Happy Motoring

Detroit last week was enjoying the best spring sales surge since record-breaking 1955. A total of 578,680 U.S. cars were sold in April (up 15% from the same month a year ago). Of that total, 27.5% were compacts. On the strength of the spring buying surge, some of the auto companies were increasing production schedules. Chrysler, with sales up 32% from April a year ago, will step up output in May and June; Pontiac is increasing this month's production. Items:

P: American Motors' Rambler set a new record for any month with sales of 47,256, up 27% from March, 19% from April 1959.

P: Ford's Falcon sales jumped 17.5% over March to 44,600. The Thunderbird also hit a monthly sales record: 7,500.

P: Chevrolet checked in with a record first-four-month total. April sales were 140,136 cars (up 20% from April 1959), with the compact Corvair accounting for nearly 13.5% of the total.

For the auto industry, the big sales of compacts represent success at a price. They are taking sales away from some automakers' bread-and-butter lines; e.g., Chrysler's Valiant is outselling the Plymouth. At Ford, the runaway success of the Falcon is such that Ford has stopped releasing sales figures for standard Fords (the new Comet is also outselling its sister Mercury).

Since the automaker's profit is less on compacts than standard cars, manufacturers have to sell more cars to make up the difference. To date, as first-quarter profits show, they have done so. For dealers, too, the profit margin on a compact is lower. But since sales are up this year and price cutting has not yet affected compacts, dealers are doing all right.

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