It's taken one month for Dr. Bernard "Buddy" Rosenbaum, 71, and Bob Chase,72, to ride two Piaggio MP3 scooters from San Francisco to New York City along the Lincoln Highway. When the duo finally arrived in Times Square, they were greeted by media, friends, family and Piaggio representatives, including its U.S. Operations president, Paolo Timoni. The event not only showed that there are no age boundaries, but also that summer road trips can still be taken even during these days of $4+/gal.

[Source: No Age Limit]

Piaggio has officially unveiled two new Maxi Scooters to add to its American three-wheeled MP3 family: the 2008 MP3 500 and MP3 400 models (those numbers describe the scooters' ccs) The Italian company has upped the engine size of these scooters for the U.S. market, something we've been keeping an eye on since last September. The previous engine size was 250 cc. Piaggio says that "the higher-displacement MP3 500 and 400 offer riders the added benefit of high-performance four-stroke engines, aggressive styling and a new level of premium safety, comfort and convenience equipment. Designed to go the distance, the newest MP3 models are uniquely suited to enjoying the diverse terrain of America's highways and byways." Not sure I'd want to drive from Maine to Oregon on one of these, but I take their point. The good news for scooter enthusiasts is that the 500 is a bit cheaper than previously rumored. It's not $10,000, but $8,899. The 400's MSRP is $8,699. For more details, check out the Piaggio release after the jump.


[Source: Piaggio]