Barber Brothers President Chuck Barber says, “It seems like every time the gas prices hit three dollars a gallon, the doors fly open on the scooter shop. This year we’re approximately 80 percent above last year in sales of scooters.”
Chuck says most people are buying these as a second or third around-town vehicle and they’re not going to the clientele you’d think. “We’re not talking about a scooter that goes to a lot of young kids, college students; we’re talking about a scooter that goes to a middle-aged guy like me, doctors, lawyers, we’ve sold them to people from all walks of life.”
4. June 2007 at 2:37 pm
There’s a new Vespa store just opened recently on 4th South in SLC. Saturday I stopped in and took a short test ride on an MP3. Pretty dang neat device but whoo! is it ‘spensive!
I hope Piaggio sells a ton of them so there might be a used one available in a year or two.
But the Vespa store seems pretty nice. The manager looks to be about 24, so I hope he has the experience to make the shop successful.
4. June 2007 at 6:16 pm
Yeah… tad bit ‘spensive. If it was that price at 400cc’s, it would be an easier decision.
*Steve gives an offering of 3 spark plugs to the Vespa Shoppe Deities to ensure its success.*
19. August 2008 at 4:10 am
It’s true, one can definitely see more scooters on Salt City’s impeccable roads these days. Granted, this is still very much Harley country, and most free-spirited rebels still don leather and cherished Sportster’s, Dyna’s, Fat’s, etc.
But the tide is indeed turning. Just the other day, I saw a couple of modern day hipsters with tattooed arms and baggy jeans atop a pair of 150cc steeds.
And if any of you locals doubt the staying power of the scooter, you probably ought to avoid the south side of Redwood road, where a local car dealership is trying to pawn off those overpowered underutilized gas guzzling behemoths by offering a “free scooter with purchase.”