#ToyotaRav4

Toyota unveiled its new electric RAV4 at the 26th annual Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles including new price, power and range information.

When last we spoke to Scion boss Jack Hollis, his interest in a small truck for the youth brand was undeniable. Now reports of increased production at the automaker’s RAV4 facility in Woodstock, Ontario have spawned new rumors about the as yet unconfirmed sixth model in the Scion lineup.

Ever wonder just how different men are from women when it comes to picking their vehicle of choice? Here’s a top 10 list of vehicles with the highest proportion of female buyers, provided by Polk via InsideLine. There are a few unexpected models on the list, and a couple of models that, to our surprise, are missing.

Toyota announced today the MSRP for the 2012 RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle. The overall price point on the compact crossover is being increased by an average of $100, or 0.4 percent on all models.

An insane nine car accident occurred out in Kiev, Ukraine, caused by a speeding Bentley Continental Flying Spur. And while this isn’t as painful to see as the Ferrari accident out in Japan, this Bentley did cause some real havoc.

An old newspaper maxim posits that “dog bites man” won’t make for an eye-catching headline, but “man bites dog” will get people’s attention. Perhaps the automotive equivalent is “ Toyota RAV4 Driver Shoots Boy With Crossbow”.

Toyota has plans to introduce six new hybrids to their lineup by 2012. One of them is likely a smaller luxury SUV for Lexus, with the company’s tried-and-tested hybrid drivetrain.

Toyota is conducting a voluntary recall for RAV4 and Highlander models in America, to replace the side curtain airbag sensor assembly.

Anyone who was not comatose in 2009 remembers the Toyota unintended acceleration scandal, which saw millions of Toyota and Lexus products recalled due to what was eventually deemed to be a mismatch between floormats and the accelerator that could cause the pedal to stick.

Now, Toyota is recalling a further 2.17 million cars and trucks to remedy the issue – at least this time they’ve been vindicated by none other than NASA.

The recalled vehicles, along with the number of units, are listed after the jump, as is Toyota’s official release.

[Source: Toyota]

The next product from Tesla is not the long awaited Model S sedan, but something far more plebian – a Toyota RAV4 using a Tesla derived battery pack and electric propulsion system.

Toyota‘s initial investment of $50 million in its partnership with Tesla will also cost the company another $60 million in development costs needed to bring its RAV4 EV to market.

Tesla Motors and Toyota have announced that they are working on an all-electric version of the Toyota RAV4. Tesla expects to deliver the prototypes by the end of this year, with the car going on sale in 2012.

Electric vehicle nerds will remember that this isn’t the first time an electric RAV4 has been sold. Toyota offered the RAV4 EV from 1997-2003. 328 RAV4 EVs were leased sold to customers in California, and the cars were destroyed once customers returned them at the end of their lease period. While some managed to survive, Toyota initially did not want to support the vehicles, which were based on the obsolete first-generation RAV4. Hopefully Toyota is better prepared to handle the 2nd generation RAV4 EV, and with a $50 million dollar investment in Tesla, we’d expect that they have some more inclination than the first time around.

Hit the jump to read the official press release

[Source: Toyota]

Parents magazine has made the list (and assumedly checked it twice) to bring you their top 15 picks of family-friendly vehicles for 2010. Teaming up with Edmunds.com, Parents has only included models that come equipped with antilock brakes and front, side, and side-curtain air bags. These vehicles also come with family necessities such as sliding rear seats, smart storage for toys, and other amenities that make the drive that much smoother. You may be surprised to learn that not many minivans or SUVs made the list. The picks aren’t in any particular order and are broken down into categories such as sedans, hybrids and large vehicles.

They are listed after the jump, along with a few of their top selling points:

[Source: Parents]

For a car to be a top pick it must have ranked at the top of its class in an overall test score, which includes 50 individual tests. A Car must also have an average of better predicted reliability rating and must perform “adequately” in safety tests by the NHTSA or IIHS. Consumer Reports also stipulates that for any car to be a top pick it must have stability control (ESC).