MP3 Hybrid

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/634/3989/Motorcycle-Article/Piaggio-MP3-Hybrid-Scooter-Debuts.aspx

Quote:

European manufacturer Piaggio has officially introduced its MP3 Hybrid scooter. The gas/electric hybrid concept first debuted in 2007, when it was dubbed the HyS and proposed to be fitted on a number of Piaggio scooter models, including the MP3 as well as more conventional two-wheeled designs. Now a production reality, the MP3 Hybrid will hit the European streets using a conventional 125cc internal combustion engine mated to a brushless electric motor. The MP3 Hybrid is slated to cross the Atlantic as a 2010 US model.

I would expect more than 140 MPG. But it is a jump up from the 60ish they get now.
Looks like a normal MP3, available in any color you want, as long as it is white.

I like the 3-wheel concepts like the MP3 and the Can-Am Spyder. These are (in my eyes) kinda expensive niche vehicles, but it's normal for new tech to appeal to those with more money than us little people.

The article didn't give any performance figures, BUT those things are supposedly more stable than a 2-wheeler, and at 140 mpg looks like it would make one hell of a touring machine. It sure sounds like cheap fun to me.

Anyway .... the small efficient motor +CVT+genset+hub motor+battery bank will probably become the norm for all vehicles in the near future, no matter how many wheels they ride on.

I just keep hoping that someone will make the new "Volks Wagen" on both 2 wheels and 4. The Bajaj comes pretty darn close on 2 wheels, cheap, efficient, maintainable, comfortable and certainly capable within its design limits.

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	Quote:
	certainly capable within its design limits

yeah.... within design limits... Smile

That thing looks like junk to me! Hahah.