mpgmotors.com

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So I always keep a sharp eye out for new transportation innovations. I like all new products but you have to keep things in perspective.

You might have noticed this new vehicle that rolled out recently on the world stage. In an ongoing collaboration with GM and Segway, the Puma is a self balancing, electric powered, side-by-side two wheeler. A technological tour de force, it just might be answering a question already answered.

With advanced lithium-ion batteries, the Puma could travel up to 35 miles on a charge. This range is similar to the range of other electric scooters. Our scooters have a much greater actual range.

There is a roll cage functionality that only a few scooters have had (the BMW C1 City Scooter, for example). The Puma has a zero turning radius and our scooters can’t match that. However, all of our current roads are designed for vehicles that do have a turning radius. A small wheel scooter, most folks would agree, has a tight enough turning radius. That the Puma balances itself, well, that’s just cool. But, I’m not sure what that balancing capability does for the rider in reality. With only a 35 mph top speed, even our smallest scooters will walk away from the Puma.

I’m really glad to see a company like GM finally putting the stamp of approval on two wheeled vehicles but a Buddy or a Fiddle II does most all of this now (and has been doing it for some time) at prices starting at $1,999.

You folks are just soooo smart!

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Some of you are living it up on just two wheels. You don’t have a car or truck. It can be done and some of you do it! Transportation costs are as low for you as they are for anyone, the fun factor is probably off the scale.

Now, I think about this customer a bunch. I want you all to get as much fun and utility as possible from your rides. But, I don’t want you out there when it just doesn’t make sense to ride. Icy, snowy roads are two examples. So, I want to tell you about another option that you may not know about for the days when “Riding When You Can” becomes “Driving When You Have To” – car sharing.

So the standard answer when transportation experts talk about moving bodies about is mass transit. Well, you can’t get here from there. MPG Motors, and a lot of places, aren’t served by bus or train. In fact, in my life, only at a few times, *has* mass transit worked for me. So, I turn to the scooter and motorcycle as the cheapest, most economical personal transportation that in the form of the Hyosung Avitar can also do 12.75 second quarter miles times at the drag strip … but I digress.

That Avitar, as much as I love riding it, isn’t great when it snows, or when I need to bring a new bookshelf back from Ikea. This is where services like Philly Car Share and ZipCar can help if you live in the right area.

Even though we reside in Sellersville, about half of our customers hail from south of the PA Turnpike. At that point, you are getting into the areas that are served by these car sharing organizations. Philly Car Share (PCS) was one of the first car sharing services in the nation. ZipCar competes with PCS. Both position cars around the metro Philadelphia area and after registering with them, can rent you a car when you should “Drive”. The image shows where PCS Pods are located and ZipCar has similar vehicle positions relative to the Philadelphia metro area.

The rates are reasonable. PCS, for example, advertises rates starting at just $3.60/hour or $39/day, plus 22¢/mile including fuel and the vehicles available span SUV’s, minivans, BMW/Audis (!) and economy cars. For the future, we’ve offered the MPG Motors lot as a potential dropoff/pickup spot if and when the services migrate north.

Car sharing might just be your ticket to drive.

Kudos to us, to all of us. The US consumer, the smart money said, couldn’t change their spots. We were incapable of change. We would keep buying gas no matter the cost and consequently that consumption graph for the world (and we are a big part of that graph) was going up and to the right and no one could stop it.

To me, the most exciting – the most refreshing event of last year’s rise to $4+ gas and now the decline to $1+ gas was this fundamental assumption was wrong. Declining commercial use and drivers driving less (including a bunch of people who decided to ride bikes and scooters) combined to make a huge difference.

You changed and they didn’t think you could.

Assumptions for increased fuel demand here, in China and India resulted in a forecasted tightening in supply, it was also assumed that mainland China had an evergrowing appetite for fuels based on increasing exports. At just the right time, a faltering investment environment in other markets coupled with electronic trading that can point speculators money at oil today and T-Bills tomorrow piled money into the crude market and drove crude oil prices through the roof.

