For the first time since the global economic crisis brought the American automobile industry to its knees in 2008, all three Detroit automakers appear poised to post a profit.

Ford Motor Co., the strongest of Detroit’s Big Three and the only one to make it through the crisis without a taxpayer bailout, is scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings today. All indications from the company and analysts are that it will be Ford’s 10th consecutive profitable quarter, reported The Detroit News.

Chrysler Group LLC is due to report its results Friday. The Auburn Hills automaker last reported a quarterly profit in the first quarter of 2011.

General Motors Co. is slated to release its third-quarter results Nov. 9. It is expected to report a profit.

With three new national contracts with the United Auto Workers that preserve competitive gains made in tougher times — including Chrysler, which appeared Tuesday to have won ratification of its agreement with the UAW — America’s automakers seem to be making the most of their new lease on life.

“It’s the reincarnation of the industry,” said analyst Michael Robinet of IHS Global Insight. “It’s a new focus on content — delivering to the customer — and bottom-line profitability, versus yesteryear, which was about keeping your labor pool busy at all costs and expanding your top line with little focus on your bottom line.”

Last week, two ratings agencies raised Ford’s debt to one notch below investment grade. That was partly a result of the new national contract the company negotiated with the UAW, but also a testament to progress the company continues to make.

“The upgrades to Ford’s ratings reflect the automaker’s strong financial performance and continued debt reduction through the first nine months of 2011,” Fitch Ratings wrote Oct. 20. “Fitch expects slowly strengthening global automotive demand and Ford’s competitive product portfolio to drive continued (free cash flow) strength.”

Fitch said Ford’s credit rating could be restored to investment grade within the next year. That is significant, because once two of the three major ratings agencies return Ford to investment grade, the Dearborn automaker will be able to redeem all of its U.S. assets — including the Blue Oval itself — which were pledged as collateral for the $23.6 billion it borrowed in late 2006 to fund CEO Alan Mulally’s turnaround plan.

To achieve that, Ford needs to continue to chisel away at debt, which stood at $14 billion at the end of June.

Ford investors are looking for a resumption of dividend payments, suspended five years ago.

Last week, Ford Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth said dividends could be restored prior to achieving investment-grade status. Barclays Capital analyst Brian Johnson expects Ford to pay a dividend of 36 cents next year, increasing to 55 cents by 2015.

At Chrysler, the big news will be the earnings themselves. Chrysler posted a profit of $116 million in the first quarter of 2011, the first since it was taken over by Italy’s Fiat SpA as part of a 2009 bailout deal brokered by the Obama administration.

The company said it made money in the second quarter, but used all that cash to pay back loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments. Now Fiat, which is struggling because of weak sales in its home market and declining demand in key overseas markets like Brazil, needs Chrysler to begin generating positive cash flow.

Speaking in Rome on Tuesday, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne promised it would.

“Chrysler is giving a fundamental contribution to Fiat’s profits as it takes advantage of the improved U.S. and Canadian markets,” he said. “It is running at almost double the speed compared with Fiat.”

Recently, analysts have expressed concern that Chrysler could drag down Fiat. But Marchionne disputed that.

“Neither Fiat nor Chrysler would have made it alone in the long run,” he said. “Fiat was too small, too penalized by the European business model to have some chance of success. Together, in 2011, we will sell 4.2 million cars, and we’ll become the fifth-biggest carmaker in the world. By 2014, we will sell 5.9 million cars.”

General Motors has posted six straight quarters of profits since emerging from bankruptcy two years ago.

But GM is not only posting big profits. It is also flush with cash. The company ended the second quarter this year with $39.7 billion in liquidity. The biggest question facing the Detroit-based carmaker is what to do with it all.

Analysts have suggested that GM might use its large cash reserves to buy back some of the U.S. government’s remaining stake in the company.

American taxpayers became the largest owners of GM stock after giving the company $49.5 billion in 2009. The federal government sold off 412 million shares following the company’s initial public offering last year, but the Treasury Department still holds 500 million shares — an overhand that some analysts say is spooking investors and weighing down GM’s share price.

They say GM could remedy that by buying back some of those shares. CEO Dan Akerson was asked about that in a June interview with The Detroit News, but he declined to comment on the suggestion.

Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third-largest automaker, raised its profit and global unit-sales forecasts after boosting net income by almost four times in the last quarter, Bloomberg reported.

Nissan expects 270 billion yen ($3.3 billion) profit in the year ending March, compared with an earlier forecast of 150 billion yen, the Yokohama-based company said. The carmaker posted 102 billion yen in net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 as sales rose to 2.27 trillion yen from 1.87 trillion yen a year earlier.

“Nissan’s forecasts exceed the market’s consensus and its own guidance,” said Mitsuo Shimizu, an analyst at Cosmo Securities Co. in Tokyo. “Amid concerns about the global auto industry, investors may react positively to Nissan’s performance.”

The maker of the Juke compact crossover follows Honda Motor Co. in raising its profit outlook even as the yen trades near a 15-year high against the dollar, reducing the value of overseas earnings. While Nissan expects to benefit from trimming purchasing costs and the introduction of new cars such as its all-electric Leaf compact, the yen will weigh on earnings during the second half, the company said.

Nissan rose 3.9 percent to 721 yen at the 3 p.m. close of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, before the earnings announcement. The shares have fallen 10 percent this year.

The automaker raised its full-year vehicle sales target and now expects to sell 4.1 million units from an earlier target of 3.8 million.

Nissan will also benefit from introducing 10 new models this fiscal year including the Leaf, Micra and Juke compact cars, Chief Operating Officer Toshiyuki Shiga, told reporters in Yokohama.

Even so, the company estimates net income growth may slow during the remainder of the fiscal year. Based on today’s revised forecast, Nissan may post profit of 62 billion yen during the six months through March 30. That estimate would be more than two-thirds lower than the fiscal first-half profit of 208 billion yen, according to its statement today.

The strength of the yen which reduced first-half operating profit by 55 billion yen, may cut earnings by 130 billion yen during the second, Nissan said today.

The company today revised its full-year exchange-rate assumption to 84.4 yen to the dollar from an earlier forecast of 90 yen. The company expects the yen to average 80 yen against the dollar in the fiscal second-half, it said.

The dollar traded at 80.97 yen as of 5:07 p.m. in Tokyo after strengthening to 80.22 yen on Nov. 1, the lowest level since April 1995.

Nissan also faces a demand drop in Japan after a government subsidy program ended and an unclear outlook in the U.S., where near 10 percent unemployment forced the Federal Reserve to buy an additional $600 billion of Treasuries.

“Nissan faces a very difficult situation at home,” said Yuuki Sakurai, who helps oversee the equivalent of $8.7 billion as chief executive officer and president at Fukoku Capital Management Inc. in Tokyo. In the U.S., “quantitative easing won’t necessarily lead to an improved economy if people are hesitating to borrow because they’re worried they won’t be able to repay.”

After Japan’s government subsidy program for fuel-efficient cars ended Sept. 8, Nissan’s deliveries in October plunged 31 percent. Sales in its domestic market rose 15.3 percent in the fiscal first half.

To boost sales, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn started selling an updated March compact this year. Nissan has shifted Japan production of the model to Thailand, which helps the company reduce impact of the strong yen on exports to other countries in the region.

Nissan’s Shiga today said the automaker also plans to cut purchasing costs by 185 billion yen to offset the yen.

The company will begin selling its Leaf electric car next month in Japan, U.S. and some countries in Europe. Nissan and partner Renault SA plan to have capacity to build 500,000 electric cars a year by 2012.

Daimler AG, the world’s second-largest maker of luxury vehicles, raised its full-year profit forecast after net income beat analysts’ estimates on demand for top-of-the-line E- and S-Class sedans in China and the United States, Bloomberg reported.

Third-quarter net income attributable to shareholders surged to 1.53 billion euros ($2.12 billion) from 41 million euros a year earlier, the Stuttgart, Germany-based carmaker said today. Analysts predicted profit of 1.09 billion euros, according to the average of nine estimates.

CEO Dieter Zetsche increased his target for 2010 earnings before interest and taxes to more than 7 billion euros. The average estimate of 14 analysts prior to the report was for full-year Ebit of 6.8 billion euros.

