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(NBC Newschannel) Soaring gasoline prices may not be causing a mass stampede away from gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, but they do appear to be sending consumers toward smaller versions of those vehicles, according to new research.
Refinery outages and tight supplies have sent pump prices soaring in recent weeks, with the national average price of regular gasoline rising this week to a record of nearly $3.20 a gallon, according to AAA.
At the same time, owner loyalty in the large pickup and midsize and large SUV segments has dropped, according to the Power Information Network, a division of industry tracking firm J.D. Power and Associates, which tracked the percent of owners who traded in their vehicles for another in the same segment during February and March.
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