Members of the New York Scooter Club arr

Members of the New York Scooter Club arrive outside the Brass Monkey in New York July 2, 2008 for their weekly rally. As petrol prices bite larger holes in Americans' pocketbooks, US motorists are ending their love affair with the "Yank tank", and many of them are considering the ultimate step in downsizing: losing two wheels and riding a scooter. "Americans love cars, especially big cars, and for them to decide to use something different has not been an easy decision," Paolo Timoni, chief executive of Piaggio Group Americas, producer of the classic Italian Vespa and Piaggio scooters that crowd roundabouts from Rome to Naples, told AFP. Scooter sales ballooned more than ten-fold in the United States between 1997 and last year, climbing from 12,000 to 131,000. AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)