BMW C 1 CityScooter - Motorcycle.com
It looks like something designed for, and rejected from, the movie The Fifth Element, not something visualized and manufactured by corporate and conservative Bavarian Motor Works.
Initially, we thought BMW's new C 1 future scooter was no more than an attention seeking prototype, the motorcycling equivalent of a fashion designer wrapping Claudia Schiffer in saran wrap and calling it a dress. Maybe an over the top gimmick calculated to blast through the hyped-up, crowded clutter of motorcycle shows. Although BMW presented the C 1 concept in 1992 at the IMFA in Cologne, few paid any attention as it was dismissed by some as yet other silly looking futuristic prototype never to see the light of day -- particularly in the U.S., where scooters are situated only a tiny link higher than golf carts on the transportation food chain. However, BMW has never been known for its whimsical, silly sense of humor. So it should come as no surprise that the C 1 is scheduled to enter production in late 1999 and grace showroom floors in Europe in the Spring of 2000.
BMW has never been known for its whimsical, silly sense of humor.
BMW has a clear vision of the potential target purchasers for the C 1. And, go figure, Americans are not included.
The C 1 is an attempt to combine the advantages of a two-wheeled motorized
Whatever the Europeans decide on, you can bet that if one ever washed up on American shores, it will be known simply as "that goofy looking scooter thing."
Other C 1 features include a full size wind screen and windshield wiper. The rear subframe can double as a luggage rack or as a rumble seat for a passenger -- although the passenger, exposed to the wind, elements and concrete will have to wear a helmet and protective clothing. Optional equipment will include ABS, heated handlebars and seat, a radio and CD player, navigation system, mobile phone holder and an anti-theft warning unit. Unfortunately, BMW has forgotten the cup holder. BMW has a clear vision of the potential target purchasers for the C 1. And, go figure, Americans are not included.
Sacrifice for the sake of the planet -- which receives a lukewarm reception in the U.S., a country where a sizable percentage of the voting population believes that separating aluminum and plastic into recycling bins is part of a neo-bolshevik subversive plot to establish a one-world government -- will appeal to the Green crowd, those ecologically concerned Europeans.
Most governments, even the foot-dragging U.S., will feel pressure to pass strict, maybe even draconian, emissions laws, regulations and taxes.
With El Nino and global warming threatening to create planetary mayhem, most industrialized nations, except the petro-addicted United States, are currently pushing for stricter and stricter emissions regulations. And with the geometric increase in the industrialization of China, plus their 25 percent of the world's population, doomsayers and eco-fascists are whipping themselves up into an ecstatic, Malthusian frenzy. Most governments, even the foot-dragging U.S., will feel pressure to pass strict, maybe even draconian, emissions laws, regulations and taxes.
More by Mark Hammond, Managing Editor
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