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Show -N E W S- A8 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 2008 Spanish Fork Covering what matters most Scooter sales on the rise Automotive: Kirsten Reimschiissel STAFF WRITER With gas prices on the rise, many people are seriously considering if two wheels are better than four. It may be time to do as Joe Lengal of Main Street Motor Sports in Spanish Fork says, 'Try a cheaper mode of transportation." Many have already taken that advice. Lengal said when the gas prices rocketed so did the sale of scooters. What used to be popular only for college students ages 18-23 is now for everyone, and Lengal said that his main clients for scooters now are between the ages of 32 and 35. "Sales are off the charts," said Lengal. "It's a struggle keeping in stock." Scooters are excellent gas savers. They cost around $10 dollars to fill with a two gallon tank. Stan Odekirk owns a Rocketa scooter and said he gets 100 miles per gallon, beating any car three times over. With gas prices creeping up more and more, that can make a huge difference in a budget, but with a scooter there is less — or no — worry when it comes to gas money. Odekirk said he uses his for running errands, going to the library, doing chores, or running down to the hardware store. From FUTURE • A l Kirsten Reimschiissel / Spanish Fork News ECONOMY SIZE: Joe Lengal of Main Street Motor Sports says the demand for scooters continues to grow. "I like to ride out through the country and look at all there is to see," said Odekirk. "It's very cool and relaxing. I drove with the cool air in my face; it brightened me right up." Odekirk still drives his car and pick-up when it comes to driving on the freeway and going out of town, but he enjoys riding his scooter just about everywhere else. "It's economical, fun, easy to get around traffic and easier to find parking," said Odekirk. So is there anything bad about scooters? Some may question their safety and ease of drive, but both Lengal and Odekirk said they are safe and easy. "It's only awkward [at first]... they are very safe," said Lengal. Most people are intimidated by other cars while on a scooter and feel less protected, and it may be a little awkward being on a machine at first when your feet are idol, but Odekirk assured that scooters are "really easy" to drive. "I think they are safe if you just use common sense," he said. Scooters come in a price range of $950-$2,200. Some of the best brands are SunL, Jackal and The Adventurer. The only other necessary expenses are a helmet and maybe some glasses. "I think it's a wise investment," said Lengal. Utah Trikes offers creative alternative Andrew Wilson STAFF WRITER High gas prices are causing many people to look for alternate forms of transportation. One less common way of getting around is the recumbent tricycle. Utah Trikes is a locally owned and operated business that specializes in recumbent trikes. Ashley Guy, owner of Utah Trikes said, "We sell trikes; we sell all the accessories for our trikes. We also carry, for the local market, replacement tubes and a pretty good selection of bike parts." Guy said he thinks right now they carry about 400 different accessories and upgrades for their trikes. "We build custom trikes. We like trikes that are really fast and are really comfortable," said Guy. Utah Trikes also does maintenance and repair of trikes as well as bicycles. Utah Trikes has been at its current location on Main Street in Spanish Fork for about ten months and has been in Spanish Fork for the past few years. "I got started with trikes mainly because I was looking for a more comfortable Namon Bills / Spanish Fork News KIDS IN TOW: This Utah Trikes enthusiast brought her kids along for the Fiesta Days parade in 2007. way of transporting myself around," said Guy. Guy said that the main purpose of recumbent trikes is for transportation. "One of the advantages is that you can ride long distances comfortably. Many of our trikes are capable of going over 20 miles per hour." "With a few cargo accessories it's good as a commute vehicle," said Guy. According to the Utah Trikes website www. utahtrikes.com the staff of the company combines to ride over 100 miles per day on the recumbent trikes. Guy said that the demographic of trike buyers is changing. "Now our main demographic tend to be people in their thirties to fifties looking for an alternate mode of transportation. Whether it's commuting or something on the weekends." High price From PRICE «A1 ed a news story from the Associated Press in which San Diego drivers were actually going into Tijuana to buy their gasoline because the prices were down around $2.54 per gallon. He quickly added, though, that the gas they may be purchasing might not be of the best quality. In addition to the quality of gas purchased, the proximity to a big box discount retailer such as Costco or Sam's Club also contributes to the lower price tags in other cities surrounding and they really get hot so you'll get 12to 15,000miles on your engine and that's it. Add to that the fact that not one of the CNG conversion companies is EPA certified or offers a warranty and that a conversion to natural gas costs between 7 to 10 grand. We've got a ways to go. Q: Isn't it true that the auto industry is one of the biggest employers in the country? A: Yes. One out of four is employed in the auto industry. Last month 16,000 blue collar workers at Chrysler became unemployed and because of the effect gas prices have had on our economy