DETROIT (Reuters) – U.S. auto sales surged by 27 percent in February, exceeding the most bullish analyst forecasts as the lure of discounts from automakers led by General Motors Co outweighed concerns about higher oil prices for car shoppers.

The February sales tally, which represents one of the first snapshots of U.S. consumer demand, was the strongest since August 2009 when the government’s “cash for clunkers” credits spurred a short-lived boom at dealerships.

DETROIT (Reuters) – U.S. auto sales surged by 27 percent in February, exceeding the most bullish analyst forecasts as the lure of discounts from automakers led by General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) outweighed concerns about higher oil prices for car shoppers.

The February sales tally, which represents one of the first snapshots of U.S. consumer demand, was the strongest since August 2009 when the government’s “cash for clunkers” credits spurred a short-lived boom at dealerships.

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co’s sales in its home market surged by 46 percent in February as sales incentives including lease deals and cash offers for existing GM owners drove shoppers to dealerships.

The sales gain was higher than analysts had projected for the top U.S. automaker and cemented a market share gain for GM in the first two months of the year.

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co posted fourth-quarter earnings slightly above expectations and its first full-year profit since 2004.

Profit for all of 2010 was $4.7 billion, achieved after the company slashed costs and debt in a 2009 bankruptcy financed by the Obama administration.

DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co will launch a new system to stream online radio from Pandora in upcoming Chevrolets starting with the Volt and Equinox.

The new partnership comes as the top U.S. automaker looks to make up for lost ground against Ford Motor Co in the increasingly competitive market for digital entertainment systems in vehicles.

DETROIT, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Penske Automotive Group
(PAG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the No. 2 U.S. auto dealership group, reported a more
than 50 percent gain in fourth-quarter earnings, topping
analyst expectations and igniting a rally in its shares and
shares of other auto retailers.

Penske’s shares closed at their highest since 2008,
extending a rally that has taken the stock up almost 85 percent
over the past eight months as the recovery in U.S. auto sales
has gathered steam.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co will pay down another $3 billion in debt in the first quarter as it works toward regaining its investment grade rating in the final stage of its four-year turnaround.

Shares of Ford rose over 1.5 percent to $16.20 in after-hours trading after closing at $15.95 on the New York Stock Exchange.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will pay down another $3 billion in debt in the first quarter as it works toward regaining its investment grade rating in the final stage of its four-year turnaround.

Shares of Ford rose over 1.5 percent to $16.20 in after-hours trading after closing at $15.95 on the New York Stock Exchange.

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Breaking up is hard to do — as
General Motors Co (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is still learning after a four-year
separation from the finance company that once shared its name.

As GMAC, now renamed Ally Financial, prepares for a stock
offering to start repaying taxpayers for its $17 billion
bailout, GM is being forced to rethink its go-it-alone strategy
– and some analysts and bankers say GM still needs
its former affiliate, after all.

DETROIT (Reuters) – AutoNation Inc (AN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the No. 1 U.S. auto retail group, reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit as its dealerships brought in a larger share of sales in a recovering U.S. market for cars and trucks.

Its shares rose almost 6 percent in morning trade.

Chief Executive Mike Jackson said he expects the U.S. auto industry to post a second consecutive year of double-digit sales growth in 2011, even with major automakers holding back from offering the kinds of deep discounts that characterized sales gains in the past decade.