OCEANSIDE -- Record-high gasoline prices have made motor scooters more hip than ever, and the newest riders are more likely to wear neckties than Che Guevara T-shirts, according to dealers, buyers and safety instructors.

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Economists have blamed rising costs of gasoline and food for limiting consumer purchases and dragging the U.S. economy closer to recession, particularly in California and other states where expensive houses and rising mortgage obligations have already brought many people to the financial edge.

But scooter dealers along a one-mile stretch of Highway 101 in Oceanside said business has never been better.

While filling the tank of a large truck easily can suck away $100, more drivers see a new $4,000 scooter that costs $12 to fill as a smart investment, dealers said.

A gallon of regular gas in North County costs an average of $4.54 on Thursday, down slightly since mid-June but 45 percent more than the $3.10 recorded on July 3, 2007, according to weekly surveys by the San Diego-based Utility Consumers' Action Network.

Those prices recently have made scooters attractive for large numbers of middle-aged commuters, and not just the 20-somethings cruising for recreation who once typified scooter buyers, dealers said.

Several of the most popular models have engines 250 cubic centimeters in size, with more than enough power to qualify as freeway-legal. Such scooters cost $4,000 to $8,000, weigh about 400 pounds, get 65 to 75 miles per gallon, and can go as fast as 80 mph.

Last month, Carlsbad resident Eric Goodman bought a Kymco People 150 scooter for his 10-mile commute down Coast Highway to Solana Beach, where he co-owns a small marketing firm.

The Taiwanese manufacturer estimates the scooter's mileage at 84 miles per gallon, compared with the 13 miles per gallon that Goodman gets in his Ford Expedition sport utility vehicle. Some makers of scooters with 50-cc engines claim 100 miles to the gallon.

If Goodman had financed the $3,995 purchase, monthly loan payments would have been $60 to $80, less than what he's saving on fuel costs, he said.

He plans to keep his Expedition to drive on dates and trips to downtown San Diego with friends, he said.

"I'm a good example of someone who wouldn't have bought a scooter before," Goodman said.

Scooter dealers in Oceanside said most of their customers, like Goodman, are keeping their cars and trucks to use for weekend outings and errands after work.

But the gas prices are clearly pushing drivers to conserve fuel by combining trips, carpooling and relying less on large trucks and sport utility vehicles, according to drivers and oil-industry analysts.

Such reactions may seem obvious to some drivers, but they haven't shown up on a large scale in more than a decade.

A state agency reported last week that 15.7 billion gallons of gas were pumped in California from April 2007 to March 2008, down 0.9 percent from the prior 12-month period, following years of 1 percent to 3 percent increases.

It isn't clear how heavily scooters are figuring into that decline because state statistics categorize them with motorcycles that can get as little as 30 miles to the gallon. But they do indicate that two-wheeled vehicles may be gaining popularity.

About 1.16 million Californians were licensed to drive motorcycles or scooters as of Jan. 1, up 4.5 percent from 2007, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The number of drivers licensed for cars and light trucks increased by 1.7 percent to 23.6 million, according the agency.

The number of motorcycles and scooters registered for the first time last year actually fell by 5 percent from 2006, to 53,600, though the number of renewals rose 7 percent, to 367,000.

Scooter drivers don't need a standard motorcycle license so long as they stick to daylight driving on surface streets. To drive at night or on the highway, they have to pass a driving test at the DMV or take a 15-hour motorcycle safety course approved by the state.

A weekend course at Palomar College is booked seven weeks in advance, compared with a two-week wait last summer, coordinator Laura McKay said.

The three-day course focuses on motorcycles, but recent scooter buyers have begun to show up occasionally in the last few months, McKay said.

Many other scooter drivers call for information but take the DMV test instead, she said.

Highway driving is restricted to scooters and bikes with 15 horsepower or more, which usually requires an engine at least 175 cubic centimeters in size. Dealers said an in increase in sales of those vehicles is another sign that more are being used for heavier-duty commuting.

South Coast Scooter was selling just two or three scooters a month alongside its go-karts and apparel last year before it moved from Vista, and even earlier this year at the corner of Cassidy Street, store Manager Michelle Kamowski said.

Sales took off in April as gas closed in on the $4 mark, she said.

"Nobody really had any sales at all, and so everyone was wringing their (hands) and saying 'What's going to happen to this industry?' " Kamowski said, "and then -- boom! -- the gas prices went up and everybody was sold out."

The shop had no scooters in stock on Friday; Kamowski said she has begun taking $300 deposits on its next order of 25, due in later this month.

A couple of blocks north on the Coast Highway, Oceanside Cycle Supply just wrapped up its best month ever and was also sold out of scooters and small motorcycles Friday, Manager Jimmy Martin said.

Martin said he has begun scouring classified advertisements, looking for used vehicles to buy, refurbish and resell.

"Gas prices suck for most people I know," Martin said, "but in my case, they've made up for years of lackluster sales."

Contact staff writer Chris Bagley at (760) 740-5444 or cbagley@nctimes.com.