General Motors, Ford Motor Company | featured news

General Motors Co, the largest U.S. automaker, reported a 1.5 percent increase in September auto sales on the strength of its passenger car sales, while Ford Motor Co posted sales that were on par with its results from a year earlier.

General Motors and Chrysler reported double-digit sales of new vehicles, while Ford’s rose 7 percent. Toyota sales were up 60 percent.

Chrysler sales rose 20 percent last month, its strongest April in four years. General Motors and Ford reported slight dips for the month. Overall, the U.S. auto industry appears strong.

But Chrysler Group said its August sales rose 7 percent thanks to the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Ford and GM report an increase of 43% for the month. And Honda is up 22% compared with a year ago as automakers keep pace with incentives offered by troubled Toyota.

US auto sales rose in January but were tempered by Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), which suffered a sales slide late in the month from a recall that led the auto maker to halt sales of more than half its vehicles.

If union members accept the deal, Ford will gain some of the benefits that General Motors and Chrysler needed bankruptcy reorganization to achieve.

The president's chief of staff criticized U.S. car companies Sunday for relying too long and gas guzzlers and not investing enough in alternative energy vehicles.