Trix Are For Kids And Fruit Loops Are For The Birds

So, this is Summer. One of the big differences between children and adults is always clearest when schools out. The kids simply have time off and the adults don't. Lazy days of Summer for adults? As if. It's more likely that you end up playing too hard on the weekends and then recover during the week. Another big difference was that as a kid if you wanted to go anywhere your bicycle was a huge part of our freedom. Getting a drivers license changed that once most of us hit age sixteen.

So, gas prices are high. Have we really reached the tipping point? Nope. There are still plenty of cars on the road. People like their freedom and driving a car is a big part of it. Well, that's not entirely the point, but old habits die hard. If someone is used to driving, they are going to continue to drive. Not every one will just walk, ride a bicycle, or take the bus (do we even have a bus system any more?).

So, yesterday on my morning bike commute I saw eight other people biking. They didn't look like they were on a casual ride either. Perhaps the Summer weather had something to do with it, or maybe it was the high gas prices. This morning on the radio the DJ was interviewing a lady who just bought a Vespa scooter. I have mixed feelings about these. Sure, if you lived in San Diego you could ride these year-round, but are people forgetting last Winter already?

So, when the weather is warm these gas-saving scooters will be the rage, but wait until September or October when the morning frost hits. That's when the drive in the car with the cup of hot coffee is even more tempting. For most people a scooter will only be a four or five month solution (at best). For the entry-level Vespa (which the LX is the only one listed below 50cc for the engine displacement). Anything above that point requires the scooter to have motorcycle endorsement from the DMV.

So, why does this matter? Well, the lady being interviewed on the radio claimed her scooter could go 45pmh and got 100mpg with that engine. Hmmmmm... from the Vespa specs I see 39mph and 70-80mpg as the top numbers. Forget the parkway, but on most semi-major arteries of Bend you are going be traveling 30-35mph typically.

So, your scooter can go 39mph, right? What's the problem? Well, if 39mph is the top speed, do you really think you are going to be getting premium fuel economy at that speed? PtownScooters has some good info on their site:

The thing with kitted engines is that while on the one hand you will see a noted improvement in overall performance, the flip-side is that you'll also see a proportional drop in fuel economy; i.e., more power = more gas. In additon, performance engines run at higher rpm's (revolutions per minute) which means that there's more wear and tear on your engine components than in a "stock" engine. So if you want your bike to go faster, by choosing the right components for the engine rebuild you'll help to minimize problems down the road and add to the longevity of your engine.

So, if you circled the streets of downtown Bend on your scooter at 20mph, then sure you would be just fine on a sub-50cc scooter, but I can't imagine that's a typical requirement of most people. Sure you can get a bigger engine, and while 60mpg is much better than what a typical car gets, it's still a scooter. My point is that scooters are getting a lot of hype as a fix for high gas prices, but what happens in the Winter with snow and ice?

So, for your Winter requirements how about the Smart Car? I will admit that these cars fascinate me. Prior to gas prices being this high, there were enough Hummers and Escalades on the road that if you drove a Smart Car and got in an accident, well, you get the point. Replace those large vehicles with scooters and things aren't looking so bad. Of course do you honestly believe anyone who drove a Hummer is now driving a Vespa?

So, the Smart Car looks promising if you don't have a large family to move around. I do question how well one of these would really drive in the snow. The Smart Car FAQ seems to address most of these questions, but there's something to be said for the real-world test versus the answers given to the FAQ's. However, the small footprint of the car is cool and the 30-40mpg city driving is pretty juicy. This is not something you want to drive on the Interstate, or over the mountain pass all the time, but if you mainly have a need to drive from home to work as well as some shopping (maybe except Costco) this could work out just fine.

So, I've heard that for large SUV's and trucks it's a buyers market. Hmmmmm..sounds familar. Just remember when you are quickly forgetting Winter and looking at the brightly colored Vespas that Trix are for kids and Fruit Loops are for the birds. Huh? Well, it makes as much sense to me as spending $5,000 to save $1000.