| Date: | Fri, 04 Feb 2000 19:39:04 |
| Subject: | Moped of the Century! |
| From: | lotec@worldnet.att.net |
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Things have been a little quiet with the posts, so I thought I would
introduce a question for everyone to ponder. There is a site Car of the
Century (www.cotc.com) that held a competition and announced the results
of the most significant automobiles of the 20th century. The Ford Model
T won hands down, followed by the Mini and Porsche.
I was curious as to what the most significant moped of the 20th century
would be, regarding social impact, engineering, styling and sales. I
will put forward two or three to start;
Motobecane 50-V
This moped has been in continuous production for over 30 years
with millions and millions sold
worldwide. The Motobecane belt/variator design was licensed to
many other manufacturers
including: Peugeot, Raleigh and others. They are quiet, smooth
and reasonably fast with nice styling.
Vespa Ciao/Bravo
These mopeds have also been in continuous production for many
years, with a great deal being
sold worldwide. They are of a unique "integrated" design and
radically different belt
drive system. Their light weight and ease of pedaling are
legendary and people love or hate their styling.
Puch Newport/Maxi
In the 1970's these mopeds dominated the US market. Their
beautifully crafted engines and honest
engineering brought the fun of moped riding to many of us for
the first time. (They also have
held up to the test of time, I still have my original '77 Maxi)
While the brand is gone, the engines are
still produced in the far east, a testament to their fine
design. Their styling was no-nonsense and
functional.
I hope this leads to an interesting and fun thread!
LoTec
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