Have gas prices risen enough to tempt motorists across the region to ditch their SUVs, even temporarily, in favor of hopping on a scooter offering 100 mpg or more?

Mike Urbahns believes so and said he has already sold six motor scooters in the two weeks that the Get Scootin' store has been open along Lincolnway in downtown Valparaiso.

"It's twist and go," the store manager said, referring to the ease of driving the two-wheel vehicles.

While the store boasts itself as "N.W. Indiana's only scooter store," others have been in the business for years, including Lake Cycle on Taft Street in Merrillville.

The store, which claims to have been the state's top scooter dealer last year, has seen strong sales as gas prices creep ever closer to the $4 a gallon mark, said salesman Tom Clark.

Scooters make sense in areas like Northwest Indiana, which are densely developed, he said.

While the scooters have an image of being less macho than motorcycles, Clark said he challenges potential buyers to try driving one and come back without a smile on their faces.

Scooters are generally smaller than motorcycles, but they do come in a variety of sizes, Urbahns said. His store alone offers models ranging in top speeds from 45 to 65 mph.

These different models are handled differently under the law, according to information provided by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Porter County Sheriff's Department.

Scooters with engine sizes no bigger than 50 cubic centimeters, producing no more than two horsepower, with an automatic transmission and maximum speed of 25 mph do not need to be registered with the state. If any one of these standards are exceeded, the scooters must be registered like other motor vehicles.

Scooter drivers must be at least 15 years old, hold a valid driver's license or state identification card, and must wear a helmet and protective eye wear if they are under 18.

Nicholas Kravetz, sales manager at Buck's Powersports on U.S. 30 in Valparaiso, said scooter sales were stronger during the early 1990s.

He could not explain why they were more popular at that time, but said he does not believe Americans have yet been pinched enough by gas prices to seek out alternatives.

"Americans still want their SUVs," he said. "They want to be crammed one person in a 10-person vehicle."