SARASOTA - There's a new way to get around town...and the best part: you won't need to stop at the gas station.  A Suncoast company has designed a vehicle that is powered by something the Sunshine State has plenty of...sun.

People are looking for ways to avoid those high gas prices, and the sun doesn't cost $4 a gallon.  So a Sarasota car maker is taking advantage of that, and now has a vehicle so hot, it's getting national attention.

At first glance they look like golf carts, but it's what's up top that makes them different.  It is a solar electric hybrid vehicle.  The only one of its kind in the world," says Ken Chester of Cruise Car, Inc.

It's powered by the sun and powerful.  "This can run all day until about 6:30-7:00 at night."

Chester came up with the idea while doing what else...golfing.  "One day while driving on a golf course, running out of electricity out on the 16 hole, I realized there is a need for something special to get me to the other two holes."

Chester got his solar powered cars up an running last year, and since then they've been taking off.  Hundreds of them have gone to buyers all over the world.

And they're getting some attention from Congressman Vern Buchanan.  "We've got to find a way as a congress, Republicans and Democrats, to come together to find a way to move quickly towards energy independence, pull down the cost of gas that people are paying."

Buchanan says solar power is an option that needs to be explored more.  "All these golf carts, all these vehicles have solar capabilities cost you nothing.  So why not take advantage of the sun.  We are called the sunshine state for a reason...we have 300 sunny days a year.  So lets do everything we can to take advantage of that resource."

"Everything that we see is going up in price and its going up in price because we as a country are not using alternative energy to the extent that we should," says Chester.

Right now these golf carts top out at 25mph, but as long as the sun keeps shining, Chester is hoping to develop something that can soak up even better results and make more drivers take a second look.

The golf carts start at $8,000, and you can get a tax credit for purchasing one.

Cruise Car says many businesses are using their cars, from vacation resorts to Disney.  Individuals are also buying them.

The cars are street legal as long as they are driven on roads with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or slower.