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Electric Scooters
By Kathryn Whittaker, Fri Dec 9th
Gasoline prices skyrocketing? No need to worry - with a motor orelectric scooter one gallon of gas will last for weeks. As people start driving electric scooters, they find more andmore reasons to like them. They're practical, easy to park andget great gas mileage. With gasoline price raising day by day,the popularity of playful, fuel-efficient electric hassoared. According to industry experts, last years sales havedoubled compared to a year ago, and only in 2005 more than300,000 electric were sold. The hard-core scooter enthusiast enjoys the feel of scootingwhich many people compare to skating on land. For those who livedowntown, make the everyday commute fun and easy, andmost models are compact enough to be taken onto public transportand then stored under a desk for the rest of the working day -and you can recharge the battery. Electric and motor scootersallow you to save money on gas - even Vespa, the grand dame ofscooters, easily sips one gallon of gas during 50 miles of cityride. Some people turn to after losing their drivingprivileges; some find the scooter more romantic than bike andenjoy so-called scooter dates. Many people in the Far Eastswitched to electric for the fear of SARS, and thissummer many scooter enthusiasts proudly looked up at theirfellow city dwellers, as they were suffocating in jammedstreetcars and buses. No matter why people choose motor and electric today,the thriving sales have resulted in many new models with exitingfeatures and design. One of the most popular scooter models
is the eGO-2 Cycle, whichcombines the best features of a bike and an electric scooter.eGO can be used as a bicycle but has all the equipment of ascooter, including headlights, turn signals, brakes andthrottle. With aluminum silver-plated chassis, this work of artcan easily make up to 25mph climbing hill - and weighing lessthan 120 lbs! The eGO retails for around $1400 depending on aretailer. Another two-wheeled whiz kid on the block is a Xootr, a crossbetween a skateboard and an electric scooter. Although Xootr cantake you around at the speed of 10 km it has neither suspensionnor real brakes but with its extremely light-weight, thesedisadvantages are easy to live with. And when the batteries runlow, you can still propel it with kicking. Speaking of scooters, it's impossible to miss out the famousVespa. These two-wheeled wonders of Italian design haveenchanted Europeans since the end of 1940s, when designersCorradino D'Ascanio and Enrico Piaggio created an affordabletwo-wheeled vehicle for the masses. And Hollywood loves Vespatoo, putting Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday and Nicole Kidmanin The Interpreter on equally stylish Vespas.
Indeed, women comprise more than 60 per cent of all scooterowners.
And with affordable prices - most
range from$800 to a $1000, while bigger and faster can cost asmuch as $10,000 - have quickly carved out their nicheon today's city road. |
