Retro Transportation - The Vespa Motor Scooter

When it comes to transportation, one of the most recognizable retro vehicles is the Vespa motor scooter.  It's also one of the most efficient, according to VespaUSA.com, the 155 cc Vespa Primavera gets 117 miles per gallon and has a top speed of 59 miles per hour.  More powerful Vespa scooters can go up to 80 miles per hour, but sacrifice some fuel economy.

A Vespa Motor Scooter

Vespa means wasp in Italian.  The scooters are made by the Piagio company which was once one of Italy's largest aircraft manufacturers.

A Piagio Vespa PX200 Tampere in Finland (By Khaosaming (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)

Vespa motor scooters are economical, but they aren't cheap.  Even a 50cc Vespa Primavera starts at $3599.   Local dealers have various used Vespa scooters starting at around $2800.  While knock-off Chinese scooters seem to be everywhere, a genuine Vespa really gives a rider a bona fide piece of Italy.