The Honda Insight hybrid is the clear star of the show, despite the best efforts of dream merchants from Lamborghini, Ferrari and Mercedes- Benz and new production front-runners from Audi, Alfa Romeo, Renault, General Motors and all the rest.

Even Australia had a share of the action, thanks to the Chevy Orlando concept which was under lights on the GM stand after being built by the dream merchants in the design department at Fishermans Bend.

But nothing could top the Insight, which is a petrol-electric superstar which will be run out around the globe. It will come to Australia with a starting price likely to be less than $30,000 - more than $7000 better than the benchmark Toyota Prius.

It revives the name from Honda's first hybrid in a package which looks a lot like a Prius but takes its IMA running gear - with a 1.3-litre petrol engine and battery pack - from the company's existing Civic hybrid.

There were plenty of other hybrids in Paris, including the production version of the Mercedes S400, but none had the elegance or affordability of the Insight.

Still, it had to beat a lot of good cars to draw the crowds - including Ford's global president Alan Mullaly, who was tossed out of the driver's seat by a security guard - on a day when carmakers did everything they could to offset global doom reflected in everything from tightening consumer credit for car loans in Europe to the latest dismal sales results in the USA.

It is never easy to pick the future showroom successes at a show, but the latest Renault Megane has dumped the frumpy bum and should do well in Australia, just like the funky Alfa Romeo MiTo coming next year.

And no-one would bet against the all-wheel drive Mini Clubman and BMW

X1 concept which will both become production cars in double-quick time.

And the rest of the Paris hopefuls? How about these verdicts from Gorden Wagener, the new head of design at Mercedes-Benz who created the great looking ConceptFASCINATION coupe-wagon for the show:

Lamborghini Estoque: "It was surprising to me. I'm don't know that I like that."

Alfa Romeo MiTo: "I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't like the Ferrari California at all."

Mazda Kiyora: "I am a little tired of all these sculptures at every show. If you only do a sculpture you are not doing a car."

Audi A1: "If you take away the gimmicks we are looking at a very conventional car."

A new-age family of turbo-only Porsches could be coming as the sports car specialist looks for more speed with improved efficiency.

The German brand believes downsizing its engines, then boosting them with turbos, could be the answer as it rejects any chance for a diesel drive into the 911.

Work has already begun on the next all-new 911 for 2011 and development chief August Achleitner says Porsche is making a big drive on a car which will be crucial to its future.

"It will be quicker and faster, but using less fuel," he says.

"These are the goals for the future - to make the car even greener. To still be the special sports car, but to look for social acceptance."

He is clear in rejecting a diesel 911, while opening the door for a smaller capacity engine family with turbos. Porsche already uses high- performance turbochargers for its GT2 and all-wheel drive Turbo, but this would be different and potentially more efficient than any of today's flat-six Porsche motors.

"I have nothing against diesels, but it will influence the character of the car. This would be too damaging for the success of the car," he says.

"The next step with gasoline engines is to add a turbocharger to reduce the capacity of the engine. This would be a better way of downsizing without losing the characteristics of today."

Achleitner is also against a hybrid 911, even though the company has an upcoming petrol-electric version of the Cayenne SUV.

"Of course we could do a hybrid 911. From a technical point of view it is possible," he says.

"But it doesn't help to produce this car just for show, if a customer does not want to buy it."

Achleitner is already testing the successor to today's just-updated 997-series 911, which is completed by the glass-topped Targa model, and is open on many fronts including engine choices and the use of more aluminium to cut weight.

"Ask me in five years. The world is changing so fast at the moment," he says.

"Our program is fixed up to 2013, but then it starts to become a little more grey. With all the political changes . . ."

But he is very definite on the chance for a diesel-powered 911.

"It doesn't make sense in our opinion," Achleitner says. "You lose the sound. You hear almost nothing."

"On the other hand, diesel engines are so heavy. When we are working to save every gram of weight in the rear end . . ."

But he can see advantages in diesel technology, like the direct fuel injection which has already been applied to the latest 911s.

"I think diesel and gasoline engines will come together to combine the advantages of both. In our opinion there is no need to change to diesel. They haven't solved the problem of the particulates (emission)."

Achleitner hints that the next 911 will be more of an advance than the 997 was over the 996, and certainly the latest mid-life updates which have been applied to the car this year from the Carrera 2 through to the latest Targa 4 and Targa 4S.

"The 911 story will always be evolutionary. Maybe smaller or bigger steps, but never revolutionary," he says.

"The next 911 . . . you will be in no doubt. We must look for the performance capability. What is important is drag co-efficient, weight, efficiency.

"We are living for the image of this car. It is just nice for the customers to know this car can do it, if they want."

What makes it special has nothing to do with its styling, even though Paris is all about fashion and flair, and everything to do with the engine.

