When I first saw the news release on the new Tesla electric roadster, I enthusiastically forwarded the link to one of my hard-core enthusiast friends who is also an amateur racer and autocrosser. Initially, no information was released on pricing. I conjectured in my synchromesh brain that Tesla Motors would offer it for about $50-60,000. High, yes, but not beyond the reach of the middle-class enthusiast willing to save up for a few years. Later the company announced the price in the $100,000 range.

When I first saw the news release on the new Tesla electric roadster, I enthusiastically forwarded the link to one of my hard-core enthusiast friends who is also an amateur racer and autocrosser. Initially, no information was released on pricing. I conjectured in my synchromesh brain that Tesla Motors would offer it for about $50-60,000. High, yes, but not beyond the reach of the middle-class enthusiast willing to save up for a few years. Later the company announced the price in the $100,000 range. Now, objectively speaking, the Tesla roadster is competitive with cars in this price range based on performance figures released by the company. I also understand the business dynamics of a start-up company and the importance of recouping its R&D investment quickly. But what could have been a mass-market hit has become defined as a niche toy for limousine liberals and the Hollywood elite.

I still think the car is a cool concept that’s long overdue. Perhaps the price is part of a larger control strategy so Tesla Motors can get production up and running. Maybe in 2-3 years, it will be producing 1,000 roadsters a year for $40-50,000. But as an average working stiff enthusiast, my heart sank when I saw the price. For the time being, it looks like I’m relegated to the hydrocarbon-consuming masses to find my vehicular thrills.

But before I heard about the Tesla, I had been secretly following another electric vehicle, a scooter called the Vectrix. Yes, I, too, thought of that obscure, expensive, and primitive video game system from the ’80s. But there’s nothing primitive about the Vectrix. Talk of scooters has been the buzz of many the morning news show and the reinvented Vespa is flying out of showrooms.

The Vectrix, unlike many of its competitors, isn’t another Chinese knock-off. Its maker, Vectrix Corp., is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, with production facilities in Massachusetts and Poland. And lest you think this is yet another fly-by-night operation run by a bunch of graying hippies that have tried to attach a dryer motor to a bicycle, consider the company has the backing of Parker Hannifin, a prominent defense contractor and producer of high-tech automated systems.

There are numerous patents on the electric scooter with one of the more intriguing being an integrated throttle system that has a regenerative braking feature built in. Simply turn the throttle backward to trickle some power back into the batteries, without the Brembo calipers ever having to squeeze the rotors. Still not impressed? Vectrix Corp. also has an advanced prototype fuel-cell hybrid model that effectively doubles the 60-mile range of the scooter while providing a continuous trickle charge. Granted, finding the required reformed methanol or hydrogen for fuel may prove more of a challenge than simply plugging it into the wall, but the fact that the company is looking ahead is encouraging.

The price for these two-wheeled eco-friendly, fun machines? Again, no firm figures are available, but some numbers being bandied about are $8,000 for the conventional electric model and $10-12,000 for the fuel cell model. Yes, these are still not cheap compared to their gasoline-powered counterparts but much more attainable than the six-figure Tesla. OK, while the Vectrix won’t snap your neck to the tune of 0-60 in 4 seconds flat, it’ll scoot from 0-50 in about seven flat. That’s plenty to zip down to the convenience store, go to the beach, or go hang at the local watering hole. So until I can scratch together the $100k for the Tesla, I’ll be saving my shells for the Vectrix

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