Chrysler CEO, Sergio Marchionne recently said that it would be very difficult for Chrysler to turn a net profit in 2010. The company saw its net loss improved from the $197 million net loss in the first quarter to $172 million in the second quarter. However, that’s still a long way from turning a profit and getting back in the black.

Chrysler has had its share of ups and down over the past few years. The long-time U.S. automaker emerged from government-backed bankruptcy in 2009 under the control of Italian auto maker, Fiat SPA. Though they experienced a net loss for the past two quarters, their operating profit rose 28% to $183 million dollars for the second quarter.

The automaker predicted that their operating profit would be somewhere between zero and $200 million for the first half of 2010, but Chrysler shattered that prediction by chalking up $328 million in operating profit for the first six months of 2010.

CEO Marchionne seems happy with the direction the carmaker is headed and is optimistic for the future. “We’re ahead of plan,” he told reporters. He also said that the company would be showing a net profit if they had not borrowed the money from the United States Treasury to have operating cash. “The cost of carrying that cash is very large,” he said.

Chrysler is not in the black yet and the net losses still remain troubling, but all its financial numbers continue to show improvement. Net revenues, operating profit margin, and global sales have all improved in the past year. Marchionne considers 2010 a year of “transition and stabilization” and plans to keep Chrysler “focused on the task at hand.”

Though it was originally projected for 2011, it seems that Chrysler’s initial public offering of its stock (IPO) will come earlier than expected. They have filed papers for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission which will pave the way for the release of their stock. Though there is no exact date of the offering, it is estimated that the sale could occur before the end of the year.

Toyota, one of the world’s top auto makers, pulled out a total profit of over two billion dollars in the last business quarter. Despite problems with auto recalls in the previous year and ups and downs in the world financial market, they have soundly pulled back ahead and are expecting a rise in sales. The company is even projecting that it will sell over seven million new vehicles by spring of next year.

The nose dive that world markets took in the previous two years has greatly affected many automakers, Toyota itself not even being immune to concerns. These concerns were relieved somewhat by the massive effort put forth from international governments to avert the crisis. Toyota also took things into its own hands by cutting back costs that equal over $500 million, helping to it get such a promising turn in quarter profits.

The recall on its vehicles due to issues with brake software and steering issues affected its long standing reputation for quality. Hundreds of legal actions brought against the company in the United States has affected them as well, but they still managed to present a strong force in the car sales market.

Toyota is also betting that their annual sales will top four billion dollars versus last years $3.6 billion. This clearly shows that the company has its reputation as a top auto maker firmly entrenched within the industry. Their methods of manufacturing vehicles has made their cars as uniform as possible in quality and performance. They also managed to successfully navigate a drop in European sales due to major debt issues with consumers. The Japanese yen, which itself has had problems, has been another obstacle Toyota has had to contend with.

Their ability to successfully weather both a financial crisis and car recall issues shows Toyota’s staying power within the industry.

Recent documentation has suggested that Toyotas and Lexus vehicles may have issues with stalling. Over a quarter-million Toyotas and Lexus cars have engines that have been known to sometimes stall while the vehicle is moving, Toyota officials stated on Thursday. Thus far, Toyota has yet to recall the vehicles, which are suggested to be at roughly 270,000 units, and it was mentioned in Japan that Toyota is not exactly sure how the problem was discovered.

A spokesman belonging to the Toyota/ Lexus company stated that up to seven models could be effected by the stalling issues; some of those models include the GS 350, GS 450h, the LS 600 L, the 460h, LS 460, and the IS350. Roughly 90,000 of the cars dealing with the stalling issue were sold in Japan. A spokesman for Toyota in the US stated that the company has no plans for a recall or a service related action based on the engine problem.

Basically, the Toyota company utilizes state-of-the-art equipment that is not yet mastered, and the computer installed in every newer vehicle is fallible. All of their efforts appear to be focused on creating effortless functioning, but instead the vital motor issues are being overlooked. An engine stalling can be a potentially serious issue, so perhaps the effort should be placed into mastering the computer technology.

Without the proper knowledge of the mechanical interface, and using only the cheapest construction in other aspects of the vehicle, then it was only a matter of time before Toyota’s unreliable methods caught up with them. Focusing on quantity instead of quality in order to compete in today’s auto market will ultimately leave Toyota in a state of loss. It was not that long ago when vehicles were made with the most durable, high-end equipment. Consumers will be waiting patiently for the right balance between economic value and state-of–the-art technology.

June might have been the beginning of summer, but vehicle sales were cold. The only shining light in the market is sales of pickup trucks. Demand for pickups continue to rise as other vehicle types lag behind.

General Motors’ biggest sellers, the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, showed a 25 percent increase in June, and they are up 11 percent overall for the year so far.

The vice president of domestic sales for GM, Don Johnson, stated the surge is due to companies investing in their businesses, and said the trend “is an indication that a fundamental part of the U.S. economy is gradually strengthening.”

Ford has also shown tremendous growth in their pickup truck sales. Overall for the year, they are up 33 percent, much higher than standard autos and SUVs. The 2011 F-Series Super Duty showed the most growth at 58 percent in June, while the F-150 was up 25 percent for the month.

Nissan reported their Titan pickup was up 24 percent for June and 26 percent for the year.

The Toyota Tundra sold well also in June, up 49 percent and for the year, up 26 percent. Overall, Toyota light trucks are showing a 17 percent increase for the year. Toyota announced that sales for June could have been better but they suffered from low inventory in June.

GM remains optimistic about the future. GM vice president of global product planning, Steve Carlisle, said, “Recent economic news continues to point to a slow recovery with some volatility.”

Ford did not share the opinion of GM. George Pipas, a sales analyst for Ford, said that the company is not expecting pickup sales to hold the industry up until further improvement is seen in the housing market.

Pickup buyers are being attracted due to generous incentives. Zero-percent financing, discounts, and rebates have done much to bring in buying customers. GM has provided the highest incentives on the Silverado, while Ford incentives for their F-150 were slightly less.