The automotive industry has received a lot of surprises. Sometimes you just have to expect the unexpected. In February, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group suffered sales decline. Other critics expect that General Motors would also suffer the same fate. Unfortunately, their guess is as good as anyone else. This is because GM sold more vehicles than expected. Last month, GM reported 3.7 percent improvement over a year ago, despite a flat U.S. market and poor results at rivals. The success of the February car sales attributed to a slight increase of the often maligned truck market. GM truck sales have increased by about eight percent for the month. Autodata Corp. reported that light-truck sales rose 0.2 percent overall. Without GM, light truck sales fell by 2.5 percent.
Analysts in the industry, said the truck market, long the bread and butter of American automakers, will continue to be squeezed by volatile fuel prices and soft housing market. The same factors also hurt the Japanese truck, as well.
