Vespa Scooters
When many people think of a motor scooter, they think of Vespa. The movie Roman Holiday kicked off the Vespa scooter craze with the scene of Audrey Hepburn racing around Rome on a Vespa. Produced by the Piaggio company, the word Vespa means "wasp" in Italian. It was reportedly named by the company's owner Enrico Piaggio. Upon hearing the engine he said "It sounds like a wasp". Piaggio originally produced train cars and locomotives but, during World War II the company switched to making airplanes. After the war Italy's infrastructure (and Piaggio's factories) had been damaged by allied bombing. Piaggio set out to produce a vehicle that was thrifty on gas, inexpensive, rugged and easy to use, and could travel over damaged roads. The designers used their experience in producing aircraft during the war to design such a vehicle. The Vespa, with its rounded engine cover and front cowling is reflective of that aircraft design. Since then it's been the scooter of choice for Italians and many other people all over the world.
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