Genuine News e-mail from Philadelphia Scooters

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:10 pm

The Stella is a classic-looking steel-bodied, 150cc, air-cooled, two-stroke with a four-speed manual transmission made for Genuine by LML, an Indian company with a reputation for producing quality two wheelers and auto-rickshaws. LML was also facing a lawsuit from Piaggio.

"I kind of found them and said, hey, when all this nonsense stops, let's be partners and I'll figure out a way to get your products into the U.S. and brand them myself and get them approved and up to date for EPA and DOT and we'll do our own thing, without the Italians. And we did it."

Stella caught on immediately, despite criticism that it was nothing but a low-cost alternative to industry pioneer Vespa.

"I don't think Stella owners see it in any way shape or form as a low-cost alternative to Vespa. It stands on its own," McCaleb said. "The people who drive Stella don't want anything else. There is an amazing cult following for that bike. Still is."

Unfortunately, a strike and lockout, combined with management and financial issues, at the LML plant in Kanpur, India, shut down production of Stella in 2005, which led Genuine to introduce the Taiwanese-produced Buddy in 2006.

"The Buddy became an instant homerun," McCaleb said. "It's much more commercial in its appeal than Stella. I think the branding is spot on. The end user following is just unbelievable. Go to modernbuddy.com. It's pretty amazing.

"For '08, I've got huge plans for Buddy," he said. "The branding works so well and it's got such a mass appeal that we're going to do a spoof on Benetton, the big international clothing company, United Colors of Benetton. We're doing Buddytown. It's going to be the United Colors of Buddytown. We're going to do an international series of Buddys. It's going to key with the Series Italia. We've got one that's going to be called the St. Tropez, and the other's going to be the Barcelona. So we're working with a lot of imagery of creating products that look like they came from somewhere else, and kind of do it in an androgynous, non-offensive way that appeals to both sexes equally. All of our standard colors, we're going to scrap them for next year and go super bright – tangerine, mint green, fire engine red and black, that's it. That's all the colors I used to use on Stella."

And as for Stella, LML is back in production.

"Stella's coming back on Labor Day," McCaleb said. "I'm going to do a whole different lineup of Stella, starting out with an old Army-green-avocado bike with whitewalls. It's very much in the mode of the early '50s Vespa, kind of an old drab green, and it will be called The Revival.

rob_fuel · Post by **rob_fuel** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:27 pm

Wish I had the cash for the Revival. Sounds perfect.

Tbone · Post by **Tbone** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 5:37 pm

Still ? if it'll be CA legal

The Series Barcelona & St Tropez intrigue me GREATLY!

polianarchy · Post by **polianarchy** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 6:10 pm

The excerpts I posted seem to be taken from this article: http://scenenewspaper.com/featurestory.html

DouglasLive · Post by **DouglasLive** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 8:13 pm

The Revival sounds like a perfect companion for the Series Italia.

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 10:12 pm

So, I've now got reports from 3 trusted sources that the Stella is returning. I too like like the sound of the avocado one and I've also heard at least one report of a black/red 2 tone. I suppose we'll be seeing them in the flesh within a few months.

I, for one, can't wait. I'm really looking forward to a test drive. It's unfair, but I'll be comparing the Stella with a number of larger scooters, including the GTS. I'm searching for the perfect complementary bike to my big bike and it's quite possible that the Buddy will still come out on top. But, I'll be seriously looking at alternatives once the Stella arrives.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 1:07 am

Hm, that Benetton thing sounds familiar.

T-shirt concept I posted here in Oct. '06:

So old there are now several new colors to add! It's not unreasonable to think someone else would come up with this one. I guess.

pcbikedude · Post by **pcbikedude** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:54 am

gt1000 wrote:So, I've now got reports from 3 trusted sources that the Stella is returning. I too like like the sound of the avocado one and I've also heard at least one report of a black/red 2 tone. I suppose we'll be seeing them in the flesh within a few months.

I just hope they don't get greedy and over-price them.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:01 am

pcbikedude wrote:
gt1000 wrote:So, I've now got reports from 3 trusted sources that the Stella is returning. I too like like the sound of the avocado one and I've also heard at least one report of a black/red 2 tone. I suppose we'll be seeing them in the flesh within a few months.
I just hope they don't get greedy and over-price them.

Word is that they'll be priced at $3500 MSRP. Not bad for basically a brand-new P-Series.

pcbikedude · Post by **pcbikedude** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 5:06 am

ericalm wrote:Word is that they'll be priced at $3500 MSRP. Not bad for basically a brand-new P-Series.

Hopefully our wonderful CARB will allow them into CA.

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:07 pm

Word is that they'll be priced at $3500 MSRP. Not bad for basically a brand-new P-Series.

That's the number I'm hearing too. Since a new PX is pushing $5K out the door, $3500 seems pretty fair for a P with a better motor. There's also quite a bit of talk about improved quality, mostly regarding much, much better paint finishes than in the past.

Honestly, one of the reasons (aside from cost/value) I've avoided Vespas and Stellas in the past is their metal bodies and nice paint. Scooters, by nature, fall over whether you're riding them or not. Vespa bodywork is notoriously expensive to fix and sinking that kind of money into a scooter repair bothers me, even if insurance pays the bills. But, I've gone so many years now without dropping a scooter, maybe I can trust myself.

krylonics · Post by **krylonics** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:21 am

My Vespa has fallen and suffered a front end collision with a tree (don't ask). I banged out a few dents myself but I leave the scratches. Character ya know. Thats the beauty of steel. But then again its 30 years old and I don't have that much scratch into it.

ICEMAN · Post by **ICEMAN** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:09 am

dang it! now I have to clean out more room in the Garage! to make room for a new stella! I gotta have one......black and red sounds perfect for me.....she will sit inbetween my Red kymco zx50 and my black buddy125! man this hobby is getting expensive! the wife is gonna kill me!

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 3:59 am

gt1000 wrote:
Word is that they'll be priced at $3500 MSRP. Not bad for basically a brand-new P-Series.
That's the number I'm hearing too. Since a new PX is pushing $5K out the door, $3500 seems pretty fair for a P with a better motor. There's also quite a bit of talk about improved quality, mostly regarding much, much better paint finishes than in the past.

Honestly, one of the reasons (aside from cost/value) I've avoided Vespas and Stellas in the past is their metal bodies and nice paint. Scooters, by nature, fall over whether you're riding them or not. Vespa bodywork is notoriously expensive to fix and sinking that kind of money into a scooter repair bothers me, even if insurance pays the bills. But, I've gone so many years now without dropping a scooter, maybe I can trust myself.

Well, the good thing about the Stellas and Ps in this regard is that the parts most likely to be damaged in a fall are the cowls, which are removable and easily replaced (though not as cheap as Buddy panels).

The monocoque chassis on the modern Vespas—not so easily fixed.

Has anyone heard about new Stellas other than the 220 coming to the U.S. in the fall? These may simply be the fulfillment of a standing order Genuine reportedly had with the factory.

ThisDude · Post by **ThisDude** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 5:58 am

Also one thing about the stellas that will help in a crash is the crash bars, vespas can get crash bars too but they're so outrageously expensive I'd rather put up with repairs than buy them.