There is a growing trend among car manufacturers to go green—Toyota started it with the Prius, and now Honda and Nissan have both come out with hybrids of their own.  Nissan, in fact, recently announced plans to create an all-electric car that actually has zero emissions.  They believe that this technology is the future of cars.

While the Prius, Honda’s Insight, and other planned hybrids (a hybrid Yaris and Fit are both in the words) are smaller cars, Nissan is working on bringing hybrid technology to the luxury sedan.  The hybrid Infiniti will be launched next year as part of their new line.  Their all-electric car will, likewise, see launch in 2010 and will feature lithium ion batteries.

What’s going on in the F1 racing world this week?  Read on to learn about some of the biggest names and biggest happenings.

•    Rumours that Lewis Hamilton may leave McLaren have been at the top of all F1 news stories this week.  Many report that Hamilton was upset with his team’s handing of the controversy that led to his disqualification at the Malaysian Grand Prix.  However, most believe that Hamilton won’t leave the team.

•    Other controversy in the F1 world concerns the diffusers that the Toyota, Williams, and Brawn cars are using.  Some other teams have filed a complaint with the F1 organisation over these diffusers, but many, including retired F1 racer David Coulthard, believe that the FIA will rule these diffusers legal.

•    Here’s a bit of good news: ticket sales at the Singapore Grand Prix went, unlike last year, very smoothly.  Last year, the entire ticket system crashed during the first two days of ticket sales.  This year, after some redesigning, everything went very smoothly.

•    While no one wants to see an F1 racer crash, it’s good to know that if anyone does spin out of control during the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, a large team of medical professionals will be on hand.  Over 150 medical experts will be standing by along with ten ambulances, three extrication vehicles, and six intervention cars.  Two helicopters would also be ready to air-lift any serious injuries to medical facilities.

•    Retired three time F1 World Champion Niki Lauda and his wife, Brigit, are expecting their fourth child.  Lauda is 60; his wife, a former stewardess who worked on one of Lauda’s airlines, is 30.

•    Despite their win at the Australian Grand Prix, Brawn GP announced that they’re cutting 270 jobs from their factory in England due to the economic recession.

The original Toyota Scion attracted the young crowd with its unique box on wheels design, and the Scion iQ once again features a unique look.  This time, it’s not the shape but the size—the iQ is a tiny little car that is very fuel efficient.  However, it’s not very fast—the iQ has a max speed of around 35 mph.

Nevertheless, unlike other tiny cars, the iQ actually has a good amount of room for occupants, at least in the front seat.  The back is a bit smaller, so anyone really tall probably won’t fit, but it’s certainly large enough for some shopping and other items.  That’s good since there’s no other cargo space.  If you’ve got four people in the iQ, there’s no going shopping.  The iQ is available worldwide from Toyota.

If you love the Celica, there is good news for you.  The Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Toyota France, a Mr. Thierry Dombreval, has recently announced that a new Celica will be part of Toyota’s 2010 lineup.  This new Celica will be a rear wheel-driven sports car.  This will be the eighth generation of Celica cars and the first new Celica model since 2005.

The 2010 Celica will be developed via a partnership between Toyota and Subaru.  Other than that, not much is known about the new vehicle.  More details, we hope, will be forthcoming soon.