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An interesting trend, or a short term fad? Your thoughts? How will sales of scooters eat into the sales of vehicles like, say, the Aveo?
Also: Scooter Sales Zoom as Drivers Look for Cheaper Ways to Get Around
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http://www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=94195Scooter sales skyrocket with rising gas prices
By Carol Maskus
June 6, 2008 --
BOULDER - With gas priced at almost $4 a gallon, and a looming recession, it's easy to take a dismal view on transportation.
Many people have the good intention of riding their bikes or taking the bus, but there is another option that is growing in popularity - the personal scooter.
Local scooter retailers are noticing the increase in interest - Small Planet "E" Vehicles in Longmont and Sportique in Boulder are getting busier.
"There has been a gradual sales increase over three years, but the last month there has been a significant increase," said Tom Wilson, owner of Small Planet. "Over the past month sales have increased 25 to 30 percent from last summer."
Wilson attributes the growth to the price of gas.
"When gasoline gets to certain plateaus, sales will go up. When it went up to $3, sales went up, and now that it's almost $4, sales are going up."
Sportique Scooters, an Englewood-based retailer with four locations in Colorado, is also getting busier.
"With gas prices we see an increase in interest and more riders out every day," said Mike Osberg, general manager of operations at the Boulder store. "At this location we're seeing about a 10 percent increase over last year, and across the stores it's quite exponential."
Customers echoed the concern about gas prices.
"I'm concerned about the environment, but that's not what's driving me to make this purchase," said Jerry Moore, a retired professional from Evergreen.
"It's more to have a little fun with and to drive by a lot of gas stations."
Brandon Slaten, a systems administrator from Gunbarrel, estimates he and his wife can save about $150 per month in gas with the purchase of one scooter. He will use it to commute to Boulder, and she will move down from her minivan to his sedan.
"I primarily bought it for gas usage, but scooters are low-emission vehicles, so that's helpful as well. And you can park on the sidewalk with the smaller ones. You don't have to park in a parking space and wait for a car to come smashing in."
Saving $150 per month is feasible with the typical scooter -one that gets about 80 mpg, according to ScootersFactory.com. The online dealer has a feature called the Scooter Calculator on its Web site, allowing people to calculate how much money they would save with a scooter. Someone who used it 30 days per month at 15 miles per day would save about $130 per month with current gas prices.
Wilson said his customers are "thinking people - university people and smart people. Boulder and Fort Collins are big markets."
When Wilson opened his store three years ago his original intent was to help mitigate global warming and pollution, popular concerns in those cities. But his customers aren't so interested in the environment anymore.
"I have people that talk about the environment and global warming and people that talk about economics. It's beginning to be more about economics."
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/06/04/money/doc4845b4926030b575652843.txtWith rising gas prices comes dwindling scooter supply
BY MICHAEL BURKE
Journal Times
Tuesday, June 3, 2008 4:16 PM CDT
RACINE COUNTY — Rita Lewis thinks she knows why Racine Montessori School’s raffle at the Lakefront Artist Fair did so well this year.
Ticket sales rose by about 1,000 despite a raw, chilly day at the lakefront. “That usually is disastrous for our raffle ticket sales,” said school administrator Lewis.
She said there could be only one explanation: First prize was a Honda Metropolitan motor scooter. “People were nuts about it,” Lewis said.
The scooter’s donor was Scott Darville, owner of Racine Motor Sports, 2005 Lathrop Ave., and a Montessori parent. From his experience this year, Darville knew he was giving the school just a coveted item — but also one that’s increasingly scarce.
“As of today, I’m out of stock of the (Honda) Ruckus,” he said last week. “I’m trying to locate more.”
“Honda is out of all of their scooters for 2008, and that’s a first.”
And when Honda runs out, that eliminates a lot of options; Honda has been the dominant manufacturer in the small scooter market.
“All the manufacturers are almost out of stock,” agreed Larry Roberts, sales manager at Schauer Power, 1621 Main St. in Union Grove. He was including Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and the Italian Vespa.
“Yamaha and Suzuki, they’re all kind of bigger,” said Darville. “That’s where Honda has the market for this.”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s driving this scooter mania. Depending on their size, motor scooters can get 50, 80 or even up to 100 miles per gallon.
A moped — those with an engine smaller than 50 cubic centimeters — can get 115-123 mpg, Roberts said.
The faster and higher gas prices soar, the more scooter sales climb along with them.
“People are buying for the gas (savings); the smaller ones,” said Ryan Johnson, co-owner of Zone2Extreme, 4543 Douglas Ave.
“People are saying they can’t afford the gas prices,” Darville said. “Or, instead of getting a second car, they’re getting a scooter or small motorcycle.”
Consequently, what was a pretty insignificant industry in the United States is now in a situation of heavy demand and shrinking supply.
“We’ll be out of stock very soon,” Darville said. “And inventory supplies are very low. I’m getting calls from dealers two or three states away wanting to know if I would let go of some of my scooters.”
With scooters’ smaller sizes come petite prices. Roberts said the price range is $2,000 to $8,000. Most men buy those in the 250cc to 400cc range, with a price tag of about $4,500 to $6,000, he said.
A 400cc scooter has more uses; its size and speed allow it to be driven on county highways and even freeways, Roberts said.
However, he said many shoppers seem mostly interested in using scooters for lower-speed, everyday commuting and errands.
Gail Miller recently bought a Honda Metropolitan to commute between her Franksville home and her Downtown Racine post office job. That’s Honda’s smallest model and most miserly with gas, getting 89-100 mpg.
Miller — a former motorcyclist — said she’d been entertaining the notion of a scooter for awhile. Her tipping point on making the purchase was, “Probably when (gas prices) hit $4 a gallon.”
She actually makes four, seven-mile trips from work to or from home, a day, going home at lunch to take care of her dogs. As an alternative to her Chrysler minivan, the gas savings should add up fast.
“I show dogs, too,” Miller said. “I go all over; it’s not that I’m not going to be driving. It’s just that I want to economize in the places that I can.”
Also: Scooter Sales Zoom as Drivers Look for Cheaper Ways to Get Around
! Hows that for saving money?
