General Motors, Ford and Chrysler post strong April auto sales

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Joseph C. Cassini drives his 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Victoria onto the winners platform after being awarded the Best of Show award at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Ben Rehm, 20, of Carmel photographs a 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Murphy Convertible Saloon at the Concours d’Elegance on Sunday. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Mitzy from Salinas takes a moment to rest in the shade of a 1955 Lincoln Indianapolis Boano coupe. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A Duesenberg with a tool kit mounted inside the driver’s door is displayed at the Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Photographer Phillippe Carre takes a picture of a vintage Alfa Romeo. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Julia Binke, 6, walks in front of a 1925 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost at the Concours d’Elegance on Sunday. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Sporting racing-flag toenail polish, Lori TenEyck of Colorado was one of nearly 10,000 people enjoying the display of about 200 collector cars at the Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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One of the nearly 200 collector cars greets the dawn as it rolls onto the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Chewing on his cigar, Rick Rawlins drives a 1908 Prince Henry Benz, owned by Ann Bothwell but originally owned by race car driver Barney Oldfield, as nearly 200 collector cars greet the dawn as they roll onto the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach to begin the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Spectators line up to see the nearly 200 collector cars at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A rumble-seat passenger in a 1933 V-12 Packard at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Wearing a variety of hats, contestants ride in their Rolls Royce. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Adele Tanaka, left, and Jo Yuan capture the moment as the first of nearly 200 collector cars greets the day to begin the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A 1957 Ferrari 250 GT 14-Louver Berlinetta is on display at the Gooding & Co. auction as part of the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A prospective buyer looks down a line of cars up for auction at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A Shelby 289 Cobra Competition Roadster from 1964 is reflected in the fender skirt of a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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At the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach, a 1925 Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix is on display. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A 1935 Avions Voisin C25 Aerodyne, featuring an early version of a sun roof, is on display at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Sports Car magazine photographer Dave Tomaro photographs prospective buyers as they spend the afternoon ogling vintage and rare automobiles on display at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A Bentley radiator ornament at the Gooding & Company auction tent at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A man uses a camera to get a closer look at the undercarriage of a 1956 Porsche 356 A 1500 GS Carrera Coupe. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Expensive cars are lined up at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A racing rim signed by Carroll Shelby, the father of the Cobra, in Lynn Park’s garage. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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“If one’s good, two’s got to be better,” Park said of the cars, chuckling. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Park stands beside the second Cobra he ever bought. One of his sons is going to race in it. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Park checks the hoses of a Cobra he will take to Pebble Beach. This particular car is worth about $2 million. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Park opens the garage door in front of one of the Cobras he plans to take to Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Lynn Park with his garage full of Cobra cars. Known in classic car circles as Mr. Cobra, Park has been collecting the marque since he bought his first after getting out of the Army in 1969. The first purchase got him hooked. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Lynn Park keeps his Cobras in his garage in La Cañada Flintridge. He and his sons plan to race race three of them at the Pebble Beach, Calif., event. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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“You can’t have any more fun than playing with old cars,” Park said of vintage racing. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Lynn Park drives one of his vintage Shelby Cobras around his neighborhood in La Cañada Flintridge. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

By David Undercoffler

May 1, 2013 9:59 AM PT

This posted has been updated. See the note at the bottom for details.

Automakers posted their strongest April sales since 2007 as many reported double-digit gains with trucks and SUVs leading the surge.

General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and Nissan all posted strong gains in April from a year earlier. Hyundai posted a marginal sales bump, while Toyota was down slightly and Volkswagen was down more than 10%.

Truck sales were crucial to the success of the Big Three U.S. automakers in April, thanks largely to the improving economy, said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with Edmunds.com. Overall sales were the best for April in six years, according to Edmunds.

“A lot of this comes from housing, an increase in construction, and the economy recovering in general,” Caldwell said. “It’s also not just construction but people investing in businesses.”

Ford Motor Co.’s sales rose 17.9% this April from last. The automaker’s venerable F-Series pickup -- the bestselling vehicle in the U.S. for 31 years -- rose 24.4% in the same period.

Both General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group reported 11% growth in April. Chrysler’s Ram truck division saw sales rise 49% from a year earlier. Sales of GM’s twin trucks, the GMC Sierra and the Chevrolet Silverado, were up a combined 23.6%.

The GM trucks also got a boost from generous incentives, Caldwell said, as dealers are looking to make room for the all-new 2014 models due in the coming months. Ram is also recovering from low inventory when the heavily revised 2013 models initially hit the showroom, Caldwell said.

Improvements in fuel economy and low financing rates also pushed more buyers into sport utility vehicles and crossovers, according to Jesse Toprak, an analyst for Truecar.com

“The American consumer generally likes to buy a larger vehicle, given the choice,” said Toprak. This was evident in several automakers’ sales sheet.

Sales of the Jeep Grand Cherokee was up 27% year-over-year and the Dodge Durango posted its best April since 2005, with sales up 65%. Sales of Ford’s Escape crossover SUV were up 52%, and Chevrolet’s Tahoe SUV were up 54%.

Nissan’s all-new Pathfinder tripled its sales since April 2012. Overall, the Japanese automaker, which includes its luxury Infiniti division, saw sales increase 23% from the same month last year.

Honda said its U.S. sales rose 7.4% in April compared with the same month a year earlier.

Despite only a modest 2% increase in sales, Hyundai said in a tweet that last month was its best April ever. Sales of the Korean automaker’s compact Elantra jumped 45%, while its full-size Azera sedan was up 47%.

Volkswagen posted the largest decline of any major automaker for April 2013, posting a 10% decrease in sales from April 2012 to April 2013. This broke VW’s streak of 31 consecutive months of growth.

“The biggest reason: Volkswagen doesn’t have a player to compete in the big truck boom we’re seeing,” said Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at Edmunds.com.

But VW also has trouble reaching customers across the entire country, said Toprak.

“Their main problem in the U.S. is their reach as a brand is not as strong in the middle of the country,” Toprak said. “To continue such growth rates, they have to be able to go beyond the East Coast and West Coast.”

For the record, 12:56 p.m. May 1: A previous version of this post stated the Ford F-series truck had been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. for 36 years. It has been the best-selling truck for 36 years, but the best-selling vehicle overall for only 31 years.

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