The only problem with scooters is their name. If the bike companies would ditch the sissified "scooter" name and rebrand these things as urban motorcycles, economy bikes, or something like that, they could probably kill the stigma and increase their sales quite a bit.
Personally, I only live a few miles from the office and am planning on dusting off my bicycle tomorrow. I need the exercise anyway :)
The only problem with scooters is their name. If the bike companies would ditch the sissified "scooter" name and rebrand these things as urban motorcycles, economy bikes, or something like that, they could probably kill the stigma and increase their sales quite a bit. I totally agree. It's like when they tried to sell "Diet Beer" in the early 70s. It failed of course. When they rebranded it as "Lite Beer" then it sold better than the real stuff. Same when the renamed "Chinese Gooseberries" to "Kiwi Fruit." This is what people think of now when you say "Scooter":
And the target market (16-30 year-olds) does not want to be associated with old people's motorized wheelchairs. In Greece, Spain, and Italy it is a rite of passage for every teenager when they first get their first Vespa. It's cool.