TheScooterScoop

Two-Wheel Travel (Life: Personal Finance) | SmartMoney.com: “SCOOTERS ARE NO LONGER resigned to the courier business, college towns and replays of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn’s Vespa-enchanted ‘Roman Holiday.’ And they’re no longer foreign to U.S. buyers.

Domestic sales of these gas-saving two-wheelers have surged as budget- and environment-minded consumers look for relief from high pump prices and as more-appealing models come on the market. Demand isn’t expected to stall anytime soon, industry observers say.

U.S. sales for just the leading manufacturers Honda, Yamaha and Aprilia of scooters with engine sizes of 150cc or less (generally considered midsize to small and not usually reaching sustainable highway speeds) totaled about 16,000 in 1999. Sales from this group had jumped some 200%, to 48,000, by 2004, and they continue to rise, according to industry stats from Robert Pandya, spokesman for the Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows.

These figures include only those models endorsed by the Motorcycle Industry Council as being up to current industry standards and EPA regulations. Toss in older bikes and those imported from smaller, mostly Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean makers not typically manufactured to meet U.S. environmental rules, and the 48,000 figure nearly doubles, Pandya said.”

Pretty high profile story! Click the title link to read more.