AUTOS

Mid-April Auto Sales Spurt: Car sales continued to strengthen in mid-April, with domestic auto makers reporting that their overall vehicle sales rose a healthy 19.5% during the period. The figures confirmed generally optimistic assessments from dealers. Passenger car sales seem to be rebounding with the arrival of spring. The 16.3% advance in mid-April car sales followed gains of 10% and 8% in early April and late March. Light trucks remained strong in the April 11-20 period. The segment, which includes minivans, pickups and sport-utility vehicles, had 23.8% higher sales. General Motors Corp. reported a 15% rise in car sales and a 31.4% increase in truck sales. Ford Motor Co. car sales were up 15.2% and truck sales rose 7.7%. Chrysler doesn’t report 10-day sales, but Ward’s Automotive Reports estimated that Chrysler’s car sales rose a whopping 47.8%, and light truck sales were up 32.6%.