Somebody asked how many miles per gallon you could get with a Cushman scooter. Back in the 40's, 50's, and maybe even into the 60's, the Cushman people advertised "75 miles per gallon." But like everything else, there are lots of varibles to consider.
If you put a 100 pound kid on a scooter and tell him to cruise it along on level ground at a constant 30 mph, he might get 80 or 90 miles out a gallon. But with a 200 pound rider going wide open, the mileage could drop to less than 50. Hills, head winds, leaky carburetors, rich mixtures, low tire pressure, bad timing, incorrect spark plug gap, and lots of other things become a part of the equation.
When we were kids, gas was cheap so we didn't worry much about mileage. We tended to ride short distances, starting and stopping a lot, sometimes carrying a passenger. Gas mileage was probably terrible for a scooter but still much better than the cars of the period.
Recently, some of the Japanese and Italian scooters are probably capable of 125 mpg or more. They still have the power and speed to survive in traffic, while delivering good fuel economy. Even a modern motorcycle can beat cars and SUV's in the fuel mileage department. With the high cost of gas, don't be surprised if you see more people commuting to work on two wheels in nice weather. Some of them might even be on a Cushman.
Howard