The design of motorized scooters has been influenced by cultural, spiritual, and symbolic representations. The motorized scooter coming out of WWII served as a functional mode of transportation for its gas efficiency. Today the motorized scooter is idealized for its efficiency, functional design, and fashionable appeal.
The damage of WWII left Italy without reliable roads or transportation systems, as well as a serious fuel shortage. These demands and needs led to a trend toward a smaller, affordable, and fuel efficient transportation and established the zeitgeist that allowed the scooter to succeed as an industrially manufactured product.
In 1946, Piaggio, an Italian aircraft manufacturer, recognized these circumstances and decided to use two of their existing factories to pursue the creation of a simple vehicle for all in postwar Italy. The new Vespa scooter cost only a few hundred dollars and was helped realized in 1946 by Corradino D'Ascanio. The scooters often repurposed various airplane parts like landing wheels and airplane motors, giving the Piaggio Company an opportunity to restart their dramatically slowed post-war production while using their existing manufacturing processes. Years later, the Vespa scooter quickly became popular because it met the population’s demand; it was affordable, fuel efficient and small. The Italians received their particular motor scooter as “both a symbol of reconstruction after the war and an icon of the working class” (Gallagher 210). After selling thousands of scooters in Italy, the Vespa scooter spread throughout Europe and America. The motor-scooter is now a globally embraced form of transportation.
While function and need certainly were a major factor to the motor-scooter’s initial...
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Roman Holiday. Dir. William Wylers. Paramount Pictures, 1953. DVD
Castex, Jean. Architecture Of Italy. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 5 Feb. 2012.
The impact of the automobile between 1900 through 1945 was immense. It paved the way for a future dependency on the automobile. To paint a better picture, imagine life without an automobile. Everyday life would be dull, cumbersome, and tedious. An individual's mobility would be very limited. Basically, the life without an automobile could not be fathomed. The importance of the automobile is often taken for granite. Society may not know what appreciate the impact of the automobile and effects it has created. The impact of the automobile had both positive and negative effects on America between 1900 through 1945. Automobile provided an outlet for individuals and spread the freedom of travel among all classes of people. It also helped to introduce rural dwellers to the aspects of urban life and vice versa. One of the negative effects was that automobiles helped to put of big decline in the use of railroads. Over the course of the paper, I will try to expose the huge impact of the automobile an early twentieth century life.
In the twentieth century, the introduction of the motor vehicle in the United States became not only noteworthy, but also vital in the development of modern American civilization. This technologically complex machine led citizens to vast future dependency on the invention. While mobility was suddenly not limited to alternative, more convoluted options such as railroad stations or bicycles, yet copiously amplified to aid convenience and expanded leisure opportunities. From auto-racing to redesigning infrastructure, motor vehicles allowed progression, digression, and essentially uttermost change to lifestyles of the American people.
...es how powerful of a symbol it has become. You wouldn’t consider the fact that someone drives a Honda Accord a defining characteristic of his or her identity but somehow that changes when it becomes a Harley Davidson Heritage Softtail. "Four wheels move the body two wheels move the sole" (Harley Davidson Ad/ 1992). It becomes clear that the motorcycle is much more than a vehicle; it is a manifestation of American values. When you break it down nothing seems more American that freedom, and brotherhood. Film has fully capitalized on these characteristics helping make the motorcycle a powerful image that has had a defining impact on American culture.
Dio, Cassius. "Roman History - Book 50." 17 June 2011. University of Chicago. 31 October 2011 .
The great changes in American society that came with the introduction bicycle in the late 19th century are often overshadowed by the influence of the automobile in the following decades. Today, bicycles are often seen as an alternative mode of transportation - a cleaner and more environmentally conscious form of travel. Because of this, it may be difficult to realize the incredible modernizing effects that bicycles had on American society when they were first introduced. Manufacturing and marketing techniques introduced by the bicycle industry were massive steps towards modern industrial practices. In addition, by making individual travel available to many people for the first time, bicycles changed the speed at which life flowed in much of America. Bicycles granted a degree of personal freedom of mobility to many for the first time, and their effect on the women's rights movement of the time was notable. Bicycles were used in war, by police, and by the postal service, among others. In countless walks of life, the availability of personal travel offered by bicycles had an incredible impact on American society.
