Chrysler Sales Booming, Ford Up, GM Unfazed by Recalls

General Motors' sales of new vehicles appear unfazed by its widely publicized series of recalls, some of them linked to fatalities.

GM said sales in May were up 13% from a year ago for its best month since August 2008. That trumped Ford Motor's rise of 3% but lagged Chrysler Group's booming 17% gain.

May auto sales "seemed almost to defy logic. In a month that included dismal consumer confidence scores and the announcement that the American economy as a whole had actually contracted in the first quarter, auto sales were very robust.," said Jack Nerad, senior analyst for KBB.com.

"General Motors' sales results epitomized that trend of defying logic," Nerad said. "GM announced a near-record number of recalls during May, yet it turned in its best monthly sales since August 2008, the last month before the financial meltdown that triggered the Great Recession."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/06/03/chrysler-general-motors-ford--may-sales/9788117/