It happened just like they said it would for a while.

A much larger problem today, the faltering world economy, is more of an 800lb gorilla affecting usage and prices now. But, last summer, that hadn’t happened yet.

Demand destruction, a decrease in energy demand in a market or across the world, was a mythical concept and a quaint theory but couldn’t and wouldn’t happen in this country. “Demand destruction, drive less in the US? Right…”

Then it got real painful to drive. And everyone knew it. What is so interesting to me now is how many smart people didn’t think it would happen. Fueling the vehicle became an inordinate expense and it got our attention. Then things changed and in a big way and real quick too.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/steo

Consumption. Buffeted by the increase in prices to record levels and the weakening economy, total petroleum products consumption in 2008 is projected to fall by 1.2 million bbl/d, or 5.8 percent, from the 2007 average (U.S. Petroleum Products Consumption Growth). Motor gasoline consumption is projected to decline by 320,000 bbl/d, or 3.4 percent, in 2008 with the year-over-year decline narrowing to 50,000 bbl/d in 2009. Despite the recent cold weather that gripped much of the Nation, distillate fuel consumption is projected to decline by 240,000 bbl/d, or 5.7 percent, in 2008, and by an additional 70,000 bbl/d in 2009. In 2009, total petroleum products consumption is projected to fall by 200,000 bbl/d, or 1 percent.

So, we used a lot less in the US and that caused the total world usage to tail off. Wells that weren’t pumping at $60/barrel were all on line at $148/barrel. Over supply, and it didn’t apparently take much, shoved prices down. They say you shouldn’t try to catch a falling knife. That has been the crude market since September of last year.

I’ve been through a couple of times when driving got pricey. Those jags in fuel availability during the oil embargo’s or the last one, a wallet embargo, honestly, provided a lot of personal career motivation throughout my life. I like vehicles, all vehicles. Getting there faster and better through new vehicles is what gets me fired up. I like to see new concepts (SYM has one here) as much as a beautiful restored car. I don’t hold with getting on a fuel-use soapboxes. I never have. If fuel is available to use, I offer the machines to use it. This is a neat country and it’s a big world and machines let us see it. We build more efficient machines, cheaper machines or faster machines and they use energy. So, I don’t say don’t use fuel. If you can afford it and it’s legal, go for it.

But, one thing is sure. We are not too set in our ways that we can’t change. You proved it this past year. We have always embraced new vehicles, different fuels, safety improvements, and yes lets not forget, faster vehicles (’cause going slower just isn’t progress ;^)). But this past year we showed the world that additionally we have the brains and the will to change behaviors when we need to.

Cool.

Ok, so the point here is that efficiency goes beyond using less fuel. We put nine scooters and motorcycles in the same space as the MPG Motors F-150.

We only have so much space. Population densities continue to increase in SE Pennsylvania along with many other areas. Scooters and motorcycles take up a lot less space than my truck. Now, a lot of people drive a truck like my truck. I can put a lot of stuff in my truck and I can haul a trailer, a scooter and a bike on the back. It’s a great truck! But, it’s gotta be big so I can haul all that stuff. So we rolled out all these new Hyosung’s into the spot left after I moved my big truck. Nine, nine different vehicles fit in that spot for my truck.

Here’s what I’m after – and I need your help.

First, there are spots in the average parking garage and parking lot that aren’t big enough for your basic parking spot. They have a funny shape, aren’t the right size, you have to turn too sharp to get a car in. So, it’s wasted space and it isn’t getting used.

I want pictures people! I want some pictures of places where a scooter(s) or motorcycle(s) could be parked that isn’t being used. I need the address, owner (or municipality) and a nice digital image.

Next, I want some volunteers that are willing to see if we can’t convert some of this wasted space into better deals for bikers. If a bike doesn’t take the same space as a car, can said biker get a deal on the parking? It happens in other cities, it can happen here.

