Style that Stings (Vespa)

San Diego,

I will never forget my first personal mode of transport when I was in high school, before my first car, there was my Vespa, a P125.  It was a 1984 model, and my customizations included the addition of seven mirrors and chromed fenders, oh and then there was the addition of my favorite bands bumper stickers.  These bands included such punk and mod contemporaries as JFA, Circle Jerks, English Beat, The Kinks, and Police.

 

My Vespa was not only my freedom of movement, it was customized, and became an expression of who I was at the time.  My Vespa also began my fascination with and love for these Italian “wasps” as Vespa means, and accentuated my passion for Italian cars.  I dream for a day when I can again enjoy one of these Vespas, I would love to buy one. I have in fact been looking at vintage Vespas from the 1950’s and 1960’s, there are many restored examples from this era which are actually being imported from South Vietnam where they were used and then stored for years after the communist take-over of the south in 1975.

 

Vespas today are still style leaders, through they lack the classic lines of the mid-century models. They still exude Italian design and that wonderful and distinctive sound.

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