I know in my industry employees are losing health insurance and both management and staff are being cut all over the country. Q: What do you see is needed right now in the automotive industry? A: We need an additive in connection with internal combustion that works as a non-pollutant. Q: Any last thoughts or advice? A: Yes. I was on the freeway the other day and a guy in a jacked up Hummer passed me doing at least 85. We need to slow down, and change our driving habits. Aggressive driving eats up to 39 cents a gallon. Do proper maintenance on your vehicle especially earlier tune-ups and changing out the spark plugs every 25,000 miles. If we all are just a little smarter we will start spending less at the pump. Spanish Fork. Kelson hopes that people will be more conservative about their usage of gasoline, and that better, more fuel efficient modes of transportation will also come along. He joked about finding an electric golf cart with rearview mirrors to drive and home from work, but worried if SFPD would allow that. As for a decline in prices, he doesn't think we'll see one until the fall. Since crude oil is traded in six week futures even if the price per barrel fell today, consumers wouldn't see the prices shift down for a month and a half. ews AT THE TANK: Mike Kelson is the owner of Combo's Gas Station on Main Street. t i \ Commuting: From BIKING • A l the flexibility it offered. When Fairbanks and his family moved to Utah County, Fairbanks continued to commute by bicycle to BYU, and then to his current workplace, UVU in Orem. When his first bike gave out, he bought another, and then another. "I'm on my fourth bike now," he explained. "But this time, a friend finally convinced me to buy a really nice racing bike, and that's one of the best investments I've ever made. It has cut my commuting time by about a third." Fairbanks' current bike is lightweight with thin, high-pressure tires perfect for riding on the road. "I love riding it—I just sail along," said Fairbanks. "Coming down out of Woodland Hills, I feel like I'm flying." In order to make the bicycle commute work, Fairbanks carries a backpack/ briefcase with his books and supplies, and he allows about an hour to get to UVU. The real key, though, he said, is flexibility, which he achieves by combining bike, bus and car for his commute. "I can do a lot of things, depending on what I need on a given day," he said. "If I have to pick my son up after work, sometimes I'll ride my bike to work, then put it on the bus's bike rack and ride the bus home with my son. Or I'll drive to a park-and-ride, put my bike on the car, and ride from there. If it's really bad weather outside, I might ride the bus as far as I can, and then bike the rest of the way. All the UTA buses have bike racks on the front, so there's really a lot of flexibility there." When neither the bus nor the bike is a viable option, Fairbanks drives one of his natural gas vehicles. "Back in the 80s, I read an article about naturalgas-fueled vehicles, and I thought to myself, 'Next time I buy a car, that's the kind I'm going to get.' So we saved up our money, and when it came time to buy a car, I went into Questar Gas and they gave me the information on how to convert my vehicle to run on natural gas," Fairbanks explained. This took place back in 1994, before alternate fuels were well-known or widely available. In fact, Fairbanks was one of only about three people in Utah Valley who was using natural gas at that time. He converted his pickup truck to natural gas, and is still driving that truck today. "It's got 120,000 miles on it, but it still runs great," said Fairbanks. "Natural gas is a lot easier on the engine, so those vehicles last longer too." In fact, Fairbanks has been so pleased with his initial natural gas truck, he has bought only natural gas vehicles since then. With natural gas prices currently at 64 cents per gallon, Fairbanks is happy about the money his vehicles save him, and he also praises the cleanliness of the fuel. "It's the cleanest burning fuel available, so it's great for the environment as well as being inexpensive," said Fairbanks. To fill up his car with natural gas, Fairbanks can go to the Flying J Fuel Station in Springville, or another gas station just west of the freeway, off of 800 N. in Orem. 'The only drawback is that now more people are getting natural gas vehicles, you sometimes have to wait in long lines," said Fairbanks. He said that Questar is hoping that more fuel stations will start offering natural gas soon. "We're also looking into getting a home compressor for the natural gas, so we could fill up at home," he said. "With the cost of the compressor, that actually works out to be a little more expensive, but it would be more convenient too, so we might try it." Because natural gas cannot be liquified easily, it must be kept under high pressure in the tank. Therefore, the fuel tanks in natural gas vehicles, while about 50 gallons in size, only hold 10 gallons of fuel. The fuel tank takes up much of the trunk space of a smaller car. However, since Fairbanks' vehicles all run on gasoline as well, he doesn't have to worry about getting stuck somewhere if he can't find a place to refuel with natural gas. Even with all the benefits of his natural gas vehicles, however, Fairbanks said his very favorite method of transportation is still his bicycle. "You just can't beat bicycling," he said. "There are no emissions, it's good exercise and it's free. When the roads are clear, there's no way I'd rather travel." |