News of Best Buy getting into the motorcycle business is
spreading throughout the blogosphere, with reports having the consumer
electronics retail giant introducing an electric two-wheeler at five West Coast
stores in May.
According to Greentech Media, Best Buy will outfit the
stores with the Enertia, a $12,000 electric motorcycle developed by the
Oregon-based Brammo. The company said it designs and manufacturers sustainable
specialty vehicles and “performance products for the next generation of
transportation.”
Selected as one of WIRED magazine’s “Top 10” product
launches of 2008, the Enertia uses six lithium-phosphate battery modules that
take about three hours to charge. It is highway legal with a 45-miles range and
has a maximum speed of 53 miles per hour.
Bloggers said Best Buy tipped its hat last year when its
venture capital arm invested in the seven-year-old company. And last week at
the Pacific Crest Clean Technology Conference in San Francisco, Best Buy CEO Craig Bramscher
told attendees that Best Buy’s Geek Squad would perform “level one” brake, tire
and electronic component repairs.
“What we’re selling is a lot closer to consumer electronics
than to transportation,” Bramscher told attendees.
