Taipei is FULL of scooters... thousands of them dominate the roads, hundreds of them parked on the sidewalks, by far the most common mode of transportation other than public trans. I would imagine the scooter manufacturers here do VERY well. But there is something I've noticed that is a bit odd...
In America most vehicle manufacturers do their best to pick a stupid name depicting either power, size, luxury, or eco-friendliness.. but most of the time you get the idea behind what the manufacturer wants you to associate the name with.
In Taiwan, because having things written in English is considered to be 'cool', they have decided to name the scooter models in English. (And as per status quo... accompany the name with a poor translation of an inspirational thought) My guess is that they turn to a random page in the dictionary, throw a dart at it, and use whatever word they happen to land on... print the name in some 'extreme' looking font, and call it a day. Here's just a sample of some of the more common models available here...
(click to zoom and read the wonderful details...)
the "New Refined... close to nature"
(I think the only part of this scooter close to nature is the mildew growing around the seat)
the 'So Easy 100... the scooter is all my life'
(that's sort of sad)
the 'Jog Cute'
(If that's any indication of it's speed capabilities... I think you'd be better off riding the bus)
the 'Movie 12.... high quality scooter'
(12? this might be the vehicular equivalent to Land Before Time)
the 'Hot 50.. on-off road multi-purpose'
(the only off-road driving they do here is on the sidewalk)
the 'Fuzzy... urban trend'
(This is the most common scooter I see. I wonder how many people are aware that they are driving an adjective that describes kittens.)
the 'Fever... a scooter you can live with'
(you may not enjoy having a Fever but you can live with it)
the 'Tact'
(the inoffensive scooter)
the 'Cabin... with fashionable feeling'
(I know I'd feel fashionable driving a 1997 Cabin around... who wouldn't?)
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