BANDON, Ore. — As the capital markets collapsed, largely due to subprime mortgages, this caused the auto loan subprime market to crash. Subprime auto loans fell to $12.5 billion in 2008 and dropped again to $8.3 billion in 2009, according to CNW Research.

However, in 2010, these loans starting reversing course, coming in at $8.99 billion for the year, the company reported.

"For all of 2010, there was a rebound, if one wants to call it that, with the amount being financed hitting nearly $9 billion — a long way from even the weak 2008 figure," explained Art Spinella, president of CNW.

"The typical vehicle financed through subprime contracts (below 640 FICO) carried a book value of about $8,300 with franchised new-car dealers selling the most expensive models averaging $9,554 per unit. Independent dealers' average vehicle financed through subprime lenders and buy-here, pay-here lots averaged $7,582, with private party sellers' cars and trucks averaging $6,577," he reported.

Overall, there were about 1.27 million subprime units financed for the year, representing about 7.6 percent of all used-car acquisitions, according to CNW. This was up from 7.3 percent in 2009, but Spinella said it was "again far from the pre-recession level of a third."

He went on to explain, "There is no doubt subprime lending will return to some modest levels, but certainly nothing like seen prior to 2008. Perhaps as much as 20 percent within the next three years."

Breaking down subprime units financed over the years, CNW found:

2007: $51.37 billion

2008: $12.48 billion

2009: $8.27 billion

2010: $8.99 billion

Meanwhile, looking at another trend, CNW discovered that in July 2007, the average lease payment plummeted to its lowest figure ever — $277 per month. Small cars could go for under $100 a month.

And popular models, such as Accords and Camrys, apparently could be leased for "well under $200" a month, according to Spinella.

"Every automaker was subventing to the tune of thousands of dollars per unit," he stressed.

And while leasing has now appeared to bounce back, so far, these strong subvention rates aren't appearing quite as heavy. Starting in February 2010, the average lease payment dropped to $331 a month, with slight upticks appearing in this figure for November and December.

"January continues that upward trend with the average payment at $356 versus December's $345. Firmer residuals and higher-content products are the reason," Spinella highlighted.