Scooters and Extreme MPG

With the price of gasoline on a never ending rise up through the stratosphere my driving eyes have noticed more and more people scootering about the area. Don’t ask me why but every time I see one of these people on their scooter all I can picture is one of those die hard environmentalist that recycle everything, eat only organically grown food, and of course separate their two ply toilet paper to stretch the almighty dollar. One does not interact with those kind of people due to the possible fact that at any moment you could be blamed for global warming and every other environmental tragedy going on in the world. That and they just might whack you upside the head with their oversized scooter helmet.

Just for giggles we stopped at a local car dealer that just happens to also sell extreme left wing, environmentally friendly, Ninja like traffic swerving scooters. At first I was shocked at the price at only $1400 for a basic no frills scooter. (An online search found prices as low as $320) Then came the gas mileage, heart warming, environmentalists brain tickler shocker. The damn things get 100 miles per gallon of go-go juice!

Instantly, my wife’s cash saving calculator went off in her head. Having to drive back and forth to work twice per day as a school bus driver with her mini van getting 20 miles per gallon, the fuel savings quickly would pay for the initial investment. Fill up the scooters tank for $8 bucks or the mini van’s for $65, times that by 36 weeks in the school year, deduct 20% for rainy days, another 10% for “Oh crap, I didn’t hear the alarm” days, carry the one and add the square root of errands and the savings are enormous!

We are seriously thinking about buying one but we know there has to be some fine print in this deal? Savings like this always have a catch to it? I’ll keep you posted if I find the clause stating that you must separate at the minimum 500 rolls of two ply toilet paper per year to qualify as a scooter owner.

Papamoka

Hat tip to Diner City Scooter Club (DCSC)

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Scooter, Moped, Gas Savers, Saving Gas, MPG, Motorcycle, Environmentalist, Green Transportation, Bicycling

Move your Ass Detroit!

In India they unveiled the cheapest car in the world. It’s God awful ugly but goes from point A to point B at 50 MPG. Don’t even think about looking for it on the streets in North America any time soon. It won’t pass the bicycle hitting the newspaper stand test. But it is innovative in an entrepreneurial kind of way of making brand new car ownership possible to millions of people in India.

This raises the question, why the hell can’t Detroit do this for the folks in the United States? Could it be that all the outsourcing of jobs to India has created the end of Detroit’s ownership on the world transportation needs? Either way you look at it, India has a compact super little car that fit’s the needs of their people and cuts emissions that can be bought for $2500 US dollars.

Tata unveils Nano, its $2,500 car

The long-awaited Indian 'People's Car' aims to replace the scooter in first-time buyers' hearts. Though you won't see it in the West anytime soon, it could signal a wave of lower-priced cars to come.

By MSN Money staff and wire reports

India's Tata Motors today unveiled the Nano, its much-anticipated $2,500 car, an ultracheap price tag that brings car ownership into the reach of tens of millions of people.
Company Chairman Ratan Tata, introducing the Nano during India's main auto show in New Delhi, drove onto a stage in a white version of the tiny four-door subcompact, his head nearly touching the roof.

With a snub nose and a sloping roof, the world's cheapest car can hold five people -- if they squeeze. And the basic version is spare: There's no radio, no air bags, no passenger-side mirror and only one windshield wiper. If you want air conditioning to cope with India's brutal summers, you need to get the deluxe version. - MSN MONEY

All is fair in love and war and American’s love cars. The current administration has proven that we will go to war over the go go juice that gets our people from point A to point B. With this little car we just might not have to go to war to protect our need for more go go juice.

Cheap cars are never pretty, remember the Yugo? That was a joke of a car but many people bought them and drove them till their Bic Lighter life ran out. Same thing goes for the Geo Metro, put me in the ownership column of Geo Metro lovers. I loved my little four door grasshopper. Filling the tank once every two weeks with a work commute of 19 miles each way fit my larger than life family.

Watch your back Detroit, India is knocking on the door and they are bringing savings to the driving consumers. It may not be pretty now but these cars will be on the streets of North America in less than ten years with some beefing up crash test passing results. The clock is ticking… tick, tock, tick, tock…

Papamoka

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