Recently I have been having problems with my car. It is a 94 toyota corolla. What happens is after I drive for 15-20 minutes, the engine heats up and smoke begins to come out from under the hood. This has happened twice and both times I went straight home after I noticed the smoke, am afraid it will break down or catch on fire. I dont know much about cars so I dont know what is causing it. Someone I know suggested that the coolant doesnt work which is causing the engine to overheat. Here is a picture under the hood.

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp255/pistoladamus/30_011.jpg

The smoke is coming from around the engine but more specificly the part that I circled in red

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp255/pistoladamus/30_008.jpg

Close up

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp255/pistoladamus/30_010.jpg

The car was also having problems with the battery in the past but that was resolved and I dont think that is whats causing the smoking but here is a pic of the battery anyway

http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp255/pistoladamus/30_009.jpg

My question is what is wrong with the car that is causing it to smoke like that and how much do you think it would cost to fix it?

I need to know wheter it is a minor problem would be worthwhile to fix it or a major problem that would cause a lot of money to fix
and I would be better off just abandoning it and getting a new car.

Thanks in advance for any advice