mpgmotors.com Blog

The Amazin’ Spring and Summer of 2008 (to be continued)

August 9, 2008 on 2:50 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

It started later in Pennsylvania than other states. The price of gasoline was climbing but it didn’t seem to get people’s attention here. It had to start sometime.

“Ride When You Can and Drive When You Have To” made too much sense.

We were loaded, we thought, for bear! We had so many scooters and bikes that we had to worry about the dreaded motorcycle dealership domino effect (trip, “oops”, boom, boom, boom…). Getting the doors closed at night was a real logistical problem.

Our sales picked up a day or two after the April 22nd Pennsylvania primary. Gas prices started their daily rise. 250cc motorcycles and scooters started selling one a day, then two and even three per day. In a couple of weeks, we set a store record - 6 in a day! We (our vendors and MPG Motors) sold out of the Hyosung GV250 Aquila first. That was a surprise, it went from very available to sold out in days! Next we went through all of the Buddy scooters we had stocked. We had a bunch but we blew them out.

Our Hyosung products just matched the requirements:

Tim (of Tim and Sara) said, “I just purchased my new Hyosung GV 250 a little while a go and absolutely love it! I am consistantly getting over 65 miles to the gallon and have no problems at all carrying myself and my wife. The bike is awesome and I would recomend it to anyone!”

Scott said of his GT250R used for a 130 mile daily turnpike commute, “I think I can get closer to 80 MPG feel free to use my quote. This bike is peforming just great….I love it.”

John said of his MS3-250 FI scooter, “This thing is a rocket!”

Customers across the nation figured out that the Buddy is the perfect match for their driving. It’s a perfect match in the Southeast PA area. 90 mpg, two year warranty, one year of roadside assistance for the price of a really used car. Consequently Genuine Scooters is having a blowout year (Philip McCaleb video)

After the Aquila and the scooters blew out, the Hyosung GT250R went next. It was getting exciting to be alive then! We got the last naked (standard) GT250 in the US, some of the last solid-color GT250R’s and two-tone GT250R’s left. They came and went! It was a “small-displacement” summer. Larger models from other manufacturers didn’t and haven’t sold. Even though our “large” 650’s get over 50 mpg, it was tough to convince buyers to spend the extra money even when we showed them it would ultimately save them money. It was an upside-down powersports summer.

Other scooter dealers reported the same - we contacted Genuine Scooter Company and Hyosung and started what seems to be a summer of calling to see if and when we could get more product. They begged all of us to stop the daily calling and went to a strict allocation program that was fair but tough for an industry used to excess product. Our vendors cranked it up. But allowing for the weeks to build additional product and the six weeks that it takes just to transit the Pacific from Taiwan or South Korea to the port in Los Angeles put powersports dealers like us at the end of July before we saw any additional product.

Credit remained an issue for many would-be buyers. The relatively tight credit markets escalated the required credit scores further limiting the larger bike purchases. Our customers responded by snapping up our used inventory. Every bike. That never happened before either.

The previously unknown Hyosung MS3-250 fuel-injected scooter started making serious inroads, we sold nine and have almost run out of the new Maxi-Luxo scooter.

We had often talked about “two-fers” - two sales at once to next door neighbors, to spouses. Yes, we had those too. It was a summer of firsts.

We appreciate all the patience our customers have shown us this year in a market where letting a customer walk out the door means a lost sale. Some terrific individuals have been hanging in with us for almost two months now waiting for their Buddy’s.

Thank-you.

As I write this, the riding year is almost over so things are slowing down.

Bull. Scratch that. This is the year that continues to confound.

I don’t think this year is done yet. Despite a drop in the price of gas, we had a steady stream of customers today. Gas isn’t back below a dollar yet. Remember why it dropped - US gasoline consumption decreased amazing the pundits. You don’t have to hit us in the head with a brick two times - we got it in April!

The Hyosung GV250 I rode in today still gets 65 mpg and my F-250 still gets 12 mpg. Insurance still is relatively cheap for our products and the cost of the MPG Motors bikes and scooters and our low equipment prices let people ride and gear-up with great products at good prices. I’ve been saying that all summer that a survey of a New Year’s Eve party last December would have found very few people thinking of riding vs. driving in the new year. A lot of them are now riding. A lot.

The year isn’t over. We’re still strictly allocated, we have one Buddy 50 Lil’ Italia on the floor, able to sell at the time I write this. We are anxiously awaiting more product from our vendors - the product is coming from now on. We’re going to push right into 2009 and we’re not slowing down. Hey, come along for the ride!

To all the new riders, be safe. Take the MSF, wear your equipment, don’t ride when it’s icy/snowy. But, keep riding if you really want to be Fun, Fast and Efficient!