(I know I’ve posted this image before, but it fits so well with today’s post)
You know that feeling you get just before you to do something painful? You’ve gone past the point of “how can I avoid this” and have entered that sure sense of inevitability. This is probably one of the few moments in your life you’ll feel SO sure about something. Your senses are working so fast it’s like time slows down. Just after you get past that “Hrm… what was that?” moment you’ve got a good mental minute or two to go through a lightening fast checklist. Here’s Bandanna-boy’s:
Impact imminent?
Um, yeah. Looks like it.
Am I protected?
Um, no *sigh*.
Do I have a clear and relatively safe trajectory?
Well, looks like it.
Will this hurt?
and this is where one of two things happen; you either hope it doesn’t, try to fight it then brace for impact or your brain overloads and you pass out.
Today this wreck is our economy and my fellow Americans; we have just checked the box in the “Will this hurt?” part of the checklist. I’m not being a pessimist or an alarmist. I’m one of the most laidback, optimistic people you’ll ever meet… as a matter of fact I can see the light at the end of this wreck (no, and it’s not a light at the end of a tunnel – “Stay awaaaay from the liiiiiight”). So why am I bringing this up? To piss in your cheerios? Not at all. I’m just saying “brace for impact!”
How does one brace for this economic wreck? Well, I’m sure there are other blogs that can help you map all of that out in varying degrees of severity, but if you own a scooter or are thinking about selling the second car and getting a scooter then you’re on the right track.
Unemployment is a runaway train, and I sincerely hope none of us are on board. This morning, NPR did a story on the relationship between employment and insured drivers. It turns out that there is a direct correlation between the number of uninsured drivers and the unemployment rate. Even the cheapest auto policy will cost you $400 a year. If you have more than one car your insurance costs can get out of control. Scooter policies, on the other hand, will run you less than $100 a year. That’s it. In fact, it costs me $60 a year to be legal. Imagine trying to slink around in your car without insurance. Getting a ticket then is definitely not gonna help you out economically.
Secondarily there’s the added gas savings; that’ll help a bit. If YOU are thinking about getting a scooter to help make it over the hump here’s a few things to consider to make a smart purchase:
1) What is the distance and top speed you need to reach? If you travel 10 miles one-way at 45 mph, you don’t need a 600cc scooter. There’s a chance you’ll be fine with someting in the 50-125cc range. Be sure to take into account terrain and body weight. A 300 lbs guy isn’t gonna make it up a 20 degree slope on a 50cc scooter. Ask an experienced scooter owner for their opinion. You can even ask ME! thescooterscoop@gmail.com
2) What do you need to haul? Can the scooter handle it or can you get accessories to help? A luggage rack will carry your briefcase to work, but you’re gonna need a sidecar to carry the whole family. Oh, and the floorboard can count as storage space too.
3) A scooter’s required funding is inversly proportional to the buyer’s mechanical ability and ingenunity. McGyver might get by with a mail order scooter. He can make a float bowl out of a thread spool and a V8 juice can. I, on the other hand, would be better off spending more to get a reliable scooter with a good warranty and good parts support.
4) Be sure to ask your dealer if they have consumer financing options. GE has Funancing, there is also Sheffield Finance, HSBC and you might even see your local credit union.
We’ll get through this if we play it smart. Who knows… The economy might inspire a slew of cool DIY projects! ;)
23. January 2009 at 3:30 am
The Unemloyment Situation has gotten out of control. When i got out of the Corps I had no job waiting for me, I attempted to get a job with Police Depts and State Highway Patrols and even BEST BUY but no one accepted me. So that is why i had to go to Korea. Its hitting hard here too infact. However they are always hiring Professionals. The insurance on my STEllA ran about 175 a year. but that covers anything on it. from theft to fire to flood, and with all the bizare things that happen to me, that is a good idea for the extra coverage. maybe this dip wont last for too much longer.
23. January 2009 at 4:45 am
Man Clayton, I’m sorry to hear that. Don’t know if you’ve had any luck with the Civil Service, but that’s where my Dad went after he got out of the Army.
Hang on tight buddy! We’ll all get through this mess.
23. January 2009 at 2:52 pm
It took more than the Bush administration to get us into this mess. This was brewing long before he came into office and I am betting that it will be just as long to get us out.
24. January 2009 at 1:32 am
I think regardless of the current state of the economy, scooters make good sense overall. You point out they provide a bit of gas $ savings. Imagine if a huge percentage of the population in the US rode scooters instead of driving big trucks and SUV’s. That would result in saving billions of barrels of oil per year. Plus yes its true insurance costs would go down a bit too. I have to say I am not a fan of scooters in 50cc-125cc range, if it were up to me I would make scooters smaller than 125 cc illegal. A 50 cc scooter does not have enough power for average city traffic, sorry. Finally, Tim-well Bush sure had a LOT to do with it.
24. January 2009 at 12:09 pm
Bush had nothing to do with the Big 3 automakers making uninspired cars nor did he have anything to do with them being crippled by the UAW union. That mess has been happening for years.
Bush had nothing to do with Fannie Mae underwriting risky loans, that fiasco was created during the Clinton Administration-
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260
I’m no Bush apologist. He has been a disappointing President to be sure, but it’s too easy and wrong to just heap all the world’s problems on him and say it is all his fault.
That’s all I am going to say about this.
Sorry Steve.
24. January 2009 at 9:00 pm
Based on conversations and correspondence resulting from my blog, I have concluded most scooter buyers don't put one ounce of thought into their scooter purchase. Not entirely a bad thing, as the bikes they buy and ride once or twice before putting them on Craigslist can be excellent deals for knowledgeable scooterists.
But I think of the guy who was planning to make a daily 50-mile round trip on an electric scooter with a prominently-advertised 30-mile range (no, he didn't have a place to plug it in at work, and he didn't notice the 30-mph top speed, either). I think of all the viewers who run across my site via the search term "Zundapp Bella." I try to point out to some of these people that a 50-year old scooter that sold by the hundreds in the U.S. is probably not something you want as primary transportation. Not that anybody is listening.
Most Americans think scooters are toys. Most of the rest of the world considers scooters a form of transportation. That's the idea behind my blog—I try to show how a scooter can be used, and what owning one is like. How many get the message, I don't know.
__Orin
Scootin’ Old Skool