January 9, 2005

BY TODD LEWAN

THE VILLAGES, Fla. -- In this land of golf greens, polo fields and gated cul-de-sacs, the snowbirds are all atwitter over what's on Lillie Lipscomb's driveway.

It isn't just that Lipscomb, who used to work for Chrysler in Detroit, purchased a golf cart. It isn't just that the cart in question is a fiberglass copy of a 1934 Ford, bug-eyed headlights, chromed hubcabs and all. What really wows them are the iridescent flames across the jet-black hood.

''Soon as I delivered it,'' said Alan Zimmerman, the man who sold Lipscomb her new chariot, ''she had a bunch of neighbors outside her house going, 'Oooh!' and 'Ahhh!' and 'Eeee!' like they'd seen a spaceship or something.''

$20,400 -- with taxes

The clincher was the beverage cooler -- the one under the hood. ''I'm amazed by that cooler,'' said Gil Owens, 70. ''I mean, who would have thought you could pack a few cold ones under your front hood?''

Lipscomb, 62, didn't blink at the price to be paid for putt-putting about in style: $20,400, including taxes. Her eyes do narrow, though, when people use that four-letter word -- "cart" -- while referring to her hot wheels.

''How could you call this a golf cart?'' she asked. ''It's a car -- a custom Streetrod, you know.''

Such little-wheeled luxury may seem extreme, but luxury golf carts -- some modeled after Lincoln Navigators, Humvees and even Lamborghinis -- are popping up in fashionable driveways all over. For the truly status-conscious, there are custom-built models.

In many gated recreational communities catering to older Americans in Hawaii, California and Florida, the personal golf cart is fast overtaking the auto as the preferred mode of daily transport.

The craze hasn't just seized die-hard duffers. Even retirees who spend no more than a weekend a year on the fairways are garaging their autos for golf carts.

Traditional carts typically sell for $5,000 to $6,000. But spiffy, personalized rides are catching on big-time, especially among baby boomers who retire early, said Michael Hruby, owner of LuxuryCarts.com, an online distributor in Mililani, Hawaii.

In the last six years, Hruby has watched sales of his luxury lines grow by 40 percent a year. In 2004, he did $1 million in business. ''And I think we're still at the starting line,'' he said.

AP