Nissan is back, one year after an earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan ground auto production to a halt, left giant cracks at a key factory and killed five employees and 17 family members.

It's a story of surprising recovery that's playing out at other Japanese automakers, but particularly at Nissan.

The ‘miraculous' turnaround was due to the hard work of Nissan workers and resulted in a record sales year in 2011, up 14 percent from the previous year.

(READ the AP story at ABC News)