactly one month after the worldwide scooter boom comes to an end.