The Spy Who Sides Wiped Me
They putter playfully across IBM billboards high above the Sunset Strip. They pester SUV owners in Toyota commercials. Supermodels conspicuously straddle them in ads. While the Vespa motor scooter hasn’t been sold Stateside since the early ‘80s, the plucky little two-wheeler is the advertising industry’s new darling.
“Open any issue of Vogue,” says Derek Olry, owner of the Santa Ana shop Scooter Cafe, “and there’ll be two or three scooters inside. They’re just this beautiful little machine that was totally revolutionary.”
In L.A., the Vespa revolution is more of a restoration. Raquel Welch and James Dean were photographed riding Italian scooters, and even John Wayne mounted one in place of his usual horse. Among today’s celebrities lining up for their Roman holiday are used-scooter buyers Jerry Seinfeld, Dennis Rodman and Anne Heche (as a present for Ellen DeGeneres). And, possibly, Austin Powers himself.
“Mike Myers told me, ‘Hey, I’ve got to learn how to ride one of these,’ ” recalls Mark Coffman, owner of Scooters Bellissimo in Pasadena. For the just-released sequel, “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” Coffman supplied five pre-1969 scooters and a Lambretta-based three-wheel truck, and managed a cameo to boot. In a scene in which Austin time-warps to 1960s Carnaby Street, Coffman scooted around the Universal back lot. “The costumers put me in funny bubble goggles and Beatles boots and striped pants,” he says. “You totally felt like you were there.”
A California ban on imported two-stroke engines because of emissions concerns killed Vespa’s U.S. business in the ‘80s. With movies such as “Powers” and “The Mod Squad” popularizing ‘60s continental fashion, however, demand is high. With a cleaner four-stroke model now available, scooter faithfuls are hopeful that Italian manufacturer Piaggio’s plan to reintroduce the line early next year will be firing on all cylinders.