Great customers (and we have a lot of them!) teach us as much as we pass on to them. One family stopped by recently and told us they needed another vehicle. They had a shared car but their work situation had changed and now they work in two different places – not close! They decided they needed another vehicle. What they did that was generally new, neat and different was that instead of looking for a second car, they went looking for a first motorcycle. Why did this make sense for them? It was more than just one reason…

First our customer had been a motorcyclist in the past and wanted to get back to riding. The ability, knowledge and desire to ride was already there.

Second, the bike will get much better gas mileage and was less expensive than a small used car. Insurance was very affordable and they suited up with the savings getting a DOT/Snell approved helmet to go along with the bike.

Finally, the couple had a fallback option, they planned ahead - when the weather prevents riding, they’re going to accept an increased commute time and take the car or the bus and get dropped off at work before heading off to the other work destination. This makes a long commute that day, but not an impossible situation.

The Hyosung GV250 motorcycle, the Hyosung MS3-250 scooter and the Genuine Scooter Company Buddy scooters are great deals that fit this role perfectly. The MS3-250 Scooter is the most expensive of the three. It lists for $4,300. The GV250 has a list price of $3,499 and the Buddy 125cc scooter sells for as little as $2,599. All of these vehicles return at least about 60mpg, have low insurance costs and can go pretty much anywhere in the Philadelphia area. I don’t recommend taking the Buddy out on the turnpikes and large highways. It’s top speed is just about the average speed out there ~65mph. But the two Hyosung’s can easily exceed that with reported top speeds of about 90mph – plenty of speed for your commute.

So, for just about what you would pay for an older used car, you can get a new bike/scooter, save money and have fun!

Speaking of fun, VespaUSA ran a contest and gave away prizes for the best customer-created video. I love the winning video and saw Rex Hermogino (http://www.rexnfx.com) perform it at the CycleWorld show in Manhattan at the end of December! See if this doesn’t dovetail with what our customers did themselves! Then see if Rex’s song doesn’t get stuck in your head!

Folks, I thought when I opened MPG Motors we would at least be able to offer an electric scooter.

EgoVehicles (http://www.egovehicles.com) has two interesting electric scooters.

However, they have not registered as a vehicle manufacturer in Pennsylvania and consequently, as a licensed PA motorcycle dealership, we can’t sell their products. Nor, have we found another brand of electric scooters that has completed the required registrations in PA.

If you see one, please let us know!

Now electric scooters are different from electric bicycles. Electric scooters are not necessarily illegal in PA. They actually can be legal as long as a manufacturer of an DOT/EPA approved electric scooter completes the Pennsylvania State registration process. This vehicle would be registered in one of these categories as a motor vehicle in PA as defined in this document:

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/fact_sheets/fs-momo.pdf 

This covers, at a high level, mopeds, motor-driven cycles and motorcycles. These are the classes of vehicles we have sold here. We have sold the Whizzer (a moped) and many motor-driven cycles and motorcycles.

Our experience with building a hybrid electric bicycle in 2004 showed us that we have plenty of roads in this area where an electric bicycle would work.

An electric bicycle from a Federal perspective, when designed to operate within certain restrictions, is an electric bicycle and not a motor vehicle. This Public Law was signed in 2002 creating this rule

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ319.107

So, products like those offered by IZip (http://www.izipusa.com/) would seem to be allowed across the US. People that wouldn’t consider ever riding a scooter or motorcycle (they are out there!) might consider an E-Bike. States however, have the ability to further restrict the types of vehicles used on their roads and that is what occurs in Pennsylvania.

Some time ago, I approached Pennsylvania State Senator Greenleaf and in 2006 I asked my representative, Senator Chuck McIllhinney to get a reading on E-Bikes for us. I also later contacted Governor Rendell’s office. Both McIllhinney’s office and the state confirmed that E-Bikes are, in fact, currently illegal for us in Pennsylvania.

