Average fuel economy of new vehicles fell to 21.9 mpg in May

Data compiled exclusively for Reuters shows that the rush to purchase fuel efficient vehicles is not as urgent as it was back in 2008 when gasoline prices soared to a record-setting high of $4.114 in the U.S.

Take, for example, the month of May, when the average fuel economy of new passenger vehicles declined for a second consecutive month to its lowest point since January of 2011. According to preliminary figures released by TrueCar.com, the average fuel economy rating of vehicles sold last month rang in at 21.9 miles per gallon. For the sake of comparison, TrueCar data shows that back in mid-2008, the average fuel economy rating of light vehicles stood at 21.2 mpg. In our opinion, that's a barely measurable improvement in three year's time.

May sales were impacted by quake-related shortages that put a significant dent in hybrid vehicle sales, which likely skewed TrueCar's results. The firm will release its official May gas mileage figures later this week.