Scooter sales take off in South Sound, retailers say

Riders: Thrifty fuel use is part of vehicles' allure

By Rolf Boone | The Olympian • Published August 18, 2008

OLYMPIA – As soon as Claudia Wheatley test-started her Vespa scooter and heard the purr of its small gasoline engine, she was hooked.

"It sounds so cute," she said, sitting atop her white scooter.

Wheatley of Olympia later bought the scooter and a pink helmet. She liked her new form of transportation so much, she nicknamed it Vivian.

Consumers such as Wheatley are buying the two-wheeled vehicles in greater numbers as gasoline prices remain near record highs, state officials and scooter dealers say.

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in the Olympia area as of Sunday is $3.94, according to AAA. When gasoline prices surpassed $4 per gallon in May and June, the number of people seeking motorcycle endorsements for their driver's licenses soared, state Department of Licensing spokeswoman Selena Davis said. The endorsement, which requires a driving test or a safety class, also applies to scooters, she said.

"We started seeing a major spike (in endorsements) about June 1," Davis said.

80 miles per gallon

Wheatley bought her scooter for the same reasons. Her older-model Toyota Camry isn't as fuel-efficient as it once was, she said, and with the direction of gasoline prices an unknown, a vehicle that gets more than 80 miles per gallon makes sense.

"It seems like the practical alternative both financially and for the environment," said Danni Sabia, a friend of Wheatley's who was with her when she bought the scooter.

Wheatley made the purchase last week at NW Motor Scooters, a Tacoma-based scooter seller that expanded to Olympia this month, co-owner Randy Sobel said. In Olympia, the business, which sells mostly Italian-made scooters, is at 2405 Harrison Ave. N.W.

Sobel also co-owns Sobel & Associates in Tacoma, a sales and management training company.

Sobel said he opened the scooter store in Tacoma as a place for sales training, but when gasoline prices increased, scooters were in high demand.

"Our sales went off the chart," Sobel said.

The Tacoma store has sold nearly 350 scooters in its first year of business. It also has developed a customer base in Olympia, resulting in the new store, he said.