Fiat Chrysler brushes off snow, posts 6 pct rise in US sales as strong economy trumps weather

Fiat Chrysler overcame freezing temperatures and a barrage of Northeast snowstorms to post a 6 percent U.S. sales gain last month, a sign that the customers brushed off the snow and continued to buy cars.

The company sold nearly 164,000 cars and trucks to post its best February in eight years. Chrysler was led by the Jeep brand with a 21 percent gain for its best February sales ever. Ram pickup sales grew 7 percent to more than 31,000.

All automakers report U.S. sales on Tuesday, and analysts are predicting an 8 percent increase over a year ago to nearly 1.3 million vehicles. They say a strong economy helped offset rising gas prices and bad weather in February.