SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

Donning the cap of a used-vehicle manager for a bit on Tuesday, Edmunds.com pricing manager Richard Arca gave Auto Remarketing some tips on what late-model vehicles will likely be in high demand on dealer lots this 4th of July weekend.

He recommends that dealers ensure these are visible on the frontlines, if possible.

Arca first rattled off a total of 20 used units in three different segments, including:

Cars
—2007 BMW Z4
—2009 Cadillac DTS
—2008 Chevrolet Corvette
—2007 Chevrolet Malibu
—2007 Ford Focus
—2009 Hyundai Elantra
—2009 Mazda Mazda3
—2009 Nissan Altima

SUVs & Minivans
—2007 Chevrolet Suburban
—2007 Chrysler Town & Country
—2008 Ford Edge
—2009 GMC Acadia
—2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee
—2009 Nissan Armada
—2008 Toyota Sienna

Trucks
—2009 Dodge Ram 2500
—2007 Ford F-150
—2008 Ford Ranger
—2008 Nissan Titan
—2009 Suzuki Equator

In particular, Arca pointed out that the 2007 Malibu, 2009 Mazda3, 2009 Altima and 2008 Edge mentioned on Edmunds.com’s recent Deals of the Week list “all in all are practically the same vehicles,” as what the 2011 model might be.

“People have to realize not a whole lot has changed since 2007,” Arca told Auto Remarketing. “The quality of those vehicles is pretty close to what you can get now with a 2011 vehicle. A lot of these vehicles can compete with the quality, practicality and usefulness of some of the newer vehicles.

“With those vehicles, consumers can get a unit at a much less price than what a new one is and realize that the body style is still pretty much the same as what a 2011 is going for,” he continued.

While Edmunds.com’s Deals of the Week did include compact models such as Focus and Elantra, Arca didn’t recommend that used-car managers load up on a bunch of these units before the holiday fireworks fly.

“Here’s my hunch,” Arca began. “Gas prices have been high for the last several months and they’re starting to soften a bit. But more importantly, I think consumers have gotten used to gas prices.

“My hunch is there is going to be more people buying or at least looking to buy larger vehicles, at least in the midsize segment than they have been in the past few months,” he continued.

“Overall the compact is still in demand, but we’ll see it cooling off,” Arca cautioned. “I’ll warn dealers that when they’re looking to fill up inventory is to not necessarily do it with all compact vehicles. That bubble is about to burst or at least cool down significantly. Then dealers are going to be scrambling to find other vehicles in other categories such as midsize SUV segment or even the large SUV segment.”

While interest in larger units might be on the upswing, Arca also acknowledged that general public sentiment toward vehicles could have changed for good because of fuel costs and other consumer economic conditions.

“With used-car sales in connection with the economy and gas prices, I think people have realized they can probably do a lot of the same things but with much less in terms of a vehicle,” Arca shared with Auto Remarketing.

“With fuel economy on their minds, they’re probably looking to cut back a little bit,” he added.

New Vehicle Top Picks

Edmunds.com also revealed a list of new vehicles among its Deals of the Week.

The site’s choices were:

Cars            
—2011 BMW 3 Series
—2011 Chevrolet Malibu
—2011 Chrysler 200
—2011 Hyundai Elantra
—2011 Nissan Altima
—2011 Toyota Camry
—2011 Volvo XC70
—2011 Volkswagen CC                 

SUVs & Minivans                 
—2011 Chrysler Town and Country
—2011 Dodge Durango
—2011 Ford Escape
—2011 Infiniti EX35
—2011 Jeep Liberty
—2012 Mazda MAZDA5
—2011 Suzuki Grand Vitara
—2011 Volkswagen Tiguan                 

Trucks                 
—2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
—2011 Dodge Dakota
—2011 Nissan Titan
—2011 Toyota Tundra

“While overall industry prices are still riding a bit high due to limited inventory, a growing number of models have a decent supply and are being incentivized,” noted Jessica Caldwell, director of pricing and industry analysis at Edmunds.com.

“Car shoppers should also check the local incentives at www.edmunds.com/car-incentives to see if they can benefit further from regional variations in inventory,” Caldwell added.