The return on investment for an inexpensive scooter is superb with gas
costing over $3 a gallon.  Mine paid for itself in well less
than a year.   Here's a simple breakdown:

(With permission from In Praise of Motorscooters:
http://abacus-es.net/motorscooter/economy.html)

The scooter is free!

-- Well, not really, but in practical terms, with the payback point
being what it is, a scooter is one of the most justifiable investments
any driver with significant local traveling to do can possibly make.
(besides being a gas saver, it's also stylish) Here's how to explain it
to your spouse:

Each mile in an SUV costs in gas PPG/MPG where PPG is the price per
gallon and MPG is the mileage of your vehicle. If the price per gallon
is $3.00 and your vehicle gets 12 miles per gallon, 3/12 = a cost of
$0.25 per mile.

Now calculate cost/mile for a scooter at 85 MPG: 3/85 = about $0.035
- about three and a half cents a mile.

With these figures, it is simple to see that each mile on a scooter
costs $0.215 less than it would in an SUV.

Thus, you can see your savings on your scooter's odometer. When it
reaches 5000 miles, you will have saved 5000 * $0.215 or $1075.00. It
is clear that, if you have purchased an inexpensive scooter (see Best
Motorscooter Deals http://abacus-es.net/motorscooter/buyscooter.html),
before your scooter registers 10,000 miles, it will have paid for the
cost of the scooter and insurance, and be keeping significant savings
in your pocket - even if your car gets a good deal better than 12
MPG. A similar analysis to this one, using different MPG assumptions
appears in this MSNBC article by Denise Ono
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9087878/).