New car sales are set to recover to their highest level since 2006, a new report suggests.

Analysts at Edmunds.com forecast that a combination between pent-up demand, a large number of expiring leases and an ever-increasing average age of new cars (up to 11.4 years) will boost sales to 16.4 million new vehicles. That would make 2014 the strongest new car sales year since 16.5 million vehicles were sold back in 2006.

Since 2000, when 17.4 million new cars were sold, sales have been on a downward spiral. They hit rock bottom in 2009, when the recession hit the new car industry the hardest. This year, auto sales are expected to hit about 15.5 million.

Despite the anticipated increase in new car sales, Edmunds’ analysts aren’t exactly thrilled with the potential growth. They’re expecting 2014′s sales growth, at about 6 percent on a year-over-year basis, to be the industry’s slowest since 2009.

“The economy has not yet improved enough for recovery to widely reach the groups hardest hit by the recession, including young people, lower income households and small businesses,” said Edmunds analyst Dr. Lacey Plache in a statement. “Even though auto sales from these groups have improved from recession lows, their participation in the recovery still lags the rest of the market.”

Moreover, Edmunds sees the average age of cars traded in on new models to continue to increase, suggesting that owners are not only content with owning older cars, they’re keeping them longer than ever.<![CDATA[
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The United States Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Toyota must face lawsuits involving the braking system used on its line of Prius hybrid vehicles. Toyota was hoping to settle the disputes through arbitration.

Toyota was appealing a previous ruling that mandated a court appearance, citing its dealers’ purchase agreements with customers. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Toyota couldn’t use that clause to avoid facing the lawsuits in court, according to Bloomberg.

The suits, filed by consumers in California, allege the braking system in the 2010 model year Prius hybrid can malfunction under certain driving conditions, such as stopping on rough surfaces. Toyota recalled the Prius in 2010 for a braking issue, but the owners say the issue wasn’t resolved.

The suit is seeking damages, although there are no claims of injuries.

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