The recession has officially been over for a year now, with four quarters of economic growth reported. Leaders in the car business are finally now able to look ahead, and one man believes he found the timeline.

Mike Jackson, CEO of Auto Nation (the largest automotive retailer in America), believes it will be a four-year transition to get American auto spending to where it was before the recession. Freep.com quotes Jackson, “I see the process as a three-stage rocket. The first stage is the healing of credit, which is beginning to happen, but will take at least through 2011. Second, housing prices need to stabilize. Finally, employment must recover.”

The auto sale projections increase with each coming year. Many experts believe 12 millions cars will be sold in 2011.
Auto Shippers hopes Jackson is correct. While four years may seem like a long period for recovery, it is refreshing to see optimism from an such expert in the auto retail field.