SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Pump prices keep rising, leading motorists to rethink what kind of cars to buy.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline nationwide has climbed 7 cents in two weeks.

The Camarillo-based Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations shows the average price of self-serve regular was $3.26 a gallon Friday.

A new American Automobile Association study also suggests that gas mileage is the top consideration when motorists look to buy a new vehicle. Safety and amenities used to be priorities. But many people are now downsizing by getting rid of large sport utility vehicles they purchased when gasoline was around $2 a gallon.

Of the major cities surveyed by Lundberg, the cheapest price was in Newark, N.J., where a gallon of regular costs $3.03. The highest average price was in San Francisco at $3.66.

In the Sacramento area, the average is $3.60 per gallon, just a penny short of the record, which was set on March 17.