Sales Of Cars, Trucks Increased 8% In April

April’s domestic car and truck sales were up a healthy 8 percent over a year ago, with Ford Motor Co. the only Big Three automaker to show a decrease, according to figures released Friday.

Ford, the last of the domestic automakers to report its April figures, said its sales fell 2 percent compared with April 1995, led by a 5.5 percent drop in car sales.

Industry analyst Art Spinella of CNW Marketing-Research in Bandon, Ore., said year-to-year comparisons for Ford were somewhat misleading because it had an exceptionally strong performance in April 1995.

Pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles continued to drive the market in April. Sales of light trucks by all automakers were up nearly 10 percent, compared with the 6.7 percent rate for cars.

The Big Three saw the biggest improvement in April sales, up 9 percent.