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Back at the 2007 EICMA show in Milan, Taiwanese scooter company Motive Power Industry Co. Ltd. (PGO) was showing off a new electric scooter. The design of the machine apes a model that they already sell, but the innards are actually pretty intriguing. The scooter uses both lithium ion and lead acid batteries. The lead acids provide the necessary power to move the machine while the lithium ions act as additional storage. When a large lithium ion battery pack is assembled, small cells are placed in both parallel and serial configurations in order to hold enough juice for extended running while also being powerful enough to provide quick bursts of acceleration. In this case, the lead acids could provide the necessary output while the lithium ions could just keep the system "topped-off."

Take a close look at the picture above. Note that the front wheel is powered by an electric motor. We can't confirm this for sure, but this appears to be a two-wheel drive electric scooter, which would be really awesome! There is a small chance that a version of this scooter could make it to U.S. shores, as Genuine Scooters in Chicago currently imports certain models from PGO, including the one that this scooter is based on. In the states, it's called the Buddy.

[Source: Taiwan Economic News via 2 Stroke Buzz]

According to a news item posted on the Vectrix website, California will be offering a $1,500 rebate for purchasers of the electric Vectrix scooter. Early adopters will not be punished either, as the rebate is retroactive to purchases of these $11,000 EVs made as far back as May 2007.

In other news, and as a follow-up to our recent article regarding police in the U.K. riding on Vectrix scooters to patrol parking lots, we decided to let you know that the city of Sacramento, CA, has also chosen to use the all electric maxi-scooter for certain enforcement duties. We imagine that the choice was made easier by the fact that the scooters were practically given to them, cosing only $1 each for four months, but whatever. The City of Sacramento is the first to take advantage of the offer from Vectrix but, at that price, they may not be the last.

[Source: Vectrix]

Despite the fact that Vectrix has posted extremely disapointing sales numbers so far, there are certain uses for the electric scooter which just make too much sense to ignore. Ask the NYPD, for one. Or take, for instance, as a parking lot enforcement vehicle. The police in Strathclyde, U.K, have found that the Vectrix suits them perfectly as a runabout to enforce parking measures and control traffic at the Glasgow Airport. They like the fact that the machine can be recharged in an hour using a 13 amp plug, along with being able to reach 62 miles per hour, more than fast enough for this scenario. "We have two other motor scooters just now which are both petrol driven but they are coming to end of their life. We felt that to go for the green option would be the proper thing to do," says Inspector Colin Pearson, chief of Glasgow Airport Police Unit. Right on.

[Source: The Press Association via 2 Stroke Buzz]