The ‘greatest economy driving test of them all’, the MPG Marathon, is taking place today and tomorrow. Toyota has sent a veritable fleet of vehicles - a new Prius, an iQ and a Yaris - to race across the Midlands in a bid to achieve second-to-none fuel consumption.

We’ve just had official word from the Labour Party Conference that the Government plans to extend the UK Scrappage Scheme. The Scheme, which has been running since May this year, was due to run until early 2010 or until the original £300 million Government funds were exhausted.

The prospect of a rechargeable “plug-in” Prius has been one of the hottest topics on this blog and we know there will be many readers out there delighted to hear that Toyota is to launch a worldwide trial of just such a vehicle next year.

We’ve picked up on some exciting tweets from the Toyota team at Frankfurt, passing on more news about the new Auris Hybrid Synergy Drive and Toyota’s hybrid power ambitions for the near future.

The Frankfurt Motor Show has given us a first glimpse of the full hybrid Auris that Toyota will be launching next year.

It’s press day today at the Frankfurt motor show. The show is a major motor industry showcase for the cars we’ll be seeing in showrooms in the months and years ahead, and for some futuristic designs that are unlikely to make it further than the exhibition stands as well.