After an early, unwanted reveal through a leaked video, Toyota has officially released the updated Tacoma pickup truck, which enters the 2012 model year with a fresh face, a subtly refined interior and equipment improvements.

Toyota’s designers started on the outside by adding a new front grille on all grades that led to restyling of the headlamps, while the hood and the front bumper are also new.

Inside, the new model year brings a revised instrument gauge panel and controls on the center console along with a new steering wheel and a fresh choice of audio systems for certain models including Toyota’s new Entune infotainment and navigation systems on the higher-grade versions.

There are no mechanical changes for 2012, with the Tacoma line offering buyers three options, a 2.7-liter four-pot with 159-hp and 180 lb-ft. of torque, a 4.0-liter V6 that generates 236-horsepower with 266 lb-ft. of torque, and a TRD-prepped 4.0-liter supercharger V6 capable of delivering 304 horsepower and 334 lbs.-ft. of torque.

After this week’s world premiere of the North American market 2012 Camry, Toyota is now preparing the debuts of its mid-size sedan in other regions of the world. First up is the Ukrainian version, which will most likely be offered in the same form in other surrounding markets including Russia.

While both iterations of the 2012 Toyota Camry share the same body and platform, the Ukrainian model sports a different and more prominent front-end design with bespoke headlamp units, bumper, hood, grille and front fenders.

The profile remains the same while at the rear Toyota’s designers extended the tail lamps and restyled the deck lid that now features a subtle lip.

Inside, the changes seem to be limited to the region-specific trim and color options plus a different glove box design.

Toyota Ukraine said the new 2012 Camry will be offered locally with a choice of 2.5-liter four-cylinder and 3.5-liter six-cylinder gasoline engines, and prices starting from US$33,050, with more details to be available before the end of the year.

It is finally here; the car many Americans love to hate buying, the brand-new, seventh-generation Toyota Camry, which was officially unveiled today ahead of its sales launch in States in the beginning of October.

If we wanted to highlight the most important features of the new 2012 Camry here’s what we would go with: it’s more powerful yet delivers better fuel efficiency, has a more upscale interior with higher quality materials, its styling is sharper but continues to be bland and will definitely not excite (on the other hand, it won’t offend either), and finally, in some cases its priced lower than the outgoing model.

In more detail and starting from the engine range, the 2012 Camry will be offered with a choice of three powerplants. The base engine is a revised 2.5-liter four-cylinder unit delivering 178-horsepower, an increase of 9HP, and 170 lb.-ft. of peak torque. Toyota says EPA-estimated fuel economy figures are 25 mpg city/35 highway, and 28 mpg combined, an increase of 2mpg over the previous generation Camry.

While Toyota may be taking its time to release information on its 2012 portfolio in the United States, pictures and video of its upcoming models are already making the internet rounds. Following the early reveal of the 2012 Camry, the folks over at the PickupTrucks website found an allegedly official promotional video on Vimeo featuring the 2012 Tacoma facelift.

The clip was removed but not before the website took a few shots of Toyota’s subtly refreshed pickup truck. If this is indeed the 2012 Tacoma, then the changes on the outside are minimal and mostly concentrated up front with the newly shaped chrome grille and black trim on the bumper.

Of course there may be more changes in the interior as well as the pickup truck’s hardware, but we’ll have to wait for the official announcement to learn more.

Toyota is planning to launch a new small car designed specifically for China in 2013, according to a report from Reuters citing the Nikkei business daily newspaper.

The new small car will be a little larger than the low-cost Etios that is sold in India. A 1.5-liter gasoline engine will power it and prices are expected to begin from under 1 million yen (approximately US$12,853).

Toyota aims to keep the manufacturing costs of its new China-built small car as low as possible by using many parts from the Etios and is willing to spend some 40 billion yen for the local production of the model at a rate of 200,000 units per year.

The Japanese company wants to raise its 5% market share in the Chinese market by launching the new car with its two local joint ventures, China FAW Group and Guangzhou Automobile Group.

It also plans to more than double the production of the Etios in India, from the current number of 80,000 units to 190,000 by the end of 2013. In addition, it intends to produce another low-cost car in Brazil starting from the second half of 2012, at an annual rate of 70,000 units, as well as manufacturing low-priced cars in Indonesia.