AUTOMOBILES : U.S.-Built Car, Truck Sales Leap 21.6%

Sales of domestically built cars and trucks jumped 21.6% in early November, auto makers reported Friday, a welcome burst of strength for the industry as it enters one of its slowest selling seasons.

The best news for the battered industry was in the light-truck segment, with strong gains continuing to mask sluggish car sales, analysts said.

Car sales rose a modest 7.9% to 126,127 units in the Nov. 1-10 period, according to figures for Detroit’s Big Three and the seven Japanese auto makers with U.S. factories.

Light-truck sales--which include popular minivans--steamed ahead with a strong 41.6% gain to 99,881 units in the selling period.

The auto makers reported sales of 226,008 combined cars and light trucks versus 185,902 a year earlier.

“I’m starting to use more upbeat adjectives about this,” DRI/McGraw Hill analyst Bernard Campbell said. “There is evidence of some momentum in consumer spending, and we’re starting to see it show up in the car market.”

On a seasonally adjusted basis, domestic cars sold at an annual rate of 5.6 million units, down from 5.8 million in the same period last year. The adjustment takes out seasonal factors so that the figures can be better compared with earlier periods.

Analysts said Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp. were grabbing market share from General Motors Corp., which has gone through a management shake-up and suffered from rumors about the future of its Oldsmobile division.

“I think GM is hurting somewhat because of negative publicity,” said James Bush, an analyst with Ward’s Automotive Reports.

Among Detroit’s auto makers, Ford scored a healthy 25.9% gain in the latest sales period, selling 74,539 cars and trucks.

Car sales for the No. 2 U.S. auto maker rose 20.5% to 39,133, while domestic light-truck sales jumped 41.6% to 34,607.

General Motors sold 91,662 cars and light trucks, up 7.9% from a year ago. Most of that strength came from the truck side as GM’s car sales fell 4.3%, while domestic light-truck sales jumped 32.9%.

Sales of GM’s Oldsmobile division fell 18.8% in the period, and Chevrolet sales fell 19.3%. But Pontiac sales rose 11%, and Buick sales were up 7%.

Chrysler sold an estimated 41,575 cars and trucks in the period, up 41.1% from a year ago, according to Ward’s Automotive Reports.

The trade publication said Chrysler’s domestic car sales rose 18.9% to 14,450, and light-truck sales, including minivans, jumped 62.4% to 25,500. Chrysler reports only monthly sales figures.

Among Japanese auto makers, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and its Acura division sold 12,253 cars in the period, up 4.2%. Sales of Hondas built in the United States and Canada rose 10.2% to 7,694.

Toyota Motor Corp. and its Lexus luxury division sold 15,406 cars and trucks, up 4.2%. But sales of Toyota’s North American-made Camry sedans fell 3.7% to 4,535.

So far this year, U.S. vehicle sales, including imports, are up 5% to 10,073,574. Sales of domestic vehicles are up 7.2% to 9,090,439.