Auto Industry, Gm | featured news

General Motors Co and Chrysler Group reported September U.S. auto sales gains of at least 20 percent, a sign that consumers have returned as vehicle inventories have risen after being crimped by the March earthquake in Japan.

The U.S. economy is on increasingly unsteady footing, hurt by stubbornly high unemployment and volatile oil prices, the head of General Motors Co told reporters on Tuesday.

General Motors' U.S. sales fell 1.2 percent in May as it offered fewer deals to customers.

General Motors is almost certain to claim the title of world's biggest automaker this year, retaking the top spot from Toyota, which has been hurt by production problems since the Japanese earthquake and still can't escape the shadow of major safety recalls....

Analysts project that sales will increase across the industry, despite worries about rising gasoline prices and production stoppages in Japan.

General Motors on Tuesday reported that U.S. sales jumped 49 percent last month, aided by sweeter financing and lease deals that drew a response from other major automakers.

In an impressive comeback from bankruptcy, General Motors last year posted its first annual profit since 2004....

General Motors said the payments, worth “upwards of $4,000” for hourly workers, were the largest profit-sharing checks in the automaker’s history.

General Motors is planning to pay its hourly workers in the U.S. at least $3,000 each under a profit-sharing provision in its UAW contract.

General Motors said that 90% of GM dealers are reporting profits, up from 40% at the end of 2009.