AUTOS

Mid-April Vehicle Sales Rise: North American-made vehicle sales rose 10.3% in mid-April, the industry reported in what appeared to be another sign of the country’s emergence from recession. But automotive analysts said the figures were deceptively strong, partly because they are measured against the extremely depressed levels of a year ago and because much of the gain was in sales of trucks, not passenger cars. Ford said vehicle sales were up 17.7%, largely because of a 25.7% increase in truck sales. Car sales rose 10.7%. GM reported a 7% increase in vehicle sales, 6.9% higher car sales and 7.1% higher truck sales. Chrysler’s vehicle sales rose 8.8%, an estimate by Ward’s Automotive Reports showed. Chrysler releases sales figures only monthly.