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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Automakers and advocates for the blind have agreed on a plan to address an unintended problem caused by electric and hybrid cars: They endanger sight-impaired and distracted pedestrians because they make no noise when running on electric power.

The groups joined together to present Congress with a proposal for minimum noise levels that future electric cars would have to make.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Motors returned to profitability in the first three months of the year, the automaker reported Monday. It was GM’s first profit since 2007.

GM, which emerged from bankruptcy last July, earned $865 million on revenue of $31.5 billion. A year ago, GM’s predecessor company lost nearly $6 billion on revenue of only $22.4 billion, as sales plunged and the company hurtled toward bankruptcy.

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WASHINGTON – A trade group representing Detroit automakers and Toyota Motor Corp. plans to pledge support for requiring brake override systems and vehicle “black boxes” on all new vehicles as Congress develops new safety improvements following Toyota’s large recalls.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — One year ago, the U.S. auto industry faced the worst crisis in its history.

Chrysler Group filed for bankruptcy on April 30, the same week that GM announced a plan that put it on the path toward its own bankruptcy a month later. Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) had just reported huge losses.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — In the next few years, we’ll be seeing more Italian cars on American roads as Fiat and Alfa Romeo return to the states after a nearly two decade absence.

Fiat and Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne says we’ll also be seeing more Italian vehicles sold under the familiar American brands of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep.

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WASHINGTON – Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to agree to a fine of more than $16 million, the largest government penalty levied against an automaker, for a four-month delay in telling federal authorities about defective gas pedals on its vehicles, a Transportation Department official said Sunday.

Toyota faces a Monday deadline to accept or contest the $16.4 million fine over evidence it knew about sticking gas pedals in September but did not issue a recall until January.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Toyota said Friday it will recall about 600,000 Sienna minivans to address potential corrosion on spare tire cables.

The recall includes certain 1998 to 2010 model years sold in the United States and operated in cold climate areas, the automaker said in a statement.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Toyota asked dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the new 2010 Lexus GX 460 after Consumer Reports issued a safety warning on the SUV.

“We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified,” said Mark Templin, Lexus Group vice president and general manager, in a prepared statement.

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MIAMI – A federal judge in Southern California was chosen Friday to preside over more than 200 lawsuits filed against Toyota in the aftermath of the automaker’s sudden acceleration problems, which could potentially mushroom into one of the nation’s biggest product liability cases.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Motors reported $3.4 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2009, but is on track to possibly return to profitability in 2010, the company said Wednesday.

Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell, who joined the company earlier this year, stopped short of forecasting a profit this year, but said that results in the recently-completed first quarter, which will be reported in May, and the outlook for sales the rest of the year gives the company hope that it is close to returning to the black for the first time since early 2007.

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SHANGHAI – It’s not quite as foldable as the space vehicle that cartoon figure George Jetson pops into his briefcase as he bops into the office.

But the EN-V concept car, GM’s “automobile solution” for the future, just might fit into an apartment foyer.

General Motors and its Chinese partner SAIC will showcase the “Electric Networked-Vehicle” launched Wednesday in their joint pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, which opens May 1 and runs for six months.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The 661 auto dealers General Motors is offering to reinstate received letters this week with the deal terms — and some breathed sighs of relief. They’ll be able to get their franchises back without a pricey and protracted battle.

“We are very excited, our employees are very excited,” said Jeff Baskin, co-owner and general manager of Brown-Daub Buick Chevrolet in Wind Gap, Pa. He plans to sign the contract and get his Buick line, which GM targeted last year for termination, back to business.