Chrysler reported improved profits for the first quarter of 2004 of $366 million, more than doubling the $166 million it earned during the same period a year ago. The company attributed the gain to a 3-percent increase in U.S. sales during the quarter and the launch of over nine new vehicles this year. First quarter revenues also rose to $14.8 billion, up from $13.8 billion the year before.

The Chrysler Group increased its first-quarter retail sales by 3% to 631,600 vehicles. There was growth for, among others, the new Chrysler Pacifica and Chrysler Crossfire models, which were launched in 2003. Shipments to dealers increased by 6% to 684,800 vehicles. At the end of the first quarter, dealers' vehicle inventories in the United States rose to 585,100 vehicles (end of Q1 2003: 535,800), equivalent to 77 days' supply (end of Q1 2003: 69 days). The increase in vehicle inventories is a result of the buildup for the market launch of the Chrysler Group's new products this year.

This could be the start of a comeback for Chrysler, which lost $637 million last year and has been in a slump since 2001.

The Chrysler Group, which includes the Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler brands, is a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG. The Stuttgart, Germany-based company reported a net income of $483 million during the first quarter, down from $641 million the year earlier.

The company blamed currency fluctuations, charges related to Chrysler restructuring and poor performance at Mitsubishi Motors, of which it owns a 37 percent stake, for the slide.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=8064

On a slightly but not really related note, I saw a 300 today (I believe it was a Touring). Overall it looks pretty nice although the rear windshield looks positively tiny for a car that big.

I also thought the Pacifica and Crossfire weren't doing so well, but this would seem to indicate that they are at the very least posting some kind of profit.

Still, it's kind of staggering to see that on $14.8 billion of revenue, they earned $336 million in profit. That's only 2.27% of total revenue.