Toyota Posts Profit of $1.2 Billion

If only all companies could be so lucky after one of their cars made the “Don’t Buy” list: Toyota announced a $1.2 billion profit in the first quarter of 2010, despite the January recall of eight million cars due to faulty acceleration. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has fined the Japanese automaker $16.4 million for not recalling 2.3 million cars promptly enough, and Consumer Reports placed Toyota's Lexus GX460 model on its "Don't Buy" list after stability issues emerged. The most recent blow to the beleaguered company occurred on Monday, when the NHTSA opened an investigation into Toyota's 11-month wait to recall one million trucks in the U.S. in 2005 for a steering problem detected in Japan in 2004. Despite all this, Toyota has forecast profit of $3.3 billion for the fiscal year ending in March 2011. "This year will mark a new beginning for Toyota," said Akio Toyoda, the company's president.