The mom-and-pop convenience store was the last hold out, the last to allow customers to gas up before paying up. I made it a point to stop there, instead of using the chain store across the intersection.

But last week I pulled into the store's gas bay only to find the dreaded, expected, hand-lettered sign - Cash customers must prepay before fueling. The owner told me that the store had been burned too many times by customers doing the gas and dash.

I gave him my twenty dollar bill and returned to fill to containers for lawn mower gas. I'd thought I'd be going back inside for my change….but there wasn't any change. In fact, I didn't fill the containers.

Gas prices are steadily climbing. One solution has come wheeling over the horizon, but you wouldn't have heard it - it's a 4WD, electric ATV with more punch and versatility than its gas distant cousins.

A couple of Mississippi guys, Bubba Kaiser and Joe Palermo, developed the first prototype as a hunting tool. They took an electric golf cart and jacked it up. They had the ground clearance but it wasn't enough, since they still got stuck.

They started making their own components, and their revamped golf cart was replaced by the Bad Boy Buggy, now manufactured in Natchez, MS.

The buggy runs on 8 six-volt Crown T-145 batteries with marine terminals, housed in a sealed area so that it can be driven through water. The batteries power dual 15.5 HP electric motors, giving the machine 31 HP and 170 pounds of torque. The 4WD is automatic or full-time, and can be switched on the fly.

Big enough to carry four people - or the rear seat folds down to become an additional cargo area - the buggy has an 800 pound capacity in the bed, plus 200 pounds on the roof rack and 40 more in the front basket (both standard). It has more ground clearance, up to two inches more, than most ATVs, with 16.5 inches clearance at the center of its frame. The wheelbase is 69 inches and the total length is 113".

On a full charge, it will run 28 miles at 17 mph. From dead, it recharges in six hours, plugged into its charger, which can be plugged into a regular house outlet.

The buggy was designed for use by hunters, who initially used it as a way to get from point A to point B, silently. It wasn't long before they expanded uses for their favorite new toy, attaching farm equipment to the buggy's hitch (also standard) and using it to mow, till and plant fields. They used its auxiliary power point to run power tools in the woods.

One of the Bad Boy Buggies' top sales reps, Dallas-based Ronel Bronson, took a couple buggies to an alternative energy show in Texas. One company bought 50 buggies, and outfitted them with solar panels. Bad Boy Buggy dealerships are available; the buggies are hugely popular in hunting circles in Mississippi and Texas, and expanding into other areas in the country. The buggy comes in four color choices - camouflage, green, red and black.

Is the Bad Boy a solution to high gas prices? It's a huge help. Plus, beyond the money savings is an intangible benefit - it's quiet. We're assaulted by noise throughout the day; it's just plain cool to move around silently in such a powerful vehicle.

To learn more, check out their website at www.badboybuggies.com or call 866-678-6701.