Nancy Cain at AAA of Michigan says gas prices in the state have gone up 31.8 cents in the last week. She says if that isn’t a record, its close to one. The average price is now three-dollars-69-cents a gallon. Oil industry analysts are blaming the price hike on rising crude oil prices and a refinery explosion and fire outside of Toledo.

Cain says Nationwide, the price of gasoline has risen by an average of 17-cents in the past month.

Maybe this is cause and effect.   After a promising increase in Hybrid sales late in 2012, gas prices dipped in January. Drivers are holding back on buying plug-in electric hybrid cars so far this year. 

The "Detroit News" reports GM, Toyota and Nissan are all reporting a sales slump for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids for January compared to December.  While GM reports selling more than eleven-hundred of its Chevy Volts in January, that's off from the more than 26-hundred sold in December and the lowest number sold in a single month since February of last year.