TheScooterScoop

Herald.com | 10/13/2005 | Fuel-conscious are discovering scooters, smiles: “BY JAMES CUMMINGS

Cox News Service

Tammy Makela owns a three-quarter ton Chevrolet pick-up truck, a 5-year-old American thoroughbred horse and a 1986 Honda Elite scooter.

The truck is for hauling, the horse is for recreation and the scooter is for everything else.

”For going 35 to 45 miles an hour from traffic light to traffic light, my scooter can’t be beat,” Makela said. “It’s convenient, it’s easy on gas and it’s a blast to ride. I think I’ll always have one.”

With the price of a gallon of gasoline hovering around the $3 level, lots of people are starting to look seriously at scooters which can get 30 to 80 mpg, depending on their size. About 86,000 new scooters were sold in the United States last year, which is about twice as many as sold in 2000, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.

But for those who have been riding scooters for a while, good gas mileage is just a pleasant bonus.

”We ride because it’s fun,” said Leah Stahl of Dayton, Ohio. “When you’re riding, everybody looks at you and smiles. And you have to smile, too.

‘When my husband’s in a bad mood, I tell him, `Go take your scooter out for a ride.’ Just about everybody who rides a scooter rides around smiling.””