Contrary to national trends, new car and truck sales in the Dallas-Fort Worth area rose 4.5 percent last year.

The data from the Freeman Metroplex Recap includes retail sales as well as sales to car rental agencies and fleets. And the increase "portends well for business this year," said Drew Campbell, president of the New Car Dealers Association of Metropolitan Dallas.

"I think it's very exciting," he said Wednesday. "We are in the center of the United States. Because of that, we're not having the ups and downs of the West Coast and East Coast."

If new vehicle sales here continue to grow, they'll be bucking some considerable economic headwinds. New car and truck sales in the U.S. dropped 2.5 percent last year and are expected to fall by at least that much this year.

Dealers in the four-county Dallas-Fort Worth area sold 383,939 new vehicles last year, compared with 367,381 in 2006, according to the Metroplex Recap.

Home prices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have remained fairly stable – which has contributed to the area's overall economic health – and the area continues to have job growth.

Mr. Campbell said he expects 3 percent to 4 percent sales growth this year.

All four counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area recorded increases in new vehicle sales last year, with Collin County's 12.5 percent gain leading the other counties.

Unlike previous years, Mr. Campbell thinks that growth is becoming more balanced between domestic and import dealers. In the recent past, Toyota, Honda and Nissan dealers reported most of the growth.

"I think you will see some domestic products have some success this year," he said.

Some area dealers who rely heavily on trucks are struggling to regain the volume they had five years ago. But most have cut costs, downsized and learned to survive on lower sales, Mr. Campbell said.

"There are still some product issues," he said. "But with the economic stimulus package coming from Washington, all signs are that while the rest of the country is collapsing around us, we'll do well."