TrueCar.com, the authority on new car pricing, trends and forecasts, estimated today that the average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $29,761 in July 2011, up $582 (2.0 percent) from July 2010 and up $102 (0.3 percent) from June 2011.

"Despite continued weakness in the economy and the ongoing concern over the debt ceiling, consumers continued to purchase vehicles packed with options in July," said Jesse Toprak, VP of Industry Trends and Insights for TrueCar.com. "Tightened inventories, lower dealer discounting and manufacturer incentives, along with a more expensive product mix resulted in the highest transaction prices we have recorded in the industry."

In addition, TrueCar.com estimated that the average incentive for light-vehicles was $2,418 in July 2011, down $431 (15.1 percent) from July 2010 and up $17 (0.7 percent) from June 2011.

"July is typically the beginning of the summer sell-down for automakers, but with inventories lacking on dealership lots, incentives are down significantly this year," said Kristen Andersson, automotive analyst at TrueCar.com. "There just aren't enough cars to sell, as in years past."

TrueCar.com estimated that the ratio of incentives to average transaction price for light-vehicles was 8.1 percent in July 2011, down from 9.8 percent in July 2010 and flat from June 2011.