DETROIT -- Rising U.S. gasoline prices are prompting some consumers who own large and mid-size trucks to switch to smaller vehicles, a division of industry tracking firm J.D. Power and Associates said Wednesday.

As gas prices have risen, owner loyalty in the large pickup and mid-size and large sports utility vehicle segments have dropped, said Power Information Network, based on retail transaction data gathered between February and April.

Owner loyalty is measured by the percent of owners in any given segment who trade for another vehicle in the same segment.

"We're seeing a broad, long-term but gradual movement to smaller vehicles," said Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at Power Information Network.

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"During periods of high gas prices over the past two years, we've seen movement from larger to smaller SUVs.

"However, the total SUV pie remains largely intact," he added.

Gasoline prices have surged more than 20 cents in recent weeks to a record U.S. average of $3.10 per gallon, surpassing the previous record of $3.07 per gallon set in September 2005, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Sales of small vehicles, including cars and light trucks, as a percentage of total new-vehicle retail sales, have risen to 31.8 percent in the first quarter of 2007 from 26.3 percent in the first quarter of 2004, J.D. Power said.

But not every new-vehicle segment has been affected by rising gas prices.

The group's findings show that owner loyalty for large and mid-size cars, small crossovers, or car-based SUVs and small SUVs has remained relatively unchanged

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