On the back of the newly redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler has posted an operating profit of $239M for the third quarter of 2010. On a net basis, Chrysler lost $84M, this is down from a $172M loss in Q2.

""A year ago, Chrysler Group ordered out clear and concise five-year financial goals, and after three consecutive quarters of better than forecasted results, we are not only living up to our commitments but we are also exceeding our 2010 financial objectives,"  said Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne in a statement.

Chrysler now estimates it will turn a  $700M operating profit for the year, up from +/- $0 (not a typo), and will return a positive cash flow of $500M, up from the early estimate of negative $1 billion.

I'm no economist, but there's got to be something exciting / terrifying about trying to run a company that has a projected cash flow of -$1,000,000,000. That's a big ship with a lot of momentum and in the next 16-or-so months, Chrysler has a float of new products that could lead to a Chrysler profit headline without the "net" qualifier.

For a more in-depth assessment, see Edmunds AutoObserver.