Ford and Toyota have just announced that they are teaming up to develop a new hybrid system for trucks and SUVs. The two car companies are hoping to complete their work on the new gas-electric hybrid system before the end of the decade, so you might not want to hold off on that new truck just for this.

The models that will run on the new hybrid power train haven’t been announced yet but we do know that they will be light trucks and SUVs with RWD hybrids that are designed specifically to have high efficiency without compromising the capabilities of these types of vehicles.

Electric cars will start being much more prevalent next year with the release of several models including the Toyota RAV4 EV. The electric RAV4 makes for many an eco-friendly driver’s ideal vehicle with its Tesla designed electric drivetrain, 100-mile range and all in the popular package of a RAV4.

Sadly, however, the 2012 release of the RAV4 EV will initially be restricted to California. Toyota executives recently told Ward’s Auto that while other states will see eventually see the coveted vehicle on lots, only Californians will get the first chance to own one.

Interbrand, an international consulting firm, just announced it’s inaugural Best Global Brands list which examines the environmental track record along with the public’s perception of how green they are to come up with a company’s “green profile”. Interbrand gave Toyota a 64.19 which is apparently the highest combined score of all brands profiled.

Interbrand describes Toyota as a “leading example of making the environment a core management priority, while also engaging in a meaningful way with audiences around the world.”

Among the brands to make Interbrand’s Top 50 eco-tastic list were car companies: Volkswagen in sixth, Honda in seventh, Hyundia in 11th, BMW in 12th, Mercedes-Benz in 16th and Ford at 20th. Apparently the Chevy Volt wasn’t enough to get GM on the list.

Interbrand’s Top 50 green brand list was compiled by looking at the operations, policies and transportation systems as well as other factors combined with interviews with 10,000 consumers.

The partnership between Toyota and Tesla Motors seems to be getting even cozier as Tesla has revealed that its original deal with Toyota is getting a $100 million injection.

The Toyota-Tesla agreement will see Tesla producing an electric power train system for Toyota’s upcoming 2012 RAV4 EV, which, contrary to a rumor from earlier this week, will be made available to the public.

While this $100 million is simply just an extension of the deal the two motor companies inked back in 2010, it is a significant amount and could directly aid in the development and production of the hotly anticipate Tesla Model S electric sedan.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda recently let it slip that Toyota is currently creating an electric car that uses a Tesla battery pack. The interesting tidbit came out while he was answering inquiries regarding the Tesla and Toyota relationship.

While Toyota currently has a joint venture with Panasonic who is building their larger car batteries, Toyoda indicated that they are definitely interested in seeing what they can do with the Tesla 18650-format cells that are generally the type of battery found in laptops. By way of example, the Tesla Roadster battery pack uses 6,831 of these cells to power the electric sports car.

The likelihood of seeing Toyota cars using Tesla battery packs will all depend on how well they perform in these prototype tests which will look at the their ability to function past large scale accumulated mileage and extreme weather conditions.

A previous report we brought you on how Tesla was teaming up with Toyota to build electric cars in California now needs to be slightly clarified. This recent update is based on a recent IPO statement from Tesla that states that although the two companies announced their intention to cooperate on Tesla Model S electric car development, they have not made any formal agreements to do so and may never at all.

While it still remains true that Tesla and Toyota will be sharing space at the NUMMI factory as well as some strategies, it definitely brings potential investors a dose of reality as Tesla prepares to be publically traded on the Nasdaq.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held a joint press conference today in which they announced that Toyota would be teaming up with Tesla to produce the Model S electric car in California.

Tesla Model S production will take place in the recently closed NUMMI factory in Fremont. Toyota, the previous owner of the factory, will invest $50 million for a private placement of Tesla common stock and will a production system and possibly some of Toyota’s suppliers.

Schwarzenegger, for his part, offered a sales tax abatement to Tesla for all capital equipment expenditures in retooling the factory. Tesla estimates put the value of the abatement at approximately $20 million over the course of three years or so.

Tesla stated that the Model S production will likely see the return of about 1,000 of the former Toyota factory employees as they look to produce about 20,000 Model S electric cars per year. Tesla also hinted at the possibility of increasing production to a point of requiring  10,000 workers.

Another survey on the current state of the public opinion of Toyota’s reputation for quality in America indicates exactly what you might expect, things aren’t looking so good for Toyota.

Two years ago 80% of Americans saw Toyota as company that built quality cars, now, it’s dropped to 21.8% according to the most recent survey of Britt Beemer.

Not only have things looked bad since the Toyota recalls, denials and general negative media attention, but the public doesn’t seem to think its current opinion is about to change with only 31.8% of Americans stating that Toyota even has a hope of regaining its former respect.

It’s starting to sound like Toyota is getting the same reputation that the Ford Pinto had in the 70s. The question here is, do you think Toyota’s reputation is deserving of this level of distrust?

There’s probably no need to get into the problems that Toyota has been having lately with a PR nightmare that’s led to the recall of 133,000 Toyota Prius hybrids last month. The Toyota Prius brakes had been shown to cause a momentary loss in breaking power.

What most people don’t know is that 11% of the claims that led to the brake recall also mentioned that the 2010 Toyota Prius cruise control was faulty. Prius drivers complained that the cruise control wouldn’t always shut off after hitting the brake pedal like it should.

Toyota is taking a proactive approach to these latest complaints and is currently looking into them. Their initial assessment, however, is that most of the Prius cruise control complaints were caused by driver confusion over the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, a feature that is only available in the top-rung Prius V trim of the 2010 Prius. Toyota’s explanation may account for some of the complaints but with the Prius V trim only accounting for 8% of the vehicles in the Toyota recall, things don’t quite add up completely.

Oh Ford. How can you possibly build a light-duty truck that gets worse gas mileage than the Hummer H2? Well, that’s precisely the case for the 2010 Ford F-250 Lariat which was recently credited by Consumer Reports for getting the worst mileage of all 2010 vehicles with a shocking 10 mpg in real world tests.

That’s right, 10 miles per gallon. Amazingly, it seems like the Ford F-250 Lariat engine is operating like an ancient dinosaur. Sure, you’re getting plenty of power, but at what cost? With current gas prizes and regular driving, it won’t take long for a Ford F-250 owner to have paid for the vehicle twice, not to mention the amount of greenhouse gases they will have pumped into the air.

The most fuel efficient vehicles in CR’s real world tests were the Toyota Prius at 44 mpg, the Smart Fortwo at 39 mpg and the Honda Insight EX at 38 mpg.