LAKE STATION | Mayor Keith Soderquist is so excited after two weeks of test driving a low-speed electric car that he's ordering two for city use.

"It's the wave of the future," Soderquist said Monday during a drive around the city in the blue and white loaner car.

The pint-size car, with a top speed of 25 mph, drew stares and questions from passers-by.

"It's an eye-catcher and could prove to be a trend," Soderquist said.

City officials will be purchasing two Global Electric Motorcars, or GEMs, through Tyler Automotive in Niles, Mich., he said.

A GEM utility vehicle, which includes a flat bed that carries loads up to 1,400 pounds, will be used by the parks department.

A second GEM passenger vehicle, either with two or four seats, will be used primarily by the street department and other department heads, he said.

The cost to purchase the two vehicles will run from $15,000 to $17,000, Soderquist said.

The cost to use the electric car, the battery of which is plugged into a standard 110-volt outlet each night, is about 21 cents a night.

That's versus about $100 a week to fill up the tank of one of the V-8 trucks city officials now use.

"The cars could pay for themselves in about three years," he said.

Soderquist said the idea to purchase the electric cars came while the city was in the process of purchasing 15 other E-85, or 85 percent ethanol-fueled, vehicles.

It was while the city's grant writer was researching the purchase of those vehicles that information on the GEM models was uncovered.

"It's the greenest effort you can do," Soderquist said.

The four-passenger GEM model proved to be a valuable addition during the past few weeks, when it was used to take four individuals to check on code violations at a city trailer park.

"It really makes sense. There were four of us in the car and we didn't have to use a drop of gas," he said.

Soderquist said the only possible negative is the safety factor, so city officials driving them will be instructed to stay off busier roads like Ripley Street.

"Most of our roads in the city, with the exception of Ripley Street, have a speed limit of 25 mph," he said.

Richard Hamman, the product representative who let the city test the vehicle, said Lake Station is one of the first municipalities in Northwest Indiana to purchase the vehicles powered by a 72-volt battery system.

But he said he doesn't expect it to be the last.

"A lot of cities are going green especially when gas hit $4 a gallon," he said.

The GEM models, which have been built in Fargo, S.D., since 1999, already have sold well in other parts of the country, including the South and Southwest.

"Here in the Midwest we always have to wait for a wake-up call," Hamman said.

Joan Michelson, a marketing spokeswoman for GEM, said sales and inquiries have increased 10-fold since gas prices spiked.

"All the dealers are reporting increases and we've added shifts on our productions," she said.