Daimler’s luxury-car sales are rebounding after the financial crisis as demand advances in China and the U.S., the world’s two largest auto markets. September marked the highest output of Mercedes cars for the month in the company’s 120-year history, as third-quarter E- and S-Class sales rose 34 percent.

Daimler predicts demand for E- and S-Class models, which start at $49,400, will boost Mercedes sales by more than 10 percent this year. Still, growth is slower than competitors. Daimler September sales worldwide gained 13 percent to 128,700 autos. Volkswagen AG’s Audi increased deliveries 16 percent to 102,650 vehicles, while sales at luxury leader Bayerische Motoren Werke AG climbed 17 percent to 142,950 cars.

Daimler traded down 13 cents, or 0.3 percent, at 47.50 euros as of 1:53 p.m. in Frankfurt. Before today’s announcement, Daimler had jumped 28 percent this year, valuing the company at 51 billion euros. The stock last week hit its highest price since May 2008.

“Investors worry about fading momentum at Mercedes and the impact of new competitor models,” such as the revamped BMW 5- Series and X3 and new Audi A7, said Adam Hull, a London-based WestLB analyst. “We expect a falling margin in 2011 and 2012.”

Third-quarter sales climbed 30 percent to 25.1 billion euros. The manufacturer recorded a fivefold increase in operating profit in the quarter to 2.42 billion euros. Earnings were boosted by 401 million euros in gains from health-care and pension benefits in the U.S. and after winning a lawsuit.

Sales in China, which overtook the U.S. in 2009 as the world’s biggest auto market, rose 19 percent last month. Mercedes outpaced the market by doubling deliveries. U.S. auto sales in September rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 11.8 million, the fastest pace since the end of the “cash for clunkers” program. Mercedes outsold BMW and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus in the U.S. last month.

The revamped CLS luxury coupe and SLK hard-top roadster, as well as cleaner engines, will help Mercedes have a “successful” 2011, Joachim Schmidt, the car unit’s top sales chief, said in an interview last month. Daimler, which aims to increase Mercedes car sales to 1.5 million by 2015, didn’t comment on prospects for next year in the statement today.

The Mercedes unit, which also includes the Smart city car and the ultra-luxury Maybach nameplate, posted third-quarter Ebit of 1.3 billion euros, compared with 355 million euros a year earlier. The growth was driven by demand in China, where the unit’s sales have more than doubled this year to become its third-largest market after Germany and the U.S.

The recovering global economy has also boosted deliveries of heavy trucks at Daimler, the world leader in commercial vehicles. The division, which makes Mercedes, Freightliner, and Fuso vehicles, posted a third-quarter operating profit of 500 million euros after a loss of 127 million euros a year earlier. The unit closed factories in Asia and North America and cut jobs after posting losses in every quarter in 2009.

Revenue gains in all areas of the business helped drive up third quarter operating profit for AutoNation Inc., but net income dropped, primarily on higher interest expense.

The nation’s largest automotive retailer said third quarter revenues increased 13 percent to $3.3 billion. Operating income rose 2.5 percent to $120.9 million, but net income slid 12.5 percent to $56.9 million.

AutoNation officials said the lower profits were largely a result of higher interest expense related to debt refinancing used to fund a share buyback plan. With fewer shares during the latest period, AutoNation’s earnings on a per-share basis, not counting discontinued operations, actually rose 8 percent.

“We delivered strong performance in the third quarter, which was driven by both new and used vehicle unit sales and revenue,” AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson said in a prepared statement.

Operating highlights for the quarter came in the retailer’s domestic-brand segment and in used vehicles. Sales of new domestic-brand retail units rose 15 percent, and income in the domestic segment jumped to $43 million, up from $33 million a year ago. Ford and Chevrolet led the way, Jackson said.

Unit sales in AutoNation’s import segment dropped 3 percent, and income declined to $51 million from $63 million a year ago.

Luxury unit sales rose 3 percent, and income in the luxury segment increased to $48 million, up from $44 million a year ago.

Used vehicle revenue increased 28 percent to $812.4 million. New vehicle revenue rose 9.7 percent to $1.8 billion. Parts-and-service revenue jumped 6 percent to $564.1 million, while net finance-and-insurance revenue jumped 18 percent to $111.9 million.

