The 2011 model of the Toyota Highlander has been launched at the motor show from Moscow yesterday. This big crossover comes with a new appearance in the front of the car and in the fascias from the rear. The customers from Russia can choose only one engine, a V6 with 3.5L, with 273HP. The gearbox is an automatic with five speeds.

Toyota FT-86 Concept is the new flavor of the year. It’s a car that reminds a lot to the ‘80s Corolla-based AE86 sports coupe and it’s wearing the signature of Toyota’s ED2 styling studio in France.

This is only a concept and that’s why the details surrounding the FT-86 are still very poor but even so we know that the car runs on a Subaru-derived 2.0-liter engine.

Handling is very important and that’s why the vehicle is as light as a feather, its platform being a unique concept. The engine is comfortably located very low in the engine bay in order to help the aerodynamics. The Toyota 2+2 is measuring 69.29 inches wide and 163.78 inches long with a 101.18 inch wheelbase.

In November the FT-86 concept will be presented at the Tokyo Motor Show and the production model will be officially introduced on the market by the end of 2011 with a price tag of a little over $20,000.

The buzz around lithium ion battery technology is simply amazing because the jump from consumer electronics devices to electric vehicles was huge.

The pioneer in this field was Tesla Motors because the company built a battery pack consisting of 6,831 laptop-cells for the Roadster. Today Panasonic decided to put a new spin on things by producing nickel metal hydride and lithium ion batteries for Toyota’s hybrid and plug-in vehicles.

Apparently Panasonic discovered a new and cheaper method for connecting the cells by using existing production facilities.

Even so, the critics are a little bit skeptics because there’s a big chance that the EV sales will climb to the roof and this approach will still be insufficient.

The hybrid will find its place somewhere between Prius and Crown and will go on sale in Japan starting October 20.

The engine – a 2.4-liter gasoline engine – will be more powerful than the one on the Prius – a 1.8 liter. On the outside, the Sai resemble a lot with the Lexus HS 250h, a car that’s being sold in US from September and in Japan from July.

There’s no info available on the Sai’s travel to US but is this will ever happen it will become a viable competitor to the already famous Ford Fusion hybrid.

In the picture below you can see the Lexus HS 250h in order for you to build a picture in hour head about how the Sai will look like.

The original version of this 3^rd generation iconic hybrid was doing a pretty good job for itself but now after getting a visual makeover from the Japanese tuning company is simply heartbreaking. A new lip spoiler and air intakes replaced the initial front end while the vertical front lights were considerably emphasized.

The green hybrid features a quad-pipe exhaust system and a new bumper on the back, the ride height has been lowered and the new boots are larger than they used to.

For the time being the price remains a secret but until it will be revealed it will be nice to some good news from the neighbors living under the hood also.

The car is very eco friendly and through its cord it feeds in only 90 minutes a 230-volt Li-ion battery. Don’t think about it as a toy because in EV mode, this nasty baby can go 20 km and on electricity alone can run up to 62 mph. For longer distances you should know that there’s no difference between the Prius Plug-in Hybrid concept and any other normal full hybrid.

In terms of comfort and practicality the new car is located very high up the latter offering a wide range of facilities that we all need when sitting behind the wheel.

When it comes to pricing and release date I cannot say much because this info is yet to be determined. So… stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted!

A Japanese newspaper reported a few days ago that Toyota is thinking to add another cheap Yaris-based hybrid to the family. According to some rumors this new baby will be cheaper than the Honda Insight: for example, in Japan the car will be sold for $15,650 and in exchange of your money you’ll benefit from a 94 mpg fuel efficiency rating but the same 10-15 urban test cycle rated the new Prius at no more than 89 mpg. I don’t know if these numbers are the real deal but the real world driving conditions will speak the truth once the cars will hit the streets.

There’s a big chance that the EPA ratings will dance around 50s while the real world performance will be of 40s.

We’ll keep you posted with more information as soon as Toyota will make an official announcement.

Even if it’s hard to compete with the $2,000 Nano, the Japanese car manufacturer promises that this new car will win the battle. A journalist from Asahi wrote that Toyota will work with Daihatsu for this project and that they will use the new plant from Bangalore, India that will be opened in 2010. Unfortunately this means that the production for this car will start sometimes around 2015.

Considering that the Renault-Nissan group is already setting an agreement with Bajaj Auto, India for a $2,500 car in 2011, I think that Toyota should speed the things up a little bit and change that 2015 time limit.