Piaggio debuts 141MPG plug-in "MP3 Hybrid" scooter
By Donald Melanson 
posted Nov 11th 2008 12:52PM
posted Nov 11th 2008 12:52PM
The NYPD may have ditched a few of their Piaggio scooters in favor of some all-electric Vectrix models a little while back, but it looks like the Italian company may be about to get back in their favor, as it has just unveiled its new MP3 Hybrid plug-in scooter that promises to get an impressive 141MPG. Apparently, the three-wheeled scooter can operate in either a full-electric mode, or one of three hybrid modes, which brings the 125 cc gasoline engine into the picture to let you do zero to sixty about five seconds. As with some other PHEVs, the scooter also makes use of regenerative breaking to help recharge the batteries, which can apparently be fully topped off in as little as three hours when plugged in at home. No word on a price just yet, but Piaggo says it "could" be on the market as soon as next year.
I'll wait for the WAV version till I get one.
I just laughed out loud at my desk and not only spilled coffee all over my drawings but it actually came out my nose. Well played sir.
that version's great. it runs on the elusive UNcompressed natural gas!
OGG! Bring the OGG version!
HAHA, sorry about that Dana! Hope it wasn't an important paper or anything. =]
Maybe they'll make an XviD version?
Uhh... drawings rather. In any case hope it wasn't a vital source of immediate income. lol
i'm getting the Flac version insured by Afflac. yeah, i went there.
egg likes ogg
...I want it.
Wait until you let your friend ride it.
That's when the DRM kicks in.
Wait till Sony Introduces theirs, It'll be incompatible with all existing roads.
please God, dont let this come to the US.
with that mentality
can you pay for my gas ???
gas is cheap now. drive on.
ha ha i actually saw a guy riding one of these one my way to circuit city for their store closing sale on Wednesday although i have to say i was disappointed with the "sale" oh well
i still wouldn't call it cheap, especially in this economy. why needlessly waste gas? who am i to judge someone on the dorkiness of their transportation? who gives a shit?
It only dropped with the election season. Now that that's over, we'll go right back up to $4 a gallon before January.
This is an abomination and a disgrace. I don't think this even deserves to be called a scooter. Maybe it should be called the 3-wheeled Pussy-Repellant.
i didn't know you had 3 wheels
No, but I do have 3 dicks. ;]
i didn't know that anything ever had to be deserving enough to be called a scooter.
@Gabe
You know I wouldn't really be bragging about the 3 dicks thing. Since given your name I would assuming your a male, that's one. That just leaves two openings in which to "claim" two more. So I guess its a good thing you're typing since even with the awkwardness of sitting down to type, I'm sure its easier to understand then having you try to talk.
Gabe, I realize they're all the same size but the 2 up top are called nipples.
I think this thing is kind of neat. The 500cc would fit my big fat American ass a little better, but a great idea for wusses like me to afraid of 2-wheeled conveyances.
I am strangely attracted to this vehicle.
Me too, I'm only worried about he price tag.
over 12Gs!
That's a lot of g's to save gas.
@grabbydad
Your name scares me, and other unsuspecting children across the land. And other lands.
It looks like an extremely angry bug, but for that gas mileage, I will definitely buy one.
I'd rather get a nice motorcycle that still gets around 60mpg than having to ride around in such a disgrace.
An angry bug, yes... in a wheelchair.
Oh lookie here, a 95mpg motorcycle that doesn't make you look like you have mental disabilities:
http://www.kawasaki.com/ImagesMain/Products/ActionShots/68813d81-d537-4013-bae6-ef16fb3169f7.jpg
Gabe you do realize that this thing will out maneuver your motorcycle any day of the week since it has the ability to brake during a turn.
Gabe is just upset because he thinks this is competing with his Big Wheels.
Bug? Its Frank the Bunny from Donnie Darko.
how can you keep being so consistently wrong, Gabe?
how's some boring look-alike mini cruiser gonna help you get laid? haven't you heard that famous pick-up artist's advice to wear a funny hat? This scooter's like a funny hat.
what's the point of a 250cc cruiser? the only thing worth considering in the 250 class is a sport bike, and there's only two i know in the US: Ninja 250 and the Hayabusa. and if you're ONLY going around town, a hybrid scooter might be perfect in stop and go traffic.
As with all PHEVs, I call shenanigans. The MPG only makes sense within a use pattern; I suspect NYPD use (8? 16? hours a day) does not get anything like 141MPG. Why not just benchmark for the "2 mile commute" case and claim infinite MPG?
Indeed; patrol use is gonna get you x minutes for free in the morning, and then just run like a normal hybrid all day. (Unless you twice as many as you need, and swap when the battery runs low...)
price?!?!?!?
Oh God, 0 - 60 in five seconds in that thing? Sounds like a suicide attempt to me. As for female attraction attempts... even the ones who go for dudes in Priuses would laugh their ass off at this, I can see it now:
"Hey babe, wanna go for a ride on my hybrid-electric trike? Wait where are you going"
Wait...so does it run on MP3s? Sweeeeet!
Oddly enough, in some cities out in California along the coast you'd be considered sexy, hip and hot by driving one of these things.
The problem however, is that I'm frequently seeing big fat asses driving these. I'm not impressed.
Ah, yes. Users used to judge a product. So, are you a PC or Mac?
Regenerative BREAKING? After you run into something, it reassembles itself? Could come in handy.
regen breaking's great and all, but i try to do the majority of my slowing on a Ninja 250 via engine breaking
Well, you can't really compare a Ninja 250 to this thing...Much less anything else with a higher displacement.
NINJAS ARE SWEET.
For christ's sake, its braking.
Damn Mike C beat me too it. Since if your slow down by engine breaking, going again must be a bitch.
Still I think I'll stick with 45mpg on my 750 Shadow, plus it makes a nice low rumble when it engine BRAKES.
ha.. that's what i get for reading steve's comment above me uncritically!
but anyway, how is "going again a bitch" via engine breaking? for me it's easier because i'm not pulling the clutch in--only have to twist the throttle more to level out speed