The government-imposed restructuring deadlines for Chrysler and GM are looming, and vehicle sales are still stalled. We had a bit of good news yesterday when the Conference Board reported a 12-point jump in consumer confidence — the index climbed to the highest level since November.

But what is the outlook for vehicle finance? Will originations start to creep up? Might delinquencies start to level off? Weigh in with your predictions for the upcoming 12-month period by participating in our Auto Finance Forecast. Click here to access the 13-question survey.

Here’s a look at some preliminary results:

* The bulk of respondents expect loan and lease originations to remain flat or contract further this year.

* 42.9% of respondents anticipate a 1% to 10% increase in net interest margins, though 14.3% expect a decline in the 10%-to-20% range.

* Delinquencies and chargeoffs will likely worsen.

Final survey results will be made public at the upcoming Auto Finance Risk Summit, to be held May 19-21 in Miami, and in Auto Finance News, the industry's leading information resource. All responses remain confidential.