(07.28.08) Recommends:

Quite The Sales Plug.

For a few months now, we've been kicking around the idea of purchasing a scooter. Large parts of LA are not covered by the metro line, large parts are not pedesterian-friendly, and oddly, at the same time, large parts aren't really car-friendly, either: the streets are too narrow; the stop lights rarely seem to be synched up; there are rarely turn signals, resulting in at least four drivers attempting to turn on every yellow/red light, at least two of whom with not use their turn signal; the main requirement to be a driver of a city bus is to be completely unreasonable; gas is $4.50 per gallon and on and on and on. As a result: we've become very interested in the idea of buying a scooter.

So on Friday we noticed this article in the Boston Globe for the Vectrix scooter. The numbers are insane. It's electric so it gives off zero emissions. It costs one cent per mile to run the thing. It gets the equivalent of 357 miles per gallon. The California Air Resource board will subsidize $1,500 of the purchase. Apparently the thing can even go on the highway.

Since we've read the article, all we notice are scooters around us; we've become like those women, desparate to become mothers, who break into tears at the sight of a baby. Next up in the due diligence process is learning about the Vespa.

Update: The Vespa LX. A very handsome looking scooter, yeah?