Perhaps it’s getting more difficult for dealers to remember what the car business was like in 2017 through 2019, before the pandemic upended many parts of store operations.

The newest installment of Market Insights from Black Book offered a memory jolt, at least in connection with wholesale prices.

Black Book reported wholesale depreciation accelerated modestly last week, with overall market values declining by 0.52%. A week earlier, the price decrease was 0.49%.

What’s notable, however, is last week’s depreciation was more than double what analysts recorded on average during the same week in 2017 through 2019. That average came in at 0.21%.

What’s prompted this return to the corner of Memory Lane and Used-To-Be Boulevard?

“Last week, the auction conversion rate increased to 59%, up 2 percentage points from the prior week, despite a slight decrease in total auction inventory,” Black Book said in the report. “However, market values remained under pressure, with all reported car segments experiencing declines for the third consecutive week. The overall truck segment also declined for the seventh consecutive week, despite the large volume of trucks sold at auction each week.

“This continued weakness suggests that increased auction activity has not translated into stronger pricing,” analysts continued. “Buyers remain selective, placing greater emphasis on condition, equipment, configuration, and retail appeal. As a result, pricing differences are driven less by vehicle age or mileage alone and more by whether a specific vehicle offers the attributes needed to overcome broader segment pressure.”

While overall car values on a volume-weighted basis sagged by 0.35%, Black Book spotted one specific vehicle category that went counter to that movement last week.

Analysts indicated prices for compact cars less than 2 years old rose 0.26%, representing the first value gain for those cars since the middle of May.

Move up one car segment in size and the value direction is dramatically different.

Black Book said prices for midsize cars less than 2 years old tumbled by 0.86%, marking the largest single-week drop since December.

Meanwhile, on a volume-weighted basis, Black Book noticed overall truck prices declined by another 0.58%, as all 13 segments sustained value drops.

Fueling that movement was compact crossovers/SUVs, as depreciation for those vehicles accelerated to 0.80% last week. Values for those units now have declined for 12 weeks in a row, sliding by an average of 0.44% per week.

Also of note were minivans, as values for units between 2 and 8 years old plummeted by 0.95% and prices for one between 8 and 16 years old fell by 0.62%.

With the end of August quickly approaching, Black Book reiterated, “As always, our team of analysts are focused on keeping their eyes on the market for developing trends and gathering insights.”