GM U.S. October sales rise 4.1 percent

DETROIT, Nov 3 (Reuters) - General Motors Co on Tuesday posted a 4 percent U.S. sales increase for October, its first year-over-year gain since January 2008, and said the U.S. economy and car industry were showing signs of recovery.

GM said total sales rose to 177,603 vehicles in October from 170,585 a year earlier, with its Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick brands accounting for about 95 percent of the automaker's retail sales.

The automaker, which emerged from a government-funded bankruptcy in July, said the U.S. auto industry's annualized sales for the month of October would be the strongest month since November 2008 excluding July and August, which were supported by government "cash for clunkers" incentives...........