GAINESVILLE, GA - As the survey reports and summaries arrived at the Black Book editorial offices, there was a consistent pattern of comments regarding one segment of the market. Four-cylinder and fuel-efficient cars are “a hot item,” while more times than not, the reports included a comment that “the [used-vehicle] market is still strong.”

“With all the attention on the current level and steadily moving gas prices, we are faced with another $0.05 week over week change to a national average of $3.92. Over the past two months, we have had an average increase of $0.06 per week,” according to Ricky Beggs, VP and managing editor for Black Book. “This has had a consistent and positive affect on four of the car segments. For the past seven consecutive weeks, Compact Cars (SCC) and Entry Level Cars (ELC) have increased, while two other segments, Entry Mid-size Cars (EMC) and Upper Mid-size Cars (UMC), have increased in value for the past five weeks.”

With gas prices obviously being a push for the fuel efficient models, some would initially think the opposite would be happening with the trucks and utility models. For the past two weeks, ten of the 14 truck related segments have increased week over week. Three and four weeks ago, nine of the 14 segments increased. “It’s obvious there is a stronger need for the trucks than the drag of the gas prices holding them back. There are seven truck related segments with four consecutive weeks of increasing values, including utility vehicles, minivans, and Mid-size Pickups (MPT). Full-size Pickups (FPT) have increased for the past three weeks,” Beggs said.

With this being the first of the month there is a new current specialty market video posted on the BlackBookUSA website. "Now would be a great time to check out the market trends if you ever deal with a motorcycle, RV, collectible car, or a medium or heavy-duty truck," Beggs said.

Watch this week's Beggs on the Market Video below: