AAA has released its annual report that breaks down how much car owners are spending in a year to own and operate a vehicle. Obviously one big contributor is gas prices, but it's not the only factor that has increased in price this year.

The annual report has one constant year after year - the numbers go up. The report breaks down how much a car owner spends per mile on their vehicle. Gas at over 3.40 a gallon is about half the yearly cost for consumers, but other things are taken into consideration.

Yearly routine maintenance: about 4 oil changes a year, a $21 mandatory state inspection and don't forget insurance and registration.

"And the depreciation, of course," said Ed Welsh of AAA. "The value of the vehicle goes down and you have to pay for that. A car is a very bad investment."

But in most cases they are needed. The report is based on commuters driving an average 10,000 miles. According to AAA, the owner of an SUV will spend about 91 cents per mile this year - roughly $9,100.

Large car owners will spend 85 cents, or about $8,500 a year. Medium-sized cars, like an Impala will cost drivers about 71 cents per mile or $7,100 a year.

While small cars, of course, are the cheapest, those owners will spend about 55 cents per mile or $5,500 a year.

"A resurgence of small cars is showing that there's been a big boot in the sales of small cars when the rest of the car and truck market has been very flat," Welsh said.

Welsh says because of reports like this, people are starting to re-assess their need. That's why more and more cars on the road are smaller and more fuel efficient.