General Motors Corp., battling to keep its global sales crown, fell further behind Toyota Motor Corp. during the second quarter as a deteriorating U.S. market overshadowed gains overseas. GM sold 2.29 million vehicles in the period, a 5 percent decrease from a year earlier. The Japanese carmaker said Wednesday that its preliminary sales rose 1.8 percent to about 2.41 million. The results boosted Toyota’s first-half lead to 278,000, diminishing chances that GM will extend its 77-year reign. Last year, GM trailed in the first quarter and narrowed the gap in the second before topping Toyota by 3,100 sales for the year. For the full story visit www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-autos24-2008jul24,0,7480176.story