The Passat BlueMotion II was rolled out at the end of an hour-long Volkswagen Group presentation on Wednesday night which highlighted some wickedly quick and costly cars, from a Bugatti Veyron with the world's most expensive umbrella - a pop-up emergency roof for a new $2.2 million targa model - to a 200 miles-an-hour Bentley and a wickedly ugly new Lamborghini Estoque.

Volkswagen also unveiled its latest Golf GTi and Audi previewed an all-new compact called the A1, but it was the BlueMotion Passat which got the big build-up for the final flourish.

"I can tell you, very confidently, that the Volkswagen Group is green," said company chief Dr Martin Winterkorn as he began the pitch for the Passat.

"We think we should be the pace-setters for sustainable mobility."

With that, he called out a Passat which produces just 109 grams of CO2 for every kilometre it travels, a mark which Winterkorn called a new benchmark. It was eventually displayed alongside a new Volkswagen Golf which does even better at just 99 grams.

The Passat also set up the inevitable conflict of Paris '09.

On one side there are fast and flashy cars which reflect the current golden age of motoring, and on the other there are super-green cars with lean engines and the best environmental-protection technologies.

Volkswagen Group managed to cover it all with its eight brands, which run from Seat and Skoda at the bottom end to Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini at the top.

Winterkorn's speech was the culmination and he gave a green power presentation which highlighted the 91 cars built by VW Group which currently produce less than 140 grams/kilometre of C02, including 20 below 120, and the number of cars which already satisfy the Euro 6 emission standard which does not become law until 2014.

But there was fare more interest in the exotics once the official part of the evening was over, just as it will be the supercars - including the Mercedes-Benz McLaren 722 roadster to be unveiled on Thursday - which will hog the headlines.

Still, VW Group made its points with the preview night, which cost an estimated $1 million and was touted as host to 12 world previews. It was run ahead of the start of the official show press events on Thursday morning for more than 1000 guests who were shuttled to a giant warehouse, close to Charles de Gaulle airport on the outskirts of Paris, which had been specially converted for the event.

The action began with the Audis as all nine group brands, including Seat of Spain and Volkswagen commercials, revealed their newest and best.

But Volkswagen is still likely to have more for the show itself, as executives talked openly before the event of three concept cars for the French event and only the GTi hatch qualifies from the pre-show cavalcade. Even counting the Passat BlueMotion II that leaves at least one for Thursday and beyond . . .

Porsche has just run its own back-to-back tests with the Japanese company's GT-R supercar and says it could not get within 25 seconds of Nissan's claimed record time of seven minutes 29 seconds in April.

It also found its 911 Turbo and GT2 were both quicker than the GT-R.

"This wonder car with 7:29 could not have been a regular series production car," says August Achleitner, the 911 product chief for Porsche, speaking to the CARSguide at the Australian press preview of the latest 911 Cabrio.

"For us, it's not clear how this time is possible. What we can imagine with this Nissan is they used other tyres."

He believes the time achieved by Nissan with ex-Formula One driver Toshio Suzuki would only be possible with a semi-slick race-style tyre.

Achleitner says Porsche took a standard GT-R, running on regular road tyres, and ran it around the Nurburgring within two hours of its own cars, on the same day with exactly the same weather conditions.

He says there was no tweaking of any kind and the GT2 and Turbo both ran on regular Porsche road tyres, the Michelin Sport Cup.

"We bought the car in the US. We drove a GT-R with new tyres," he says.

Achleitner was initially protective of the exact lap times, which were run during a program when Porsche also compared its upcoming four-door Panamera with a range of potential rivals.

But he eventually revealed his team clocked the GT-R at 7 minutes 54 seconds, with the 911 Turbo managing 7:38 and the GT2 getting down to 7:34.

The laps were not run by Porsche's usual hot-lap specialist, former world rally champion and race winner Walter Rohrl, but one of the company's chassis development engineers who is an expert on the Nurburgring.

Achleitner says the back-to-back comparison was run because Porsche was concerned by Nissan's claims for the GT-R, which is heavier than the 911 with similar power.

"The Nissan is a good car. I don't want to make anything bad with my words," he says.

"It's a very consistent car. But this car is about 20 kilos heavier than the Turbo . . ."

In the end, Porsche believes its testing has achieved the right lap times for the Skyline GT-R and benchmarked it against its own 911 heroes in the right context.

"For us it has been clearly the result. This technical puzzle now fits together. With the other numbers we had problems to understand it," he says.

The mighty German automotive machine has declared war on the one tonne utility market.

Volkswagen's commercial division has taken the wraps off a macho looking work and play 4x4 dual cab ute this week at the Hanover commercial vehicles show.

Called simply the Pickup, details of the vehicle are still sketchy at this stage.

But Volkswagen Australia says it will definitely have its hand up for the ute, with lucrative light commercial sales at stake.

