I was reminded of the tortoise and hare while pitting a Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet against a Vespa GTS scooter in a “race” across Manhattan.
It was a low-speed sprint, with Bloomberg TV anchor Matt Miller wending his Vespa around the crosstown traffic I was stuck behind. My top speed was 15 mph.
Despite the $140,000 and 478-horsepower disparities, my Porsche was beaten by a full two minutes.
What are the best ways to get around the city? Usually I prefer walking, the subway or a taxi, in that order. If it weren’t for arriving everywhere sweaty, I might take advantage of the new bicycle lanes.
So I decided to test two rather unusual but very green options — a $12,000 electric bicycle and a $19,000 street-legal golf cart.
The e-bike is from Optibike, a Boulder, Colorado-based company which makes about 100 electric bikes a year…..MORE
You'll also receive a free download of The Electric Bike Book by Jim Turner.