mpgmotors.com

One of the activities we really like to push at this time of year is to help out worthy non-profit, private schools, clubs and organizations in the Greater Philadelphia area with scooters (usually) where we cut our margins to the bone. This lets the group make maximum money from an auction or sale to support their work while really increasing awareness of bikes and riders in the area – that always helps every rider!

In the case of a 50cc scooter, they can auction or raffle a vehicle driveable by anyone with just a PA Drivers License. For the past two years, the Upper Bucks SERTOMA Club donated almost $5000 to the American Cancer Society and we got two terrific new customers who received Buddy scooters!

On October 15th at the Spring Mill Country Club in Ivyland, PA, we’ll have a Buddy 50cc scooter for the HealthLink Medical Center fund raising golf tournament.

Here’s where we need help. We know some groups but we don’t know most of them. Plus, we only have time to reach out to some of these organizations – usually through email. If you know of a group (or better, a person in that group) that we should contact, please give us a call and let us know. Thanks!

MPG Motors is a member of the American Motor Scooter Association (AMSA). The AMSA includes a number of the most respected dealers in the industry. A few examples. AMSA members include the Sportique family of dealerships in Colorado. Bob Hedstrom’s Scooterville in Minnesota, Phil Water’s Pride of Cleveland Scooters, Mike Frankovich’s NOHO Scooters in Hollywood and Barry Gwin’s San Francisco Scooter Centre.

These are dedicated scooterists that have succeeded in their business and the industry by putting their customers first and focusing on selling only quality products. Here at MPG Motors, we try to do that as well and are proud to be a member of this elite group.

On the AMSA website, there is a list of what the AMSA considers to be quality scooters. All members agree to adhere to a set of top quality customer practices. The AMSA also involves themselves with industry suppliers, rider training, scooter clubs, and anyone who is actively promoting the fun of riding a scooter!

The bottom line is that the AMSA is a non-profit trade association dedicated to the task of promoting the general welfare of the motorscooter industry in the United States.

That is a mission statement that MPG Motors supports 100%!

Here is the update on the Get A Buddy A Buddy Scooter Giveaway.

First, please take a look at the press release here. In that press release you’ll see that we want to extend this to as many worthy recipients as we can but we need the support of some sponsoring people, groups or companies. We could use your help to administer this program, help judge the entries (in to MPG Motors by May 15th at midnight), be here on May 29th. Let us know if you are on-board and we can count on you!

On May 29th, we will be giving away at least one Buddy Scooter at MPG Motors to the individual that needs it the most. That free Buddy, however, needs a Buddy!

How many more scooters can we giveaway?

Here is a message from Ira Faro, a member of the EZ Riders Club. Please read this carefully. Make sure you take a look at the part about the lack of mass transit options for some of the people in his program. This is exactly the type of folks we want to support and this shows how a Buddy Scooter can make a fundamental difference in a person’s life!

Ira writes, “We have a program at the Conference of Churches called PEP (Permanent Employment Program). Primarily funded through United Way, the program recruits and trains men and women with poor job histories but who are serious about looking for full-time work. PEP has three phases. In the initial phase, trainees are taught basic work culture – how to dress, being on time, how to interact with co-workers, creating a resume, and so on. Folks who complete that training go on to the second phase, hands-on training in one of three areas – Food Service, Janitorial, or Basic Office. They do the actual work here at the Conference offices with a regular schedule, time sheets, and they receive a stipend equal to the minimum wage for hours worked. The third phase kicks in when they have completed that training – assistance with job search and mentoring during the early phases of outside employment.

These folks are faced with a number of barriers. They may have grown up without an adult in the house to model the work ethic. There may be child care issues. A major barrier is transportation from their homes (often inner city) to major centers of potential employment – in the Lehigh Valley that would be suburban industrial parks. The Conference can provide bus tickets, but often the only jobs that come open are on the second and third shifts as workers with seniority on those shifts bid down to the more desirable first shift jobs. The buses don’t run that late.

As a former motorcyclist and current scooterist, the idea of being able to win a scooter for one of these deserving folks is very attractive. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to find funding to purchase scooters for them, even at deep discount, but if telling this story encourages others to participate in this program, you can certainly use our name.”

Thanks Ira for that message and thanks for all the work that you contribute. We are all going to help as much as we can!

One decade into a new millennium, the ability of a company to tell you what you should think about their products is so OVAH! Think back. It’s not too hard to remember sitting like a bump watching TV, seeing commercials about products and watching more TV. 51 minutes of show, 9 minutes of commercials. “Join us again next week when we …!” Fade to black.

Compare that to Angie’s List, to a viral You Tube video, blog opinions on just about everything. Facebook. Twitter.

We have four of our own favorites in our neck of the woods. You might know about them, or maybe not. None of these sites are managed by the respective company. Passionate owners are the core of these sites and contribute the majority of the content you will find there. So, without further delay – here are four of my favorites:

Alternative Cruisers was with MPG Motors at the very beginning of our relationship with Hyosung. Alternative Cruisers is a user-driven site for cruisers that are beyond the Japanese metric brands and Harley/Victory. The Owner/Operator of ACD is Pennsylvania’s Own, Bill Ramby I’ve known Bill for some time now and he is a first-class guy with a first-class site. Hyosung isn’t the only brand discussed by a long shot. Bill looks at all alternative brands, but I would say that a large percentage of the site discussions surround the Hyosung products.

Along the lines of ACD but with a slightly sharper focus on Hyosung and with more sport bike leanings is Korider (Korean Rider). John Adamo (skadamo) scans the web for Hyosung news and reviews and between ACD and Korider, you get indepth coverage for all things Hyosung from tech tips to rider reports. If you have a Hyosung or want one, check them out.

On to Modern Buddy! Modern Buddy is THE site to talk about your Genuine Scooter. Modern Buddy has forums for all the Genuine products and some great stories about what folks are doing with their scoots! That Genuine President, Philip McCaleb reads Modern Buddy … avidly … should tell you that this is the place to be for GSC.

Last up is SYMForum.com. SYMForum is administered by, none other than skadamo from korider.com! One of the neater things about this forum is the input and influence of worldwide SYM riders on the discussions. The ability to benefit from the experiences of folks from around the world is a real plus to a new owner.

Please do a favor to the moderators of these sites: These sites are labors of love for the administrators rather than a pathway to riches! Visit the site, register as a user, introduce yourself and then dig into the site and see what others are discussing and what has already been discussed. If you are new to forums, all of these sites have a search function. If you have a question, odds are someone already had that question before you and the answer may already be out there.

These particular sites have built lifelong friendships by people that, like you, share a passion for riding on the same bike that you enjoy! Check them out when you can!