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Chrysler posts $370 million net loss on costs tied to repaid loans

Chrysler Group LLC, after recording its first post-bankruptcy profit three months ago, posted a net loss of $370 million in the second quarter due to costs tied to the repayment of government bailout loans. Chrysler incurred a charge of $551 million in paying back the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Canadian loans that kept the automaker afloat in 2009.

A look at Chrysler future products

The Chrysler brand will end production of its minivan, the Town & Country, in two years and replace it with a smaller crossover. The switch is part of CEO Sergio Marchionne's plan to differentiate the Chrysler brand and nudge it upscale. Town & Country: Production of the minivan will end in 2014, leaving the traditional minivan segment to its sibling, the Dodge Grand Caravan.

The 2011 Volkswagen Touareg rolls out with a new hybrid powertrain

Volkswagen is banking on the fuel-saving properties of a new gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain and what it describes as a wholesale improvement in quality levels to bolster North American sales of its second-generation Touareg. This new Touareg represents VW's first foray into the premium-hybrid-SUV market, which includes gasoline-electric entries from BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac, among others. Further competition will come from a similarly powered version of the new Porsche Cayenne, alongside which the new Touareg was developed.