Remember, I like to ride big, fast motorcycles too! But in the middle of my town, Doylestown, you can’t go that fast and that is where an E-Bike makes a lot of sense. There are many towns with low speed roads just like Doylestown in SE Pennsylvania. Not that many people are riding scooters or motorcycles yet – we’re working on that! But, most people will use a car instead. When most people jump in cars to get from here to there – even when “there” is a mile away, it just clogs up the roads.

MPG Motors would like to see Pennsylvania law modified to allow electric bikes (E-Bikes). We have followed this about as far as we can for now but I would encourage anyone interested to contact their state representatives to move the ball forward. We know they work, we built one and tested it. But we’re not going to sell you one until we know you won’t get in trouble riding it!

We get the full gamut of concerns or non-concerns about gas mileage with our products. MPG Motors, to some, stands for Miles Per Gallon Motors. To others, MPG Motors stands for Motorsports Performance Group where miles per gallon is their last concern. Honestly, both areas are interesting to me – fast and efficient.

Having said that, I’m also a big believer in doing both things (going quickly as possible as efficiently as possible) and not just talking about them. If you’re concerned about saving gas, save gas. If you want to go fast, go fast. If you want to do both you should at least consider a scooter or motorcycle – almost any scooter or motorcycle. Even large motorcyles average well above the cars most of us drive. The Honda GL1100 Goldwing I am using as a daily driver gets 41 mpg. The Hyosung GV and GT250’s can get up to 70 mpg in commuting service. Granted, the big fuel economy advantage of most scooters and motorcycles pale when you fill a five passenger car with five people when it can get 25 mpg. But (and this is a big BUT in my experience) almost no one drives with their cars full. Carpooling is not well supported even in areas where there are special incentives in an attempt to drive acceptance. Truth be told, I’ve never been able to work carpooling into my life. Hats off to the folks that can carpool, but I’ve never had a job in my life where rigid work hours would work for me.

No, most of us drive a car or truck all the time by ourselves and wish we had a better answer. Now, at MPG Motors we try to offer solutions that aren’t slow and do improve efficiency. I get just as excited when a customer walks in the door and tells me they live in a town, work nearby (but too far to walk) and the roads they travel support travel on a 50cc scooter. I get as fired up helping this customer as I do with a person that wants our biggest bikes. When their mission fits a 50cc profile, that means to me that the top average speed of the other traffic is somewhere in the 25-35 mph range without significant hills. We have a number of towns like these in the area – Doylestown, Quakertown, Dublin, Lansdale – yep fill in your town. Transportation requirements like these allow the smallest scooters to meet the requirement to move one person to their destination and preclude the speed difference that we see with bicycles on shared roads.

MPG Motors did the Great Doylestown Gas Mileage Test back in 2006 to show the folks in Doylestown and towns like Doylestown how small scooters work in our area. They work great but that may also not be your situation. So, one of my customers said I needed a spreadsheet to quantify the gas savings in dollars from using a scooter or motorcycle to *sorta* to *almost* replace their current vehicle. Some people use their bikes *a lot*. Jan Wieck used his TN’G Verona like that. We documented his usage last year here. Other folks are more summertime only riders. But, if you get even a little better mileage and you drive the scooter or motorcycle a little, you are still using less gas than you would have otherwise. And, this is a finer point, if your focus is just not using gas (as opposed to saving money) even driving a higher efficiency vehicle a little helps.

Now there are many articles (I read one tonight) talking negatively about the long payback period of higher efficiency vehicles due to the higher purchase prices of hybrid vehicles. While not free, scooters and motorcycles present a much less expensive form of high-efficiency vehicles than the current crop of hybrid cars. How much cheaper? I made a spreadsheet that you can get here.

You’ll need to know and change to your situation the following:

• The average price of gas (I set it to $3.00)
• The number of miles you drive in a year (I put in 12,500 – the accepted average)
• The gas mileage of your current vehicle and a motorcycle or scooter

Hammer those numbers over the ones there and see what your blended gas mileage cost would be and what you would save over continuing to use one vehicle for everything.