GM SALES IMPROVE IN MARCH!

From Automotive News

DETROIT -- General Motors shook off a month of bad news to outperform analysts' sales projections - and outpace Ford Motor Co. - in March. Buoyed by strong demand for pickups, GM's monthly sales rose 2.5 percent compared with the year-ago period. Ford's monthly sales were down 1.4 percent as sales of its big SUVs suffered.

"We are coming off a couple of very difficult months for us," Paul Ballew, GM's executive director of global market and industry analysis says, referring to a cut in GM's earning outlook and resulting product-program cutbacks. "As we look at our results against that backdrop, I would describe our March results as positive."

In March, GMC sold 22,418 Sierra pickups, up 28.0 percent from the year-ago month. Chevrolet sold 71,462 Silverados, up 22.7 percent. While GM's car sales declined 4.8 percent, its new models - the Pontiac G6, Buick LaCrosse and Chevrolet Cobalt - picked up the pace. Sales of these new nameplates increased 54.8 percent over February.