Chrysler Group posted an operating profit of $239 million in the third quarter and raised its outlook for the balance of the year in anticipation of stronger sales and improved operating performance.

The results, released Monday, marked the automaker's third straight operating profit. Chrysler's third-quarter net loss was $84 million, down from $172 million in the second quarter. It was Chrysler's smallest quarterly net loss since emerging from bankruptcy 17 months ago.

Revenues rose 5.2 percent to $11 billion during the July-September period.

Chrysler said it benefited from improved product mix and rising unit sales while being hurt by higher costs tied to seasonal plant changeovers.

 

(Editor's note: This piece is a bit of additional reporting from Charles Plueddeman's 2-part story on the on-road relationship between long-distance truckers and noncommercial drivers. You can check out the truckers' perspective here, and the other view -- from the car drivers -- here. Below, Plueddeman explores those "How am I driving?" stickers on big rigs, and whether they have any impact.)

“You bet trucking companies take those calls seriously,” says veteran driver Dennis Kutz, an owner-operator who has logged more than 2 million miles in a 22-year driving career.

 

“I’ve had the dispatcher call me in the cab while the person making the complaint is still on his phone, driving alongside me,” says Kutz, who admits to getting reported two or three times a year, usually for speeding or tailgating. “I have bad days, and I get behind and need to push it sometimes. And after a week of driving a truck on the Chicago freeways, I might be frustrated with traffic. I don’t think I’m an unsafe driver, but people have called. Once a car was weaving all over and the driver is obviously distracted, so I gave him a blast on the horn to get his attention and let him know I was going to pass, and he called to complain. If that makes me a jerk, oh well.”

 

 

With Republicans rolling through midterm elections on their way to regaining the House and restoring some of their political clout, the reversal of political fortunes has raised many questions -- but I haven't heard the one I'm interested in. What does this mean for the auto industry? Considering the bailout and rescue of GM and Chrysler, the Democrats might seem to be Detroit’s bosom buddy. But David Cole, director of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., said that Detroit always has a place in its heart for the business-first mindset of the GOP.

 

“The election may signal a movement to a stronger market focus and less aggressive regulations,” Cole said. “The message was that many Americans want smaller government, and the auto industry would usually say 'amen' to that.”

 

From GM to Toyota, every automaker is on path to meet new fuel-economy rules, enacted under President Barack Obama, that will require a fleetwide average of 35.5 mpg by 2016.

 

Rick Kranz over at Automotive News has nominated the Acura ZDX as "the most disappointing new vehicle of the year.

Ouch.

He is correct in calling the crossover-sport-hatc​hback mash-up an "odd duck." It's a weird-looking vehicle, no doubt. It has also posted sales figures low enough to live up -- down? -- to the title of "most disappointing": 79 sales late last year, when it hit dealerships; only 2,850 sold in total. Acura expected to sell more than double that -- 6,000 -- this year and 10,000 next year.

OK, it's weird-looking and doesn't sell -- not to mention it's priced at about $46,000 to start. It's a strong contender. So I'll post the same question to our commenters as Kranz did to those at Automotive News: Are there other candidates for this dubious distinction? 

 

Over at Jalopnik, Ray Wert is asserting that the American version of "Top Gear" will "quickly become better than any on-air American automotive show." Strong words, to which we say: We really hope you're right, because that would excellent. Who wouldn't want an awesome domestic version of one of the best shows on TV? You don't have to choose sides if they're both good.

You know who else thinks the show is going to be awesome? The three hosts. Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrara all say the show will be a hit, which they made very clear to Wert when he sat down with the trio.