The consulting firm A.T. Kearney has projected that car sales in the U.S. will top 11.7 million in 2010 and the positive economic outlook will bring sales to historical levels next year.

According to a Reuters report, this year’s car sales volume will range from 11.4 million to 12.3 million units, and is expected to hit 12.9 million vehicles to 16.8 million vehicles in 2012.

Analyst Daniel Cheng of Kearney told the news provider that the increase will be fueled by pent-up demand and the availability of more credit sources.

“If you look at the 1980s and the recovery from the low point then, the steepness of the return is much like our forecast,” Cheng said.

He added that the average age of cars in the US is about 9.9 years and will rise to 10.1 years in 2011. After that, more cars are expected to be scrapped and consumers will more likely send buyers to the market.

More than 16 million cars were sold between 1999 and 2007 in the U.S. When the recession hit the industry, sales volume dived to 13.2 million in 2008 and to 10.4 million in 2009.