HOUSTON – Tuesday, the nationwide average price for a gallon of unleaded gas reached a new record high, according to GasBuddy.com.

The price of $4.104 eclipsed the previous high set in 2008 by 1/1000th of a penny, but it is not adjusted for inflation.

Any way you slice it, gas is expensive and it could make vehicles that do not require regular fill-ups more attractive, according to Bill Fulton, director of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

“I think we are going to see more and more people switch to electric vehicles because of gas prices,” said Fulton.

However, Fulton does not expect rapid mass adoption of electric vehicles because of the spike in fuel prices. A sizeable percentage of the buying public still find upfront costs to an electric car too steep.

“Electric Vehicles are still quite expensive, probably beyond their means, so if they’re going to buy another car, it’s going to be gas-powered, even with the higher gas prices,” Fulton said.