Domestic Auto Sales Up 15.2%

Domestic car sales by the Big Three U.S. auto makers improved 15.2% in late March over a year ago, including a healthy gain by General Motors Corp., the first in 1987 for the industry leader.

GM sold 136,082 domestic-made cars in the nine business days from March 21-31, a 6.9% improvement over the year-ago period, when sales were 127,241. GM trailed No. 2 Ford Motor Co., whose sales jumped 29.6% over the year-ago period, and No. 3 Chrysler Corp., whose sales were up 20.2%. Together, the Big Three sold 255,785 cars, up from 222,079 a year ago.