Scoot Coupe zips back into spotlight with the holiday season approaching

"The Price is Right" jump starts interest in the Scoot Coupe's cutesy flair.

The peppy, three-wheel Scoot Coupe darted back into consumers' consciousness today, just in time for holiday shopping. "The Price is Right" included the green-chic micromobile – part scooter, part golf cart, yet still street legal – in today's Showcase Showdown.

Scoot Coupe is an odd pairing. Its toy-like frame houses an engine capable of hitting 45 m.p.h. But the two-seater is light enough to run at 70 miles per gallon. Panther Motors designed it to be a viable car for commuting and tourism. Just don't try to take it on the highway. This street-legal status has enchanted shoppers, but frustrated lawmakers. More on that last part in a bit.

On today's "The Price is Right," contestant Nicole passed on the chance to win the Scoot Coupe, opting to see what was behind door number two. But viewers seemed smitten. Online searches for the Scoot Coupe skyrocketed just after the show, and the car's official website has been crippled by a "bandwidth limit" error.

But if you're tempted, beware: Some towns are outlawing the Scoot Coupe.

As we reported in August, Ocean City, Md., wishes that they’d just go away.

In a move to promote street safety, the city council banned Scoot Coops from public roads. The 4-3 vote in late July came down to an argument over whether “adding these vehicles to the town’s already crowded roadways, namely in the area of Baltimore Ave. between 15th and 33rd streets, was entirely too risky,” reports The Dispatch, Ocean City’s local paper. “Peter Gakurias claims that he and his brother Kozmas had done everything necessary prior to buying six scoot coupes for upwards of $40,000 in order to make sure that they were legal.”

--

Interested in the Scoot Coupe? Think it's a compact joke? Share your thoughts in the comments, or join the conversation with us on Twitter. We're @csmhorizonsblog.