Honda scooters - outsmarting the smart?
Scooter sales shot skyward just about as fast as gas prices did early this summer as the little buzzers took the place of larger, gas guzzling machines, especially in urban areas. Honda's got some new scooter advertising floating around these days, and it's pretty clever, likening the diminutive smart fortwo to the even smaller 50cc Metropolitan scooter (click the ad at the right to enlarge). Of course, Honda's two-wheeler handily outperforms its much larger four-wheeled cousin, more than doubling the fortwo's EPA mileage ratings. Still, it's always tough to compare the virtues of a scooter with those of a car. It takes quite a commitment to choose open-air riding on the back of a little scooter as opposed to the relative safety of a "cage." Plus, the smart can get up to highway speeds with nary a problem, something that can't be said for the Metropolitan. Regardless, we think the ad gets the point across that the scooter's got style and efficiency in droves. And you?[Source: Trends Updates]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jo 9:31AM (12/17/2008)
Ha! Love the comparison (Honda always did have great ads), but not sure I'd be too eager to take the Metro on the highway??
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monkeypox 9:51AM (12/17/2008)
if you follow the link, this is actually a student production, not an official honda advertisement:
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/honda_scooters_smarter
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GoodCheer 9:52AM (12/17/2008)
The Metropolitan is clearly not a highway vehicle. Its top speed is only about 40mph. There are a selection of other scooters, from Honda and its competitors that are perfectly capable of cruising along at highway speeds.
I do however think that even the larger ones are by-and-large intended to be urban vehicles. But then so is the Smart...
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jharlan 10:15AM (12/17/2008)
When it cost me over $160 to fill the tank of my Ford F350, I bought a Suzuki 400 Burgman. I am 68 years old and I love it. It consistently gets 60 to 70 MPG, will go faster than you want to go, and has a 14 gallon trunk for groceries or whatever. It's comfortable to ride in ordinary clothing down to about 50*F because of it's great fairing.
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Mike!!ekiM 12:35PM (12/17/2008)
Rain.
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Mark 5:33PM (12/17/2008)
This isn't unlike Vespa's "Vespanomics" ads and online content at their website.
I think the site's been featured on ABG, basically it shows the combined MPG if you went 50/50 between a car and the Vespa.
Not a bad idea really. There will be times you need a car, but if you live close to work, or in a city, a scooter is a good alternative. I'll probably look into one seriously in the spring... only issue is winter travel... Chicago got 5 inches of snow last night.
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Blake 7:54AM (12/18/2008)
A big part of why I'd want a small city car while living in an urban area would be so I didn't have to deal with hopping from bus to train or waiting for a cab in the rain.
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