Toyota has announced plans to work with electric car company Tesla in order to develop a battery-powered version of its popular RAV4 crossover.

The Toyota-Tesla partnership began when Toyota invested about $50 million in the small company earlier this year. Since then, Tesla successfully went public and began plans to take over Toyota’s closed NUMMI factory in California.

The new electric RAV4 is the first joint venture on a vehicle between the two. Toyota will provide most of the parts for the vehicle, while Tesla will contribute its electric powertrain and battery technology, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Interestingly, the car is not the first electric RAV4. Toyota previously made several limited edition prototypes of the vehicle earlier in the decade, but never commercialized the product for the mass market.

“The Toyota RAV4 EV has been a terrific workhorse for the past decade. Hundreds of the original cars are still running seven to 10 years after manufacture in both fleets and private hands,” Paul Scott, one of the rare owners of the first-generation RAV4 EV, told the news source.

Those who still prefer their vehicles powered by gas may want to consider purchasing a used Toyota RAV4.

The past couple of months have not been kind to Toyota. The Japanese automaker, whose Corolla and Camry models have often been praised for their durability and safety, may reportedly institute even more recalls. The company has already recalled 10 million vehicles since September, with many due to an unintended acceleration problem that has put the automaker in hot water with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

However, those aren’t the only problems the automaker faces. In recent weeks, Toyota has also recalled some Lexus hybrids for a fuel leak problem, as well as several thousand more cars for a problem with airbag deployment.

Now, there is widespread speculation that Toyota will recall 27,000 more vehicles for faulty engines. According to the Associated Press, the company has received over 200 complaints of engine issues, some of which cite a strange noise coming from the vehicle. While the company has yet to issue a recall, a Toyota spokesperson has said the company is considering its options.

While new Toyotas have been plagued by a variety of issues, used Toyota cars may still provide the reliability that drivers are looking for. In addition, the resale value of Toyotas has taken a hit in the wake of these announcements, so drivers may be able to find deals.

Toyota has come under fire for an unintended acceleration problem in its vehicles, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says may have accounted for over 80 fatalities. The NHTSA slapped the Japanese automaker with a 16.4 million dollar fine for not responding quickly enough to the problem.

Now, NHTSA head David Strickland is saying the cases need further investigation to prevent future accidents, according to BusinessWeek. While Toyota claims that faulty floor mats stuck on pedals caused the problem, there is widespread speculation that the true cause might be in electronic control systems.

"We must do everything possible to fully understand if there are vulnerabilities in these systems to cause this happening," Strickland told the news source. He went on to say that problems similar to Toyota have been reported for “every major automaker,” although not as widespread. NASA is currently looking into the matter on behalf of the agency.

The problems marred Toyota’s previous sterling reputation for safety. Until the cause of the issues are found, safety-conscious drivers may want to look at used cars without electronic control systems.

A lot of stock is put in buying cars that are American made, especially to support the floundering economy. Traditionally, this involves buying from the big three U.S. automakers: GM, Ford and Chrysler.

However, the reality is that many parts are sourced from overseas. And while the U.S. automakers employ auto workers in this country by manufacturing cars on American soil, foreign companies have opened American plants in recent years as well.

So although the Toyota Camry is a Japanese car, it has topped Cars.com “American-Made Index” for the second year in a row. The survey not only takes into account where the car was manufactured (in the Camry’s case- Kentucky and Indiana), but the content of its parts that are American and its overall sales. The reason for the sales inclusion, the website explains, is because a completely-American made car may not sell well and thus employ less workers to make it.

The Ford F-150, once at the top of the charts, was nowhere to be seen this year, as Ford shrunk its domestic parts to just 55 percent in an effort to cut costs.

Despite misconceptions, buying used cars still helps support the economy. Used car dealers pay fees to the brands in order to sell their cars, so business for dealers is good for the entire auto industry.