(July 23, 2011) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Summer deals on new cars will be available to consumers after all, even if they're coming a couple of months later than usual, reports Edmunds.com.

The traditional summer sales events — which usually start as early as Memorial Day, but were delayed this year following supply issues caused by the earthquake in Japan — are a popular way for dealers to sell off vehicles in anticipation of new model year inventories.

"Because many automakers and dealers were operating with such low supplies over the past few months, new car prices have been high and many wondered whether there would even be summer sales events this year," said Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl, whose blog post on the subject appears on AutoObserver.com.

"But automaker production has, for the most part, recovered much faster than anticipated and that's setting the stage for some good deals on 2011 model year vehicles."

For some automakers, summer sales events have already started. Chrysler, for example, has already announced the terms for its summer clearance event, which includes zero percent financing or up to $3,000 cash back on many of its models.

As a result, Edmunds.com estimates that car buyers can expect significant price decreases on popular models like the 2011 Chrysler 300 and the 2011 Dodge Charger. Consumers can also expect sales events within the next few weeks from Nissan and Toyota, which will make a strong play to regain some of the market share it lost following the earthquake.

Edmunds.com's Pricing Manager Richard Arca also advises consumers to watch out for deals on some small cars and sports cars as it gets deeper into the summer sales season:

    2011 Hyundai Sonata and Elantra; 2011 Chevrolet Malibu and Cruze — "Hyundai and Chevrolet will do what they can to finish the second half of the year strong and keep the market share that they gained from their Japanese competitors."
    2011 Chevrolet Corvette, 2011 Nissan 370Z and the 2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata — "As the summer season ends, the demand for popular sports cars and convertibles will start to trend downward, which means better deals — especially on 2011 models."

Edmunds.com's Deals of the Week page showcases some of the best incentives available right now, with the biggest cash offers coming from the truck segment: the 2011 Chevy Silverado 1500 and the 2011 Nissan Titan each offer as much as $4,500 cash back.