Starting in the late 1700’s, European engineers began messing with motor powered vehicles. By the mid 1800’s, steam, combustion, and electrical motors had all been attempted. By the 1900’s it wasn’t very clear on which type of engine would really power the automobile. At that time, electric cars were the most popular but there were no batteries at that time that would allow a car to move very fast or a long distance. Commercial production in the United States began at the beginning of the 1900’s. In the early 1900’s, the United States had about two thousand firms producing one or more cars.
Piaggio is the European leader for motor scooters, with a market share just over 50 percent. Annual production of Piaggio motor scooters exceeds 850,000 vehicles. Looking at some statistics referred to the first four months of 2007, an increase of + 10,7% has been registered with compare to 2006. Especially the scooter market is showing a drastic increase in numbers of new matriculated vehicles; during year 2006 62.1% of the totals were scooters.
The Ducati will get success on its entrance in the cruiser market, which is the Harley Davidson niche market and also a profitable segment in the motorcycle industry, because of Ducati’s brilliant history and great experiences in the bike industry. The Ducati can attack the Harley’s cruiser niche by using its brand loyalty, goodwill, and differentiation strategy; because, before 2000, the Harley-Davidson was the sole producer of cruiser bikes and their other competitors was involved in different segments such as Off-road, Touring, and sports segments. So, the Harley
This paper will discuss some of the physics involved in bicycles. Specifically, mountain bikes with suspension. A bicycle is a very energy efficient vehicle. Its wheels allow its rider to make full use of inertia and gravitational potential energy. The basic design of a bicycle has been around for over 100 years and compared to other things, has changed very little. Some of the topics that will be covered are: frames, wheels, suspension forks, suspension frames, brakes and how all these things affect speed, momentum and stability.
Japan struggled through the early 1950’s, and in 1955 the “Post-War Era” officially ended. With the G.H.Q. out of the picture the Ministry of Transportation announced the People’s Car Plan, which gave Japanese auto manufacturers an excellent opportunity to develop new original cars of their own. The plan was eventually be scrapped because the manufacturers thought that proposal’s requirements would be “impossible to manufacture with the performance and sales price requested” (Shimokawa, 1994). The People’s Car Plan did influence competition to market new products and it gave primarily three-wheeled vehicle makers a way to enter the four-wheel market. Suzuki, Fuji (Subaru), Mitsubishi, and Toyo Kogyo (Mazda) all entered small cars into the market almost immediately.
Marks, Anthony, and Graham Tingay. The Romans. Tulsa, OK, USA: Published in the USA by EDC Pub., 1990. Print.
I have always been a sports car lover, but when my family increased in size to the point that finding a sports car that would meet my needs would be almost impossible, I decided to consider a minivan. While a sports car was an unrealistic possibility, giving it up would not be easy. The sports car and the minivan would both fulfill the basic requirement of reliable transportation, but I had to consider the differences among size, maneuverability and affordability.
Despite their conception in 1903, Harley-Davidson and the motorcycle industry as a whole didn’t really take off until after the Second World War. Many people rode motorcycles during the war, with Harley-Davidson themselves supplying almost 90,000 motorcycles for the U.S. military during this time. Many veterans chose to purchase motorcycles upon returning home, as they enjoyed riding during the war and wanted to continue riding in their civilian life. This generation known as the "baby-boomers" quickly became the main target audience for many of Harley-Davidson’s marketing efforts. With sales increasing and the industry growing, many "motorcycle clubs" and "rallies" were introduced. Unfortunately, due to the lewd behavior displayed by most people associated with these clubs and rallies, bikers typically had an image of being disorderly and raucous. Harley-Davidson’s image itself took a big shot due to the Hells Angels. This was a motorcycle gang wishing to become notorious for "drug trafficking and other organized crime activities," who used only Harley-Davidson motorcycles. All of this combined to lead to a decline in demand and sales throughout the entire industry during the 1960’s. The industry was really helped out with the release of the Hollywood film Easy Rider in 1969. This film helped change the public’s perception of bikers and sparked an increase in motorcycle demand which has lasted to this day.
Segway could have also started by targeting niche markets initially, giving Segway PT’s to bicycle clubs, skateboarders, extreme sport stars, college polo teamsetc , for free and see how they like it. If, for instance, that bicycle people are the first people to like it, they could open rental offices by the bicycle shops so that it can be rented at tried before being bought. The bicycle shop could have also been used to service Segway PT’s.