Toyota's on roll, but GM stuns with strong sales in February

DETROIT -- The US auto sales story line for nearly the past year has been Toyota Motor Corp. kicking the stuffing out of the Detroit Three, but there was a new twist in February.

Toyota sales were up 12.2 percent, but General Motors Corp. showed a strong increase, surprising the industry by reporting a 3.7 percent year-over-year sales rise for the month.

GM's Detroit-area competitors, however, stayed in their funk, with Ford Motor Co. posting a 13.5 percent sales slide and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group an 8.3 percent drop.

Ford attributed the slide to ongoing efforts to cut low-profit fleet sales, which were down 30 percent year-over-year.

But, Ford also saw a 12 percent drop in sales of F-Series pickups, its cash cow and the largest-selling vehicle in the United States.

DaimlerChrysler, which includes Mercedes, reported an 8 percent decrease with Chrysler dragging down Mercedes sales, which were nearly flat.