
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 4, 1994                   TAG: 9403050013
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                 LENGTH: Short

CAR SALES TRUCKIN'

Sales of U.S.-made cars and light trucks showed some truly astonishing strength in February as they did in January - and this despite the dampening effect of the harsh weather conditions that hit many U.S. regions in the first two months of the year.

Analysts put the seasonally adjusted annual car selling rate for February at 7.3 million units, which matches the healthy pace seen in January - which itself was the highest monthly rate since September 1990's 7.4 million units.

The pace of light truck sales remained at a 6 million-unit rate, matching January's record pace.

Robust car sales are crucial for U.S. automakers, who have ambitious production schedules for this quarter.

General Motors, the nation's largest automaker, reported a 29.8 percent increase. No. 2 Ford Motor said its sales rose 8.5 percent. Chrysler Corp., whose February sales had been expected up 16.3 percent, reported an 11.9 percent increase.

The Big Three's success appears to be largely at the expense of the Japanese transplants, whose market share is shrinking as the American consumer favors U.S. models again - in part due to the higher price tags on Japanese models, whose imported components reflect the impact of a stronger yen.

by CNB