Poor GM. It seems the world's largest automaker (Toyota's gaining fast on that top spot) has only recently received a respite from the constant media barrage that grabs hold to any news of the General's weaknesses and beats it until long after the public's lost interest in the speculative carnage.

A bit of good news is in order. And here it is. Despite slumping sales in the all-important North American market, General Motors posted generally distributed first quarter gains of 17% in a broad, amorphous sales region known to Detroit brass as "LAAM" or Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Those record gains meant record sales amounting to 269,000 units. The strongest growth in sales were seen in Argentina and Colombia.

[Source: GM]