May car sales jump, but....

GM reported a 32 percent jump in May sales from a year earlier (excluding the Pontiac, Hummer, Saturn and Saab brands that are being sold or closed), and Ford was up 23 percent. Even Chrysler had a 33 percent increase. But all these increases are based on easy year-earlier comparisons. In May 2009, U.S. light vehicle sales fell 31 percent, the result of the recession, the Chrysler bankruptcy, and the impending GM bankruptcy. That's important context for today's results, impressive as they might seem. Toyota's numbers are out later today.