As gas prices fall from the spike this past spring, consumers seem to be turning their interest away from gas sippers and looking for larger family vehicles, as well as coming to the lots to check out sports and luxury units.

And, not surprisingly, the average fuel economy of new cars being sold is dropping right along with fuel rates.

According to TrueCar.com’s TrueMPG — the company’s measure of fuel economy averages by brand, OEM, origin and segment — increased to 23.0 mpg in June 2012 compared to 21.6 mpg in June 2011, and decreased from May 2012 at 23.2 mpg.

The marks the third consecutive month the company has reported a decrease in average fuel economy for new cars sold.
 
Commenting on the statistics, Jesse Toprak, vice president of market intelligence at TrueCar.com, said, “The unseasonal drop in gas prices contributed to the purchase of more vehicles in less fuel-efficient segments in June including larger and luxury vehicles as well as sport cars.

“Gas prices are the most noticeable commodity and when gas prices decline as they have done in recent months consumers feel more comfortable purchasing vehicles that are less fuel efficient as evidenced by the decline in TrueMPG over the last few months,” he continued.

But for domestic nameplates, the TrueMPG for vehicles sold in June was down slightly, falling from 21.6 mpg to 21.2 mpg this past month.

And for domestic nameplates, Ford experienced the highest increase year-over-year, rising 1.4 mpg from 20.6 mpg to 22.0 mpg this past month.

On the other hand, “European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 21.5 mpg to 23.3 mpg; Japanese manufacturers increased their average fuel economy from last year at 22.9 mpg to 24.5 mpg; and South Korean manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles from 25.1 mpg to 27.7 mpg,” officials reported.

And among the top imports, Hyundai experienced the biggest shift, increasing 2.5 mpg year-over-year, rising from 25.2 mpg to 27.7 mpg this June.

 The company also included a few charts to help illustrate its points.

Below is how the top seven manufacturers fared comparing overall mpg, broken out by car and truck mpg:
 
 

Below is a snapshot of a few vehicle segments and how they compare from June 2012 versus June 2011: