News-Record.com - Greensboro, North Carolina: Business: Scooter sales zipping along

News-Record.com - Greensboro, North Carolina: Business: Scooter sales zipping along

Scooter sales doubled in 4 years to reach 86,000 units last year. Based on the number I have seen on the roads in the past few days, I believe sales must be set to double again this year. Scooters typically get 50 to 80 miles per gallon. The small ones are treated as bicycles, requiring no license to drive.

Riders should be extra careful as scooters and SUV's do not mix well. I don't plan to buy a scooter but it is nice to see the market adjusting quickly to the high price of fuel. This winter will be a tough for those in the north who heat with fuel oil or natural gas. There will be more snow birds taking flight than usual.

The American investor has "hunkered down". Investors hold 5.3 Trillion Dollars in low paying savings and money market accounts. The latest numbers show that consumers are "hunkering down" for a long cold winter. It seems the inflationary aspects of fuel costs are being trumped by confidence ratios. Ten Year Bond rates may fall below 4% soon. When stocks break out of a 22 month consolidation, the break out will be very strong.