It’s almost as predictable as the flowers shooting through the ground each spring: As gas prices rise, car buyers flock to vehicles that get better fuel economy. And with gas approaching the unprecedented $5-per-gallon mark, consumers are snapping up high-mpg vehicles at a record pace.

The average mpg for all new vehicles sold in the U.S. in February hit a record 23.7, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The key word here is “average,” since the record is based on the EPA combined ratings derived from a mixture of city and highway driving and not the much higher highway-only rating.

Further proof that vehicles with higher fuel economy are moving off dealers' lots much faster than bloated SUVs and other gas guzzlers: January set a then-record 23.5 combined mpg for all vehicles sold in the U.S.

So which cars are the hot sellers in this season of downsizing?

According to The Wall Street Journal, among the 20 best-selling vehicles in February, the biggest winner was the Ford Focus, with a whopping 89.8 percent year-to-date increase in sales. That’s nearly double the sales of the No. 2 Nissan Altima, up 48.4 percent. The top six are rounded out by the Honda Civic, 45.1 percent; Toyota Camry, 38.5 percent; Toyota Prius, 33.0 percent; and, strangely enough, the Dodge Ram pickup, 31.3 percent. The biggest loser in the top 20 among all vehicle segments: large cars, with an 84.6 percent drop.

Time reported that Volkswagen, at 42 percent, had the biggest jump in year-to-date sales among all automakers. At 40 percent, Chrysler placed second, and the company’s small Fiat 500 had its best sales month ever.

So far, dealers aren’t seeing any significant shortages in supply due to this small-car sales surge. But Bodie Sanderson, Internet sales manager at Griffith Motors in The Dalles, Ore., says he’s seeing people react to higher gas prices more than ever in his 20-plus years in the industry.  Sanderson said that his store -- a Honda, Toyota and Scion dealership -- had its best February sales ever last month, spurred in part by high-mpg vehicle sales.

“We had a quite a supply of the 2011 Prius, to the point where we even had rebates and incentives,” he said. “And in three weeks we went from having 10 or 11 on the lot to being out selling one every other day. Right now, we have none. Supply is fine currently. We have lots of Civic, Corolla and Yaris models, but that could change quickly.”

Sanderson added that the move toward more fuel-efficient vehicles has been “very obvious within the last 45 to 60 days, which is much earlier that usual,” he said. “It’s usually later, but people started to look at smaller cars early this year. I’d say we’re two months ahead of normal. Of course, you always have people that jump on the bandwagon too late.”

[Source: USA Today]