ALL AUTOCARS

General Motors hosted the World Premiere of the Chevrolet Cruze, the all-new compact sedan with four-door coupe styling at an evening event at Le Pavillon Dauphine in Paris.

The Cruze was joined by the Chevrolet Orlando concept, also making a world debut, and the European debuts of the production versions of the Chevrolet Camaro and Chevrolet Volt.

The car is being billed as a Chevrolet's first true ''world car'' - one that will be built at GM factories around the world before coming to Lordstown - that will share parts and designs while being tweaked for each market.

GM has decided to invest $350 million into the Lordstown Complex to prepare it to build the Cruze, part of the overall $500 million investment.

The Cruze is scheduled to go on sale in Europe in the spring.

The 4,300 union worker-Lordstown Complex won the right to build the car after ratifying a contract that carries numerous changes, including certain jobs that will get a lower pay level, in an effort to reduce costs and make the car profitable.

High hopes for the American Cruze stem from fuel-saving 1.4-litre turbocharged engine that GM believes will offer both 40 miles per gallon or more, along with peppy acceleration.

The company also believes the car's European styling and snazzier interior will entice buyers to pay more for the Cruze than they did for the Cobalt, helping make the car profitable.

GM also will use the Paris auto show to unveil the production version of the Chevrolet Volt, a potentially groundbreaking plug-in electric car that will use batteries to power the engine for 40 miles before switching to a small gasoline engine.

Other GM debuts will be the production version of the Chevrolet Camaro sports car and the Orlando, billed as a small multipurpose concept vehicle.

The Paris show, which runs Oct. 4 to 19 after two press days beginning Thursday, will reflect the dual concerns of new emissions rules and higher gas prices, combined with the economic reality of cash-strapped consumers in North America and Europe.

The mantra will be that small and fuel-efficient is beautiful for mass-market cars, with a nod to the future of electric cars and hybrids that feature electricity to augment traditional fuel motors.
Citroen will unveil its C3 Picasso, a 4.08-meter-long (13.39-foot) multipurpose vehicle designed to be ''small outside, big inside.'' Ford Motor Co. will show the new Ka, a ''cheeky small car'' which has already landed a role in the new James Bond adventure ''Quantum of Solace.'' Hyundai Motor Co. will introduce the i20 subcompact, a would-be rival to the Renault Clio.

Yet the glitz and glamor that will undoubtedly accompany all these brand launches can't disguise the fact that the show comes at a very gloomy moment for the industry.

Citigroup expects 2008 to be the first year of volume declines since 2001 for the global car industry, and last month, it lowered its outlook for this year and next after double digit declines in new car registrations in western Europe, the U.S., and Japan.

''The timing could not be worse,'' Tyndall said.
Still, as Pete Kelly, a director at J.D. Power and Associates' automotive forecasting unit, points out: ''There's no point getting involved in a big and very public motor event like this one without trying to make the very best of the vehicles you have available.''