Naked truth on gas prices

Even if you choose to keep your clothes on, scooters can save you quite a bit at the pump. That's the main reason scooter sales are picking up serious speed lately.

ALBUQUERQUE -- Hybrids are pricey. Public transportation can be an inconvenient option. And carpooling just isn't any fun. So, with the news that crude oil has gone up to a record $135 a barrel, which, in turn, will push gas prices up to the $4 per gallon mark, more New Mexicans are opting for a two-wheel relief at the pump.

Scooters -- not quite a motorcycle and not quite a bicycle -- are hot. But at least one Albuquerque dealer said she's in short supply of popular scooters made by Honda and Schwinn. You can fill up with premium (recommended) for less than $5 and your scooter will get about 80 miles per gallon.

"I sold 47 scooters all of last year and I've already sold 31 this year and it's only June," said Geri Cordova with Scooter Roo on Eubank NE. "I only have two in stock right now, and the dealers are telling us we're going to have to wait months to get more in stock."

A small scooter with a 49cc engine, like the Schwinn Laguna series, can start at under $3,000 and get 120 miles to the gallon, but can't go much faster than 30 miles per hour. Larger touring scooters, like the Suzuki Burgman, retail between $5,000 and $6,000. With a 400cc engine, a Burgman gets 60 miles per gallon and is well-suited for highway rides.  

Cordova said the average scooter at her store, when she has them, is about $2,400, base price about $1,999.

"People who come in here are fed up with gas prices," she said.

She said her favorite story came from a female customer who said she was spending $600 a month putting gas in her SUV. "She now spends $80 a month. It's hysterical."

Yeah, laughing all the way to the bank hysterical. I thought I was doing pretty well with my 28 miles to the gallon Honda, but wow! Time to go scooter shopping, though I don't know what I'll do when I have to shuttle kids around to sports and band practice.

At Downtown Scooter, owners Harry and Ella Brown were "all sold out" of scooters on Friday, but expected a new shipment by Tuesday.

"People come in here with the attitude that they're going to fight back against gas prices," Harry Brown said. "That's a good attitude. And scooters have come a long way. Convenient, economical and safe."

AAA reported last week that the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell to $3.986, down 0.3 cent from the previous day's record high of $3.989. Prices at the pump had hit records for 28 of the past 29 days before Friday.

Consumers should expect gas prices to stay at high levels, adding as much as a nickel or a dime in the next couple of weeks, if oil prices continue to march higher. The AAA survey shows gas prices are up more than 10 percent from a month ago and more than 27 percent higher from year-ago levels.

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