IIRC, there’s a lot of language that pretty much specifies the foreign investors/companies aren’t allowed to have controlling interests in domestic companies. They usually get around it by forming a domestic subsidiary with local oversight, or by being the largest single shareholder and throwing that weight around.

You rang?

It amazes me how badly people screw up that cohort. Being more or less the (arguable) last of Gen-X (1979), I remember when they were simply Gen Y. My wife (1982) and I are probably more members of the “Oregon Trail Generation” interstitial. I refuse to use that other term because it is lazy, no fun and sucks.

My first…

Hence “sole” cool scooter.

Now, the Cub and its descendants are in fact cool. No argument there. However, there has been much conclusive research into its nature beginning back in the 1960's. The Brothers Wilson of California, with additional assistance from one Micheal Love, noted that it is best defined as a “groovy…

Completely forgot about that flip-out one, but yeah, same winning concept.

Annoyingly, Holden had sweet ones (actually straight-up pilfered from Saab’s parts bin) but it was another thing we never got in the GTO. Plus, it was too expensive for most to be bothered importing the proper center stack surround.

The Turismo has a three-cylinder 800cc engine that makes 110 horsepower and 59 lb-ft of torque. I still find it baffling that we call 100+ horses middleweight.

Maybe it’s the Cuervo, but I’m getting more of a Cinco de Mayo vibe, here.

Hah! In a similar vein, I picked the retractable cupholders that the Germans and Swedes love.

Retractable cup holders, even if they seem to have a breakage issue.

I mean, good instinct. They were. Then NA’s got dirtcheap cheap and track bro’s that couldn’t get that payday loan for a GD Impreza WRX, or would’ve had a draconian premium due to a lingering DUI, points or reckless driving suspension, starting fitting them with rollbars, recovery hooks (with flight tags!) and a…

Hah, I knew this was coming. There’s some resemblance to what we consider a scooter but it’s all motorcycle, and therefore my Italo-centrism remains correct.

If it makes you feel better, watch this fine documentary, which I wholeheartedly agree with, on the positive aspects of the C50 and its derivatives.

Oh.

Oh, dear.

Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve noticed, but there’s a huge “douchebag” intersection on the Miata-Brodozer Venn diagram these days.

Most commodity-grade “super” bikes do get used. I mean, they’re expensive toys, yes, but regular people buy them and ride them and I’d argue motorcycle racing is the last true bastion of “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.”

Sorry, champ, Vespas are the sole cool scooter. Exhibit A through, I dunno, maybe. . . Exhibit ヴォ

Uhm, no.

I learned doing the same thing. My friend and I ran through the basics on his Katana 600* (aka the GSX600F blob) for around an hour or two. . . before I went and picked up a used K3 GSX-R600Z a couple days later and rode it home some on 40 miles of highway. And then I missed a turn because my other friend (who I…

Oh hell no. These items caught my eye.

If you live in a state where the MSF is free, go do that first. You’ll just be puttering around in a parking lot on some under-powered old crusties but you’ll get a feel for if riding’s for you before dumping a load of cash.

Now, if you’re cool with sport-y bikes, or their naked equivalents, I’d say look at the…

I like it but two. . . concerns? Maybe, I guess. . .

One. No tach? Kinda tough to tell, and might be there as a screen option. I really dig the big/little instrument combo. Personal preference but I’d rather have seen that analog sweep being used for a tach and have the speedo on the LCD ring.

Two. Only 20hp/19ft.lbs…

Except that weight is now pulling double duty as a battery and the lion’s share of the car’s unibody.  It might not be energy dense enough for a “performance” applications but a standard commuter like a Volt?  There’s the rub.