With oil prices breaking $100 a barrel this week and gas prices starting to edge back up, again, consumers start thinking about a fuel economy again.

And when that happens, local automotive dealers say they see an increase in customers looking to act on their thinking.

"It slows down sales of my SUVs and bigger vehicles," said Andy Winbush, general sales manager of Thousand Oaks Toyota. "But they do come in for other cars."

Scott Husted, general sales manager of DCH Honda of Oxnard, said Hondas are selling well because of the automaker's lineup of fuel-efficient vehicles.

"People are still looking for an economical car," said Husted. "When they look at Honda they're looking for a vehicle that's reliable with low maintaince, high resale value and is good on gas."

Husted said that among the nonhybrids on the lot, the Honda Fit gets the best gas mileage with a range of 30 to 35 miles per gallon while the Civic Hybrid gets 40 to 45 mpg.

"Customers are switching over to crossovers and small vehicles," said Tom Maronde, general manager of Paradise Chevrolet in Ventura.

Maronde says Paradise Chevrolet tends to sell more cars than trucks as gas prices rise and people are asking about Chevrolet hybrids.

"We get a lot of inquiries about the Malibu," he said. "It should sell well."

Maronde also said the dealership received its first shipment of the brand new Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid last week.

Besides some smaller vehicles, gasoline-electric hybrids are gaining more popularity among those looking for better gas mileage.

"Dealers are carrying more of them and you can get deals on them too," said Winbush.

Winbush said the popular Toyota Prius hybrid can get between 46 to 48 mpg while the new 2009 Toyota Corolla (27 to 35) and Toyota Yaris (29 to 35) are tops among the gasoline-only vehicles.

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If you happen to drive a vehicle which can run on E85 ethanol — which Maronde says includes many of Chevrolets he sells — you've had a hard time finding that fuel in California.

But on Tuesday in Brentwood, drivers will be able to fill up on E85 for only 85.9 cents a gallon, thanks to General Motors.

GM, which estimates 2.5 million FlexFuel vehicles are on the road, is sponsoring the event to help raise awareness about the first station in Los Angeles to offer E85 ethanol and to encourage drivers of FlexFuel vehicles to use this cleaner, renewable fuel instead of gasoline.

So on Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m., Conserv Fuel at 11699 San Vicente Blvd. in Brentwood will offer E85 ethanol for 85.9 cents a gallon.

"At GM, we believe the biofuel with the greatest potential to displace petroleum-based fuels and help reduce tailpipe carbon gas emissions in the United States is ethanol, and so we have made a major commitment to vehicles that can run on E85 ethanol," Susan Docherty, general manager of GM's Western Region, said in a news release.

Conserv Fuel is only the second station in Southern California to sell E85. The other station is in San Diego, with two more scheduled to open this year in San Diego County.