Hello scooter, good-bye van

MID-MICHIGAN (WJRT) -- (07/01/08) -- A Mid-Michigan man has made an investment that could pay for itself in a year. He expects it to cut his fuel bills by up to 90 percent.

Marion Mumford says scooters are a great way to get around town and save on gas.  "The looks and the styling. I just fell in love with it, so I decided to buy it."

It's street legal, requires a motorcycle endorsement on your driver's license and gets great mileage.

"If I drive between 30 and 40, I'll get 120 mpg. If I drive between 40 and 50, I'll get 80-90 mpg."

Three months ago, Mumford went to Ohio and bought a Chinese-made Xingyue (shin-yee) scooter. It has a 150cc engine and a top speed of 50 miles an hour.

It cost him $3,000, but he figures he'll save that much in gas by parking his van and riding the scooter whenever it's practical.

"It's not too fast and it's not too slow. I'm not going to hurt anybody and I can get out of the way of traffic. I feel very safe."

The Euro 150 has a small storage compartment in the rear. Just push the button and lift it up. Marion keeps a spare helmet in there, but you could easily put in a small sack of groceries.

Wherever Mumford goes, he draws attention.  "People will stop me and say, 'what is that thing?'"

"I think that's the wave of the future. I really believe it could save quite a bit of money," said Carl Thompson.

Mumford won't use the scooter for long trips, just to run errands and for fun.

He may be setting a trend. It wouldn't surprise him if others follow his lead so they can wave goodbye to high gas bills.

For more information on scooters and other gas saving tips, visit this Web site.

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