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Chrysler Says It Turned a profit in Q2

Some people may be on the lookout for flying pigs today.  Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says the company turned a profit in the second quarter. Automotive News reports, "Chrysler Group posted its second straight operating profit as the automaker continues to recover from its 2009 bankruptcy. The announcement was made today by CEO Sergio Marchionne in a call with analysts. He didn't say how much Chrysler earned. Specific numbers will …

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Fiat/Chrysler’s Marchionne Sees Global Recovery in Progress

By Michelle Krebs

Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, in announcing the Italian manufacturer's return to  profitability in the second quarter, said he sees "substantial signs of economic recovery" across the globe.

All Fiat divisions were in the black, Marchionne said in a Webcast from Chrysler's Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters. Fiat owns 20 percent of the American car company, which occurred during Chrysler's Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The strength of the second quarter – Fiat's first profitable quarter in the last three – came from higher sales of Iveco trucks and New Holland tractors, which offset lower car sales in Europe. In total, Fiat had lower vehicle sales but generated higher revenues thanks to dramatic cost cutting.

Thanks to a $145-million profit in the second quarter, the company will have full-year profits "significantly north" of the company's target, Marchionne said.

Fewer Than One in Ten Sub-Prime Auto Loans Approved

By Bill Visnic

Scarce wonder that General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC are eying buyers with sub-prime credit as the next growth market: in the wake of the recession-led credit crunch, only about 9 percent of sub-prime borrowers have their auto loans approved, said an article by the Associated Press.

The astonishing current reject rate for sub-prime auto lending represents a huge drop from historic standards that, prior to the economic meltdown, saw about 60 percent of sub-prime auto loans approved. Today's 9-percent approval rate is a bonanza for sub-prime auto loans compared with last year, which saw the approval fate fall to just 5 percent, the article said.

Report: GM, Chrysler Too Hasty in Dealership Closures

When General Motors and Chrysler began closing dealerships last year, many dealers protested that the closings weren't made with enough consideration, and that there would be negative effects on local economies.  A new report says those dealers were right. The New York Times says, "President Obama’s auto task force pressed General Motors and Chrysler to close scores of dealerships without adequately considering the jobs that would be lost or having …

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COMMENTARY: UAW to Organize Toyota? Not Likely

Newly-minted president Bob King is trying to revive an ailing United Auto Workers union by vowing anew to organize Toyota's U.S. factories, a campaign that has as much chance of success as King being invited to perform card tricks at Toyota's next board of directors meeting.

King, one of the best thinkers to lead the UAW, surely realizes that Toyota's U.S. workers, having watched the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler on top of wage concessions at UAW plants, have scant reason to welcome the union. The UAW since the 1980s has failed to elicit the interest of Toyota workers, who now have benefitted because their employer avoided layoffs as the U.S. automotive downturn slowed and idled plants.

Former Toyota, Chrysler Exec Press Consulting to Renault-Nissan

Jim Press, former Toyota and Chrysler executive, is now working for Renault-Nissan, the   automaker confirmed.

A company spokesman confirmed Press, who once was Toyota's top American executive and subsequently Chrysler vice chairman, has been working as a consultant to the automaker's global sales and marketing group for four months. He has been visiting dealers in the United States, Europe and Japan, the automaker said.

Chrysler’s PT Cruiser Begs the Question — Product or Profit?

Last Friday was the last day of production for one-time best seller, the Chrysler PT Cruiser.

With more than 1.3 million sold, plus enough demand to charge thousands over sticker during its debut and sufficient inspiration to launch multiple car clubs and Web sites dedicated to it, how could Chrysler let the PT Cruiser's grand beginnings end in a morass of de-contented materials and rental car daily-rate specials?

Was it a tragic (and all-too-common) case of brand equity mismanagement, or was it financial brilliance from a company eking out profit where it could in an increasingly down market?

Maybe both, suggests Karl Brauer, Edmunds.com senior analyst and editor-at-large in his Car Pool blog post Tuesday.

Dodge and Jeep Recalls Announced

Chrysler is issuing a recall for more that 22,000 trucks and SUVS from its Dodge and Jeep brands. Left Lane News writes, "Concerns over a brake master cylinder component that could lose fluid have prompted Chrysler to recall 22,000 2010 Dodge Nitro, Ram 1500 and Jeep Liberty and Wrangler trucks and SUVs." "These vehicles could have hydraulic braking problems that could lead to a loss of brake fluid and reduced …

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