LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Vespa: Vespa Scooters
built 264 days ago
Vespa is a line of motor scooters that was first manufactured in Pontedera, Italy in 1946 by Piaggio & Co, S.p.A. Piaggio continues to manufacture the Vespa today, although the Vespa was much more widely used in the 1950s and 60s when it became the adopted vehicle of choice for the UK youth-culture known as Mods, and later Skinheads. The classic Vespas had unibody chassis pressed from sheets of steel, with bodywork covering the legs for protection from rain and mud. The engine was covered completely by a steel cowling to appeal to a broader market of people, often turned off by the dirty/greasy stereotype often applied to motorcycles. Piaggio revolutionized the two-wheel industry with the Vespa and provided a model on which nearly every other scooter made since has been based.
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NEW YORK, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Piaggio USA, Inc. the manufacturer of the renowned Vespa scooter, is partnering with Parsons School of Design to re- imagine this incomparable icon of Italian style within the context of 21st century American culture. Restricted only by the limits of their imaginations, Parsons students in the Fashion Design, Product Design, and Design and Technology programs will create new concepts for a lifestyle collection, ranging from clothing to wearable technologies, accessories, and even new features for the scooter itself. The designs will be unveiled at the Parsons Benefit and Fashion Show on May 9, 2005.
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The inspiration for the design of the Vespa dates back to Pre-WWII Cushman scooters made in Nebraska, USA. These olive green scooters were in Italy in large numbers, ordered originally by Washington as field transport for the Paratroops and Marines. The US military had used them to get around Nazi defence tactics of destroying roads and bridges in the Dolomites (a section of the Alps) and the Austrian border areas.
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The Vespa "miracle" had become reality, and output grew constantly; in 1946, Piaggio put 2,484 scooters on the market. These became 10,535 the following year, and by 1948 production had reached 19,822. When in 1950 the first German licensee ... started production, output topped 60,000 vehicles, and just three years later 171,200 vehicles left the plants.
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The Vespa line of motor-scooters was first manufactured by Piaggio & Co. SpA of Pontedera, Italy in 1946. The Piaggio company was founded by Rinaldo Piaggio in 1884, started out manufacturing locomotives and railway carriages, but by WWII Piaggio was one of Italy's leading suppliers of fighter aircraft.
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This classic 1965 Vespa scooter has been compltely reconditioned in 2006. It runs great, and would be a perfect collector and or cruiser. You can click on the image above to view the listing on eBay! The bidding has started at $3,000.
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Vespa Scooters