Some car dealers here say vehicle sales in 2010 climbed significantly, following two years of generally dismal sales, and they expect that rebound to continue at a similar pace this year, due to an improving economy, rising consumer confidence, and technological advances.

New car and truck sales at the Wendle Motors Inc. Ford dealership were more than 10 percent stronger in 2010 than in 2009, says Shayne Goff, general manager of the North Side dealership at 9000 N. Division.

Goff says the dealership expects a comparable or possibly better sales increase this year.

"Our showroom and Internet traffic are increasing," he says.

Dale Cornwell, a principal at Becker Buick GMC, which operates locations at 636 E. Sprague and 6623 N. Division, says Buick sales were up in 2010, while GMC sales here were down due in part to lack of inventory of certain models.

"We're planning on a better year," he says of 2011, noting that 2008 and 2009 were poor sales years that were marked by major shakeups among the big three U.S. automakers.

Mark Waltermire, general manager at Dishman Dodge Chrysler, at 7700 East Sprague in Spokane Valley, says sales of cars there were up 10 percent in 2010 compared with sales in 2009, while sales of used cars were up more than 20 percent.

Sport-utility vehicles are the main sellers here in the Dodge brand, Waltermire says. Chrysler's biggest seller is its Town & Country minivan, he says. The Dodge and Chrysler divisions of Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler Group LLC have high expectations for new products for 2011 and expect an overall sales increase in excess of 10 percent, Waltermire says.

Dodge is introducing a redesigned Durango SUV, and Chrysler is introducing a midsized 200 sedan that will replace its Sebring model, he says. The company also has redesigned its popular 300 sedan.

"The last several years haven't had this kind of positive outlook and excitement," Waltermire says.

Wendle Ford's 2010 rise in sales was led by the Fusion midsized sedan and the Escape, a small SUV, Goff says.

The dealership also saw a resurgence in consumer interest in the redesigned Ford Explorer midsized SUV, and an increase in truck sales, he says.

Goff says he expects to see similar strong interest this summer in Ford's popular F-150 pickup, which will be available with a new V-6 turbo engine, a feature that's expected to improve fuel economy without compromising power.

Goff says Wendle Nissan, another division of Wendle Motors at its North Side auto complex, also is anticipating a spike in new-car sales this year. Nissan's U.S. sales have been on an upward trend in the last few months, and the Japanese car company has made more products available to the dealership here, he says.

Nissan's Juke, which is billed as a compact SUV, is selling well, Goff says.

Wendle Nissan also expects to sell some of Nissan's new all-electric Leaf vehicles through Nissan's reservation system, he says. The dealership has installed charging stations and will sell stations that car owners can install at home. The vehicle will start at $32,400 and is eligible for state and federal tax incentives, Goff says.

Becker's Cornwell says the Buick Enclave, a luxury, midsized SUV, has sold well here, as has the LaCrosse four-door sedan. Starting in 2010, the LaCrosse became available with all-wheel drive, the first such option for a Buick sedan, which should make it popular with Spokane customers, he says.

Cornwell says it was difficult to get popular inventory from GMC in the last few months while General Motors Co., its parent company, adjusted its production after having emerged from bankruptcy protection.

"We're finally able to get much of the merchandise we need," he says.

Such models include the Acadia midsized SUV, which is the most sought-after model by GMC dealers, Cornwell says. One of the other models he says he expects to be popular in 2011 is the Terrain, a smaller SUV.

As for the GMC truck line, Cornwell says he expects the heavy-duty Denali pickup, available with a newly designed turbo diesel engine, will be a popular seller.

The Becker Buick GMC dealership hasn't suffered noticeably from General Motors' phaseout of its Pontiac brand in late 2009, although the Becker dealership carried that car line, Cornwell says.

"That wasn't a big deal for us," Cornwell says. "We didn't get into Pontiacs until the last few years."

Jeff Koppa, sales manager at Larry H. Miller Toyota Spokane, at 1208 W. Third, says the downtown dealership has been in a rebuilding process under its new owner.

"Sales aren't at the numbers they were in the past at this dealership," Koppa says.

Murray, Utah-based Larry H. Miller Corp. bought the Toyota, Scion, Lexus, and Honda dealerships downtown in July 2009.

"We've just gone through a year of transition trying to re-establish ourselves in the marketplace," Koppa says. "It's almost like a new dealership."

Nationwide, Toyota sales have rebounded after a serious decline in early 2010, when the Japanese carmaker suffered a setback after it recalled and halted sales of half of its models, Koppa says. He says the biggest-selling Toyota model here is the RAV 4 SUV. He says the Corolla has been expanded and is the size that the Camry, Toyota's popular midsized sedan, was 10 years ago.

High-tech features, such as navigation systems, hands-free systems for cell phones, and rear-view cameras, are adding to excitement over new vehicles, the dealers say.

Ford's SYNC system, which is available in several of its models, includes hands-free phone calling, turn-by-turn directions, music organizing, vehicle diagnostics, and maintenance information and scheduling, Goff says.

The Durango has a new feature that will unlock the vehicle automatically when the key is near the door without actually having to touch it, Waltermire says.

New cars aren't capturing all the excitement in the industry, Koppa says. The Toyota dealership's used-car sales ratio has climbed over the last year.

"The ratio has risen to 50-50 now," he says. "In the past, it was about 65 percent new to 35 percent used."

Koppa says the dealership has made adjustments to boost its used-car sales.

"We lowered the average price per car on the used-car lot to $15,000, because of what people can afford," he says. "We put something on the used-car lot that's a little less money, but still a good vehicle."

New car sales likely won't overtake used car sales in terms of unit sales at Dishman Dodge, Waltermire says. The dealership currently is selling about three used cars for every new car it sells.

"That's a niche here that's successful, and our used-car market is growing." Waltermire says. "We're selling a lot around that $10,000 range."