Chrysler’s IPO Should Hit the Fast Lane

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tdp2664 InvestorPlace Chrysler Group, long the Rodney Dangerfield of the auto industry, finally is getting some respect. And that means now's the time for the third-largest U.S. automaker to cash in on its new-found allure with an IPO. Investors could find much to like about the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker. First, unlike other "hot" future IPOs such as Groupon, it makes money. The parent of Jeep netted $212 million in the third quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates that called for $211 million. Sure, only three analysts bothered publishing forecasts on Chrysler, but the results were a vast improvement over the $84 million loss a year earlier. Revenue surged 19% to $13.1 billion, helped by strong demand for the automaker's 16 all-new or significantly revamped cars and trucks. Chrysler, which recently signed a new contract with the United Auto Workers, may have set overly ambitious goals. As Bloomberg noted, worldwide sales rose 21% through the third quarter, but that's far below the 32% increase CEO Sergio Marchionne, who also heads Fiat (PINK: FIATY ), had forecast for 2011. However, that miss shouldn't detract from an impressive turnaround. Marchionne has said he plans a Chrysler IPO no earlier than 2012 . That's too conservative. As Chrysler and Fiat work more closely together, the strength of the U.S. company might get sapped away by the problems of its European parent, Fiat. Adding another hurdle are the economic problems in Fiat's home country of Italy, which many pundits argue could be next to succumb to the euro zone's debt crisis. Italian officials said Wednesday they would hasten to implement promised austerity policies . Although Rome rejected a plan to raise taxes on the wealthy , it's hard to see how Fiat and other large Italian companies can avoid paying more to the government. Trying again to crack the U.S. market Fiat, which took over Chrysler during the darkness in 2009, is becoming more dependent on the U.S. automaker. Fiat is struggling in its home continent against rivals such as Volkswagen (PINK: VLKAY ) — which is hotly pursuing a stated goal of becoming the world's largest automaker — and it lost about 1 billion euros there last year, according to one analyst . Fiat now is making a new push in the U.S. with its updated Fiat 500 minicar, but it has been stymied for decades in marketing its brand in the U.S. Chrysler, however, is on a roll.