DENVER -- The president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association said 2009 will go down as the worst year in recent automotive sales history.

Tim Jackson said dealers expect to see a 10 percent jump in sales this year.

"There will be a lot of smiles when we see it," he said.

New vehicle registration data underscores how dismal 2009 was.

“We’ve seen a downward sales trend for 10 years now,” Jackson said. “Most of that is due to an increase in quality. Cars last much longer now.”

But, Jackson said the big drop from 2008 to 2009 was mainly related to the economy.

“Credit markets melted down. It adversely affected manufacturers, dealers and consumers, and consumers are the lifeblood of this industry,” he said.

Here are the Colorado registration statistics for the last nine years.

2000 207,836

2001 204,563

2002 192,415

2003 179,761

2004 176,028

2005 182,310

2006 179,956

2007 175,219

2008 145,714

2009 104,000

“I don’t know a car guy on the planet that isn’t glad that 2009 is gone,” said Don Hicks, owner of Shortline Automotive in Aurora. “It was a tough, tough year. I’ve been in the business for 37 years and this is the toughest it’s been.”

But Hicks said 2010 is already looking up.

“Consumer confidence is up, the foreclosure rate is down and those are the two big drivers of our business,” Hicks said.

Hicks owns dealerships that sell Subaru, KIA, Hyundai and Suzuki vehicles.

Three of those makes have seen sales increases while most manufacturers have seen sizeable drops.

“It’s the flight to value,” Hicks told 7NEWS. “People worried about the economy are looking at cars with long warranties, great quality and low pricing.”

Hicks said Subaru has been an especially popular make.

“We typically keep a two month supply of cars here, which is 250 cars. I have 41 new Subarus in stock and can’t get anymore.”

Down the street at Cherry Creek Dodge, the sales force has seen a turnaround over the last 30 days.

General Manager Chris Staton attributes that, in part, to the Dodge Ram pickup being selected as the 2010 Motor Trend “Truck of the Year.”

“There’s a lot of excitement about it and people here love their trucks,” Staton said.

Staton said that people are starting to feel a little more confident about the economy.

“We’re starting to see that,” he said. “More people are coming in and some are taking advantage of the cash back offers by Chrysler.”

Across town at the Phil Long dealerships, CEO Jay Cimino said he’s optimistic that people who’ve been hanging on to their cars much longer than normal will finally decide it’s time to trade them in.

He said the Phil Long group is concentrating not just on new car sales, but on a new concept called “Signature Cars” that will offer very low mileage, one year old vehicles for sale at three locations that were formally new car dealers targeted for closure by GM and Chrysler.

The Signature Car locations will deal with five brands -- Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Dodge and Nissan.

Jackson said the anticipated 10 percent jump in sales this year won’t quite bring the industry back to even the 2008 level, but he said it’s a step in the right direction.

And he said the modest sales increase will feed the economy.

“It will help in jobs within the dealerships and there will be a ripple effect in communities all across Colorado,” Jackson said.