Auto Sales Show a Bit of Bounce : * Vehicles: Sales of cars and trucks rise 12.2% in late January, fueling hopes that a long-awaited recovery is within reach.

Sales of cars and trucks rose 12.2% late last month, fueling hopes that a long-awaited recovery is within reach.

The wave of “Buy American” campaigns sweeping the country as Japanese and U.S. leaders exchange rhetoric has helped boost sales of domestic nameplates for some dealers, but not enough to make a difference. And those who sell Japanese makes--which account for about 27% of all vehicle sales in the United States--complain that such slogans are misdirected.

“We’re seeing a little more interest in the American cars than there has been in the past,” said Arlie Shermann, who sells Pontiacs, Hyundais and Isuzus from his Buena Park dealership. “But that’s a relative statement. In general, sales are poor and traffic is spotty. It’s the same old story.”

Auto makers sold 851,000 imported and domestic vehicles last month, a 3.4% increase over January, 1991. Late-January sales of North American-built cars were up 12.2% over the same period a year ago.

Such positive comparisons have been few and far between for the car and truck business, which has been mired in recession for nearly two years. But analysts caution that the more accurate barometer of the industry’s health, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales, is still foundering at levels that are far from encouraging.

“The fact that we’re above last year is neutral news at best because last year was so extraordinarily weak,” said Susan Jacobs, an analyst at Jacobs Automotive in Little Falls, N.J.

The annualized rate for January was 11.8 million vehicles, slightly higher than January, 1991’s rate of 11.2 million cars and light trucks.

For the last 10 days of January, General Motors and Ford reported gains of 14%, while Honda and Toyota posted increases of 52.7% and 16.6%, respectively.

Still, last month’s performance lagged behind 1991’s overall annualized sales of 12.3 million units. Last January, auto sales were hobbled as worried consumers stayed home watching the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War on television. A drop-off in luxury car sales, slapped for the first time with a 10% tax, further weakened sales during the first month of 1991.

Though this year’s January results were marginally better than last’s, analysts caution that a more fundamental weakness now underlies consumers’ unwillingness to buy big-ticket items such as automobiles.

“Last year, people were being diverted with concerns about the war,” says Jacobs. “This year, people are out of the market because they can’t afford to be in it. That’s a more serious problem.”

But General Motors Vice President J. B. Fitzpatrick said late-January sales may foreshadow a new twist.

“Although many consumers continue to be concerned with the economic outlook, our vehicle divisions report evidence of increased floor traffic, more comparison shoppers and more new-vehicle test drives,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is certainly better news than we’ve had.”

The glimmers of improvement put GM, Ford and Chrysler stock on the most-active list on the New York Stock Exchange as the Big Three recorded a second consecutive day of soaring prices. They helped the Dow Jones industrial average to a record high of 3,272.81.

Auto Sales

Annualized rates for sales of cars and trucks in the United States. Domestic figures include vehicles built in the United States by Japanese auto makers. The figures use seasonal patterns to predict the auto industry’s sales rate over a full year.

* Defying the “Buy American” fever, sales of Japanese-built cars and trucks jumped 5.1% in January over the same period last year. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. posted a more modest combined increase of 2.2%. European makes, which were hit hard last January when the luxury tax took effect, shot up 12.8%.

* GM and Ford posted respective domestic car sales hikes of 14.1% and 14.4% for the last 10 days of January, while Chrysler’s auto sales fell an estimated 28.2%, contrasted with January, 1991. Toyota said sales of its North American built cars rose 16.6%, Honda posted a 52.7% increase and Nissan’s sales were up 19.8%.

Source: Commerce Department