When the Japanese earthquake first hit, many analysts believed that the major automakers in Japan – Honda, Toyota and Nissan – wouldn't be back to full production levels until the end of the year. That was seemingly confirmed by the automakers themselves in their projections.

However, it's now been revealed that Honda and Toyota may be back to normal levels in the near future. Originally targeting the end of the year as their return to full production, the automakers have been ramping up manufacturing as of late and appear to be well ahead of schedule. That's definitely true at Nissan, which has said that it doesn't anticipate the earthquake to have any lingering effects on the brand.

"April is likely to be the bottom and we might see back-to-normal production levels in July or August," Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities, told Reuters. "Some parts suppliers say they are resuming full production in June in time for automakers' summer operations. And the widely anticipated disruption in power supply during summer is not likely to have a big impact on production."

This is good news for car buyers, as less production means higher prices on Japan-only models. Drivers looking for a discount on a new or used car should consider New Jersey State Auto Auction which offers a wide range of both domestics and imports.