2008 Paris Auto Show Preview

See our 2008 Paris Auto Show Preview

The 2008 Paris auto show (the French call it a Salon) might not be as important to the rest of the world as the Detroit auto show, Frankfurt auto show or Tokyo auto show, but nowhere else does the public swarm the displays of new cars and concept cars as do the French in Paris. The Paris auto show is always a heady mix of production models and concepts, many of which are profoundly European in design and character (read: innovative and weird).

Most of the buzz leading up to this year's show is about which combination of alternative energies can become a viable enterprise, but no proper Parisian salon would be complete without wretched excess and a lofty degree of intellectual whimsy, so there will be plenty of haute couture machinery on hand as well as an egalitarian homage to the taxicabs of the world. Ah, vive le France.

In anticipation of an entertaining 2008 Paris auto show, we've put together a sneak preview of 10 cars, in no particular order, on our must-see list during two days of press conferences, marketing spin and conducting our ongoing study of which manufacturer has the poutiest production cars, show cars and concepts cars on its stand.

Here's a sampling of the news cars that will be shown at the 2008 Paris auto show, all of which are part of our Paris auto show preview story:

2010 Honda Insight Concept
2009 BMW 7 Series
2009 Ferrari California
2011 Chevrolet Cruze
Saab 9-X Air Concept
2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon
Citroen HypnosConcept
2010 Lexus IS 250 Convertible
Peugeot RC Concept
Renault Ondelios Concept

For a full look at the 2008 Paris auto show, be sure to visit MyRide.com on Thursday, October 2nd, for our coverage: There are sure to be a few surprises.

• See our full coverage of the 2008 Paris auto show

See our 2008 Paris Auto Show Preview

By Greg Brown
Photo credit: Mondial de l'Automobile 2008