Auto parts retailer AutoZone Inc. (AZO) reported its fiscal second quarter results this morning, and the stock is trading up nicely after the company easily beat analyst estimates for the period.

As we noted in our earnings preview yesterday, analysts had been expecting to see the company post earnings of $3.06 per share. AutoZone shattered analyst estimates with reported earnings of $3.34 a share.

Japanese automaker Toyota (TM) announced that it has agreed to pay a record $32.4 million in further fines to the U.S. government to settle an investigation into the way it handled recent recalls.

The company's board of directors agreed to the fines Monday at its board meeting in Japan, and it will not admit to any violations of U.S. laws. Unfortunately for Toyota, this move will not exempt the company from potential civil and criminal penalties in private lawsuits and other federal investigations.

Auto parts retailer Autozone Inc. (AZO) reported its fiscal first quarter results this morning, beating analyst estimates for the quarter.

Going into this morning's earnings report, analysts were expecting to see Autozone report earnings of $3.40 per share, but the company easily beat out estimates with a reported $3.77.

Toyota (TM) is going to recall 412,000 cars in the U.S. to fix steering problems, according to Reuters. The report notes that 373,000 of the automobiles are Avalon sedans from the 2000 through 2004 model years and 39,000 are LX470 SUVs from model years 2003 through 2007. The automaker announced that the steering lock bar in the Avalon could break "under certain conditions," while the LX470s are being recalled to "eliminate the risk of steering shaft disengagement."

The company said that it has received three accident reports involving the Avalon and none involving the LX470. Nevertheless, the automaker is trying to fix these problems, which are the latest in a series of recalls this year.

Reportedly, Nissan (NSANY) is recalling roughly 46,000 of its 2009 - 2010 Cubes in the United States because of non-compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards. According to the automaker, a fuel leak developed during crash tests. This leak could result in a fire, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nissan said that when "the vehicle was rotated following a rear moving barrier crash test as required, the amount of fuel leakage exceeded the allowable limits."

Chrysler Group announced that it has issued a recall for 600,000 vehicles today for a range of safety concerns.

The company announced that the recall was in light of concerns including faulty brakes, sticky accelerators, and electrical fires. Today's reports come as drivers are already dealing with safety concerns stemming from the massive recalls Toyota has been forced to issue over the past year.

For the first time since 2007, General Motors announced a quarterly profit this morning for its first quarter.

The Detroit automaker reported that it earned $865 million during the quarter, and that revenues were up 40% to $31.8 billion. During the same period last year the company had a loss of $6 billion.

Earlier this month Toyota Motor Company (TM) was forced to halt sales of its Lexus GX 460 after it received a "Don't Buy" rating from Consumer Reports, but the company announced today that the problem has been fixed, and it had resumed U.S. sales.

The problem with the SUVs involved the vehicles electronic stabilizer, which was unable to adequately correct the SUV when sliding out in corners.

More bad news for Japanese auto maker Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), with the company announcing that it was recalling around 600,000 Sienna minivans sold in the United States.

The latest in a string of safety concerns involves potentially rusted spare tire cables that could break, allowing the minivan's spare tire to bust loose and tumble into the road.

Earlier this week Toyota Motor Corporation (TM) took another hit to its public relations when Consumer Reports hit one of its new SUV models, the Lexus GX 460, with a 'Don't Buy' rating. Toyota announced today that in light of the concerns over the Lexus SUV it would be running safety tests on all of its SUVs to reassure Toyota drivers that their vehicles are indeed safe.

The concern comes from tests that Consumer Reports ran on the Lexus GX 460 that showed the SUV was a rollover risk. The electronic stabilizer that was supposed to correct the SUV from spinning out was not kicking in as quickly as it should be.

Ford (F) had itself quite a month of March overseas, as the company's auto sales increased 16.1% compared to a year ago. The March increase was the tenth straight for the American automaker, driven higher by sales of the company's Fiesta model. The Ford Fiesta saw sales of 68,800, which was the highest monthly sales for any Ford model on record in a single month across the pond.

Ford's market share increased 10.4%, which marks a 12-year high and is Ford's highest market share since August 1998. Ford was the top-selling brand in the UK, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, and Turkey during March. It should be noted that March sales are traditionally strong in Europe, as registration plates change. Ford saw 72,700 new registrations during the month, 16.4% better than a year ago.

It was not that long ago that Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) was known for the safety of its vehicles, but the past year has been a nightmare for the Japanese automaker. And things took a turn for the worse Tuesday when it was forced to suspend sales of its Lexus GX 460.

The decision to suspend sales of the Lexus SUV came after Consumer Reports hit the model with a rare "Don't Buy" rating due to rollover concerns.

Nissan (NSANY) is jumping in on the electric car revolution, producing a car called the Leaf. It's an all-electric car that seats five. The good news for Nissan is that this car will face little in the way of competition; no other electric car seats as many passengers. Nissan is planning to make 500,000 of the Leaf in North America, Japan, and Europe by 2012. The company also announced that 56,000 of the Leaf are on order in the United States; but, this could be the number of dealers ordering the car, not individuals. The company also expects this electric car to be a popular choice for a no-emission fleet vehicle (like a taxi).

The recent massive safety recalls by Toyota Motor Company (TM) have definitely hurt the company's image, and the uncertainty over the current safety of its vehicles has left many people wondering what exactly is going on with the Toyota recall. If people were concerned before, they are sure to be a bit more confused after a Toyota executive testified in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee today that the recall may not "totally solve" the current problems.

Last week Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda, was asked to come before Congress and testify over the current safety recalls. Mr. Toyoda will answer questions tomorrow, but today it was James E. Lentz III, the president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., that had his chance to answer questions in front of Congress.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the recent recalls by Toyota Motor Company (TM), the House committee that is investigating the recalls has asked the company's President to come and testify before it.

Over the past several weeks there have been more reported deaths resulting from sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles, and the House committee's chairman announced his desire to have Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda, to come in for testimony.