Nissan outlasts weather, posts Feb. US sales jump

DETROIT (AP) — Nissan says its February U.S. sales rose almost 16 percent as it defied analyst predictions of a weather-related slowdown.

The Japanese automaker was the first to report sales on Monday. Most industry analysts are expecting only a small increase in overall sales for last month because repeated winter storms kept buyers away from showrooms in many parts of the nation.

Nissan says it sold more than 115,000 cars and trucks last month. It was led by the Rogue crossover with sales up almost 73 percent. Sentra compact car sales were up 23 percent.

All automakers are due to report February sales on Monday. Nissan and Chrysler are expected to show strong gains, but other major automakers are likely to report small increases or sales declines.