Fuel-sipping scooters zoom out of dealer showrooms

"USA Today" featured the following article on the increase in sales of scooters in the USA. The majority of Americans don't seem to know what to make of the scooter phenomenon. The large gas guzzling automobile is still entrenched in their culture as a birthright and a symbol of freedom. 

By Chris Woodyard
USA TODAY

Scooters may be the runts of the road, but high-priced gas is making them kings of the showroom.

Dealers are periodically running short, and manufacturers say they're trying, sometimes in vain, to produce more scooters.

"There's no way we could have planned for almost doubling our sales," says Kevin Foley, spokesman for maker Yamaha.

While scooters made up about 15% of all street-licensable motorcycles in 2007, their U.S. sales zoomed 66% in the first half of the year, highest of any segment in the motorcycle market, the Motorcycle Industry Council says. Some scooter makers say sales boomed when gas hit $4 a gallon: Piaggio Group Americas, which makes Vespa, saw sales rise 174% in July compared with a year ago.

"Suppliers, used to a fairly stable but slow-growing market, are going crazy" trying to meet demand, says Bev Brinson, publisher of ScooterWorld Magazine.

Once seen as the quirky wheels in foreign films, scooters are moving mainstream. With engines as small as 50 cubic centimeters, they typically get 70 miles per gallon or more. Their automatic transmissions, under-seat storage and upright riding position make them commuter-friendly.

But dealers say they're sporadically out of some models. "Some are gone for the year, and others (are) down to the last five or six," says Steve Travers, manager of the Camrod Motorsports dealership in New York. This time last year, Camrod had 70 scooters in stock. As of Monday, it had 17. Replacements on some models aren't due until late September, he says.

In Idaho, Scooters of Boise was down to five scooters two weeks ago. Now, it has 10, and inventory generally is "still short," says manager Ryan Mahoney. The store closed its waiting list at 200.

Piaggio's U.S. chief Paolo Timoni says the factories are churning out more, and they have the capacity because added demand is mostly a U.S. phenomenon. Supplies are adequate, he says, although dealers may lack a particular color or style.

At Genuine Scooter, whose brands include Buddy and Stella, there's no longer a need for a warehouse. All scooters go straight to dealers.

"They're selling faster than we can make them," says Brett Ratner, Genuine's dealer development director.