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Vespa Restoration Becomes a School Project

23 Oct 2009 Filed under: Scooter news, Vespa Author: Brian

For future engineers, the need to determine what vehicle they may find useful in their line of study is quite broad. But if you talk about what the world is raving of today, it has to be pointed out at scooters. And while the discoveries of new scooter technology can be expected in the coming years, nothing beats going back to the basics in class. Such is the initiative being done now at the Eastchester Middle School where students seem to have embraced their Vespa restoration project.

This marks the second year they have done so and after their first project, a 1966 Vespa Allstate, you have to wonder what they will come up with next. The timing couldn’t have been better since we have seen a lot of people restoring old scooters and bikes for alternative modes of transport.

(Source) NY Times

REF:   http://www.scooteringusa.com/2009/10/vespa-restoration-becomes-a-school-project/

 

Scooter driver asks the wrong man for directions

Thursday, September 10, 2009 3:00 AM

Staff report

A scooter driver was charged with driving while impaired after a close encounter with a Salisbury Police cruiser.

Officer B.W. Lomax reported he was driving south on Old Concord Road around 12:30 a.m. Monday when a red scooter almost pulled out in front of him.

Lomax subsequently observed the scooter driver make a turn at a red light. Lomax then pulled into the UPS parking lot to wait for the scooter.

The scooter then pulled into the parking lot, with the driver, Delton Lewis, asking the police officer for directions to Lumberton.

Lomax reported that Lewis' speech was slurred and he had difficulty keeping his balance. He told the officer he had drunk one beer in High Point.

Lewis, 59, of 208 Morgan Place, High Point, failed a field sobriety test and registered a .16 on a roadside breath test, double the .08 legal limit.

REF:  http://www.salisburypost.com/Area/091009-cops-salisbury-sept-9-scooterDWI

Piaggio Speeds Ahead with Hybrid Scooter    

Driver of Piaggio's MP3 hybrid scooter can disengage the gas engine, running on a zero- emission engine that can allow access into areas where combustion engines are restricted.  (Piaggio)

  • (CNET)  This story was written by CNET's Martin LaMonica.

    Italy's Piaggio wants to clean up the image of scooters.

    The company, which makes several lines of scooters,     on Tuesday introduced a hybrid version of its three-wheeled MP3 scooter, which it claims is the first hybrid scooter.

    The MP3 Hybrid improves mileage and reduces carbon emissions by 50 percent, according to the company. It should also reduce other air pollutants, which has led some European cities to keep scooters and other vehicles out of certain areas.

    The company, which sells the iconic Vespa brand, plans to make the hybrid available in Europe by August for about $12,500 and in the U.S. by 2010, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.

    The MP3 Hybrid costs more than the gasoline MP3 scooters, which range from about $7,100 to $9,000 in the U.S. But the company is investing in the hybrid power train with an eye toward using the technology in other models, as Toyota has done with the power train in the Prius.

    The hybrid MP3 operates as a typical hybrid car, optimizing fuel efficiency by using the gasoline engine and stored energy in its lithium ion batteries. When the vehicle decelerates and brakes, it charges the battery.

    A driver can choose an all-electric mode for short trips and can view both the gas tank reserves and the amount of battery charge remaining from the dash.

    In the U.S., purchases of hybrid and all-electric scooters, such as the Vectrix, qualify for a 10 percent tax rebate.

REF: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/07/tech/cnettechnews/main5141302.shtml