ST. LOUIS — As Americans worry over high gas prices, Jeff Kline glides along for less than a penny a day in his shiny new velomobile.

His what?

"People want to know what it is," Kline says, standing alongside the narrow, 9-foot-long fiberglass vehicle he got two months ago. "I tell them it is a motorized bicycle."

Picture Fred Flintstone, running on the ground to get his car going before it zips away under its own power. Kline starts pedaling, and then batteries take over to move the vehicle along at an average cruising speed of about 22 mph.

But Kline didn't spend $7,500 to amuse people. Hybrid vehicles are being taken seriously as people look for ways to avoid rising fuel expenses and be conservation-conscious. Sales of cars partly powered by batteries are soaring in the United States.

"Today's gas prices are creating significant interest in fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrids in particular," said Jim Kliesch, research associate for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in Washington.

Kline's velomobile, made in the Netherlands, is a hybrid among hybrids.

While there are more than 1,000 velomobiles in Europe, there are only about 45 in the United States, said Ethan Davis, who operates a Web site called velomobiles.net. The majority are pedal-only, Davis said.

Kline said he has the only velomobile in Missouri or Kansas. He also has one of the country's two Aerorider models, a fully enclosed vehicle with turn signals, lights and other features that make it drive like a car even though it is technically a bicycle. It does not require vehicle plates or registration.

"There is definitely a uniqueness factor to it," Kline said.

Kline said he gets plenty of double takes as he clips along in regular traffic lanes during his 28-mile round-trip commute to work in suburban St. Louis. He stays on side streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less, feels safe and, he said, other drivers show him respect on the road, often giving him a wave and a smile.

"People are not sure it's a bike or a car and so they tend to treat it like a car and give you more space," Kline said.

Kline said he can operate the vehicle entirely on pedals, entirely on batteries or in combination -- his usual method. His top speed has been 36 mph, and his record time for the 14-mile trip between home and work is 32 minutes.

Kline, 43, is a data analyst for Biomedical Systems, a Maryland Heights company that helps conduct clinical drug trials. Kline persuaded the company owner, a bike enthusiast, to have the company pay part of the cost of the vehicle, which has a Biomedical logo on each side.

Another employee of Biomedical Systems, Bruce Stahl, said Kline gets some kidding. "It's something to see his little three-wheeler parked between two Suburbans," he said.

But most people admire what Kline has done, Stahl said. And as gasoline prices creep ever higher, Kline looks pretty smart, said Andrew Kroehnke, another co-worker.

"More and more people are agreeing with him -- he is saving money while we are spending it," Kroehnke said.

Kline, who also has a two-door car and a minivan for himself, his wife and three children, said the only energy cost of his velomobile is charging the batteries. That has been calculated at less than a penny for 50 miles of travel.

Kline says, however, that he does not ever expect to cover the cost of his velomobile through fuel savings.

"To truly get your money back, you would have to go completely car-free," he said. He could then eliminate insurance, maintenance and other costs.

Still, Kline said, saving money is one reason he has the velomobile, along with wanting to exercise, reduce pollution and conserve fuel.

"You know you are doing something good; you are avoiding passive riding in a car," Kline said.

Davis said he is trying to raise money to get U.S. licensing for sale of one of the pedal-only velomobile models. Velomobiles should become more popular when more people, especially bikers, know about them, Davis said.

But no one should expect Americans to turn suddenly to hybrid vehicles, said John Brooking, founder of a fledgling Maine-based environmental group called the Organization of Petroleum Avoiding Consumers, or OPAC.

"It's going to be gradual," said Brooking, who rides a bike five miles to his job as a computer programmer. "It's not like overnight everyone is going to change."

Brooking said, however, that as hybrids become more visible and gas prices keep rising, "enough people will start paying attention" to the need to burn less fuel.

Stahl said the way the media cover a hybrid such as Kline's could help make it popular.

"My concern is for the media to create a wow factor," Stahl said. "It has to be a cool thing to have."

OTHER VEHICLE OPTIONS

--For people who want small carlike vehicles without pedaling, the next step up is something commonly called a neighborhood electric vehicle, basically a golf cart with a top, windows, lights and other features. They generally are licensed to be used on roads with speed limits of up to 35 mph.

--There are about 30,000 such vehicles licensed in the United States, said Jennifer Watts, marketing communications associate for the Electric Drive Transportation Association in Washington. They operate on rechargeable batteries.

--As for full-fledged cars, hybrids such as the Toyota Prius are becoming more popular. Toyota reported selling 9,191 Prius cars in July, up 92 percent from a year earlier. The Prius saves on fuel by using supplementary battery power.

--Toyota plans to have 10 different types of hybrid vehicles, ranging from sport-utility vehicles to small cars, within the next few years, while Ford Motor Co. has said it will have five different hybrid models by 2008. A new law granting tax credits to hybrid buyers is intended to boost sales.

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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News