SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

The automaker whose average discounts in February are showing the strongest month-over-month growth is Nissan, which replaced Mercedes-Benz at the top of the list, according to the latest TrueTrends Reports from TrueCar.com.

So which day this month is believed to be the most ideal for car buying?. According to the analysis, Feb. 26 tops the list, as it will have the highest average possible discount (7.59 percent) off MSRP.

TrueCar determines its prediction by considering historical daily sales and short-term forecast.

As far as the list of automakers with the greatest increases in discounts, Nissan was followed by Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, Chevrolet and Lexus.

This is the same group of five from January, just with Mercedes and Nissan exchanging places and Chevrolet and Lexus doing the same. Dodge was No. 3 in January, as well.

“Mercedes Benz and Lexus have continued their battle for the top luxury manufacturer into 2011,” shared Jesse Toprak, TrueCar’s vice president of industry trends and insights.

“As long as competition stays intense, consumers will be the beneficiaries because of the generous discounts and attractive lease deals in the luxury market,” he added.

Breaking it down by models, TrueCar anticipates that the Chevrolet Impala will have the month’s best deal, with a potential discount from MSRP of 21.3 percent, followed by the Mitsubishi Galant at 20.3 percent.

The Nissan Titan is predicted to have the third-highest discount at 18.5 percent, with the Toyota Tundra 2WD (18.1 percent) and Cadillac DTS (17.1 percent) rounding out the top five.

Moving along, the site also found that this coming weekend — which happens to be President’s Day weekend — will also be ideal for buying a car. TrueCar expects to find discounts exceeding 7 percent.