Separately, AutoNation said today that Chrysler has granted it seven Fiat franchises, making it the biggest Fiat dealer in the United States. The retailer’s Fiat locations will be located in California, Colorado, Arizona, Washington, Virginia and Georgia.

AutoNation said it has also launched new stores to sell lower-priced used vehicles that it previously would have sent to auction. The company opened 16 of these no-haggle “Value Vehicle Outlets” at existing locations to sell used vehicles with an average price of less than $8,000. AutoNation plans to open six more Value Vehicle Outlets by next March.

Higher used-vehicle sales are helping boost revenue in two other key departments at Asbury Automotive Group Inc.

“Our focus on increasing used-vehicle sales also increases opportunities for (finance and insurance) and parts and service,” Asbury CEO Charles Oglesby said Tuesday after the public retailer reported third-quarter net income of $12.5 million, a 69 percent gain.

Revenue rose 9 percent to $1.1 billion, helped by a 19 percent gain in used vehicles, a 6 percent hike in new vehicles, 2 percent in parts and service and 21 percent in F&I. The spike in used vehicle sales gives the service department more reconditioning work to prep the units for sale and gives F&I more customers for its products.

“When you have north of 20 percent increase in volumes quarter after quarter, we know that it is impactful on parts and service,” Asbury COO Michael Kearney said in an interview. “As far as the impact on F&I, I’m not convinced that selling more used cars is impactful on the per-vehicle-retailed (amount). It is on the total gross dollars, of course.”

Asbury’s retail revenues for used light vehicles rose 23 percent on a same-store basis during the third quarter.

A year ago, the dealer group earned $7.4 million on revenue of $1 billion.

For the first nine months, Asbury posted net income of $32.7 million, up from $13.2 million during the same period last year. The company reported revenue of $3.12 billion during the period, up from $2.76 billion during the same nine months of 2009.

Car shoppers have remained cautious and are waiting longer to buy vehicles amid a sluggish economic recovery and stricter lending standards, Kearney said.

“We’re seeing a lot of ‘need buyers,’ people who have older vehicles that they’ve decided they don’t want to maintain anymore,” Kearney said. “We’re also seeing higher mileage vehicles in the shops.”

In an interview with Reuters, CEO Charles Oglesby projected that industry-wide sales would rise between 7 percent and 8 percent in 2011 from 2010 levels.

Retail sales — or sales excluding cars sold to high-volume fleet operators like rental car companies — could be around 9.5 million for 2010, he added. In 2011, retail sales could be around 10.5 million or above, he said.

Buoyed by a more aggressive marketing plan, Group 1 Automotive Inc. is gaining revenue from new and used vehicles even though the retailer is making slightly less money on each transaction.

The strategy helped Group 1 to a 17.2 percent revenue increase during the third quarter. Earlier today, Group 1 reported net income of $19.0 million during the period, up 3.5 percent. Used vehicles were particularly strong, with revenue up 29 percent on a same-store basis.

“Our used car business surprised me,” Group 1 CEO Earl Hesterberg said in an interview. “We did recognize at the beginning of the year that that market was there much more than the new car market. We put a lot more advertising money into that this year.”

Used-car advertising spending is up almost 20 percent this year, Hesterberg said.

At the same time, a tighter supply of used vehicles means Group 1 is spending more to acquire inventory. Though unit volume is up, those higher costs are lowering profits on the sale of each vehicle. Group 1 made $1,737 in gross profit on each used vehicle sold in the third quarter, down from $1,853 a year ago.

The story is similar in the new vehicle department.

Volume and revenue are up significantly, with lower margins. Gross profit per unit is down from $1,940 a year ago to $1,783 per unit for the third quarter. Group 1 is promoting more competitive prices, and its overall advertising budget is up 22 percent for the year, Hesterberg said. The company will spend about $32 million in advertising for the full year, he said.

Lower margins for higher volumes are the reality for right now, Hesterberg said. But he added that he’s not comfortable with current new-vehicle margins over the long term.

In 2011, “the question we’ll have to answer is one that was just asked: If we continue to trade off new vehicle margin for volume?” Hesterberg said. “We won’t be able to answer that until we get a little farther down the road.”