The ute with a working name of Robust would go head to head with the likes of Toyota's HiLux, Nissan's Navara and the Holden Rodeo - to name a few.

Volkwagen Australia spokesman Karl Gehling said the ute would be a nice addition to the company's light commercial range.

Pickup will usher in a fourth series of light commercials for the company and is expected to go into production towards the end of 2009.

It will join the existing Caddy, Transporter and Crafter lines.

With the launch of the new ute, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will become the first volume manufacturer in Europe to enter the one-tonne pickup segment, with its high growth global potential.

According to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles boss Stephan Schaller, the key markets for the Pickup are the countries of South America, especially Brazil.

He also sees South Africa, Australia and South East Asia as being important markets for this universally adaptable commercial vehicle.

And the vehicle will also be introduced into the European market.

Overall sales projections for the new Pickup amount to around 100,000 units per year.

Pickup is expected to follow a front engine, rear drive format and will be built in left hand drive configuration in Argentina, initially for the South American market.

Right hand drive vehicles will follow and could be sourced from South Africa, with a 4x4 version also likely.

Measuring 5.18 metres in length and 1.9 metres wide, with flared guards, a bash plate and beefy off road rubber Pickup is no shrinking violet.

Power is expected to come from a 2.5-litre turbo diesel engine, drawing on Volkswagen's 4Motion all-wheel drive system for its off road ability.

With four doors and four seats it can be fitted out as either a work or recreational vehicle, with the ability to carry a standard size pallet in the tray between its rear wheel arches.

The Hanover show car has been fitted out as a search and rescue vehicle, with features such as GPS navigation, a CB radio, compass, and binoculars as well as a life-saving defibrillator, life jackets, flotation devices, blankets and a tool kit.

Like the previous generation B7 version, the new model will be revealed in sedanand wagon versions with the likelihoodof a convertible further down the line.

And all of these are mounted on Audi's much-vaunted MDS platform.

Unlike the older S4, however, the B8 does away with the naturally aspirated 4.2-litreV8 in favour of an all-new 3.0-litre blown V6.

Though classified 3.0 TFSI - which usually signifies a turbo-charged direct injection mill - in this instancea supercharger is at play. Audi Australia spokeswoman Nadine Giusti says this is the marque's first use of this method since the Auto Union motorsport days of the 1930s.

Versions of various power will feature in several other Audi models, including a 213kW jobbie in the face-lifted A6 range, which might make it here in the second quarter of 2009.

But that will be preceded by the full cream S4 with peak output of 257kW from its 3.0-litre surpassing the 253kW in the old(pre-FSI) 4.2 V8. Total torque of 440Nm is there from 2500 to 4850rpm.

Audi claims a 0-100km/h time of 5.1 forthe sedan and an 80-120km/h burst of just4.4 seconds in fourth gear. This formidable output will go to road through the latest version of quattro all-wheel-drive viaa seven-speed dual-clutch S-tronic gearbox.

While the blown six provides an even progression of engines through the A4-based range and a logical step up to the eventualB8 series RS4 with its bent eight mill, the new Audi S4 is also a direct riposte to BMW's 335i models with their seamless 225kW/400Nm twin turbo inline six and newly acquired seven-speed twin-clutch transmission.

Billed as Sports Automatic and available locally in the 335i coupe and convertiblefrom December, the transmission is derived from the superb M-DCT unit of the M3 and replaces the conventional Steptronic torque converter auto. While it's without the M3's 11-mode DriveLogic program, it does havea sports mode and launch control.

“A key difference is that it retains a more traditional automatic gearshift lever,” BMW spokesman Toni Andreevski says. “It's similar to that of the X5 and 5 Series and has to be moved from Park to Drive, as opposed to the sideways action of the M3.”

Audi's blurb takes a swipe at its Bavarian competitor: “Extensive testing on the bigV6 has proven the superiority of mechanical charging. In conjunction with direct injection it is far superior to twin turbochargers.”

Well, so says Audi. Whatever the case, the S4 versus 335i will make one of the most keenly awaited face-offs of 2009.

Be prepared: it's the motto of the Scouting movement and could just as easily be applied to the Scout, Skoda's entry into the compact sports utility vehicle market.

Based on the Octavia 4x4 wagon, the Scout is aimed at those who want a refined yet rugged vehicle with the practicality of a station wagon. That is, a model that is prepared for almost anything.

The Octavia Scout 4x4 has been developed to be as happy on the street as it is in mud, sand, snow, or on gravel.

Key to this flexibility lies in its second-generation Haldex clutch, which allows power to be transferred between the front and rear wheels when it is required, reacting faster than the first generation mechanism giving better traction on loose surfaces.

And with 180mm ground clearance and 17in Proteus alloy wheels, there's little terrain that can stop it in its tracks.

Power to the wheels comes from the tried and tested Volkswagen 2 litre TDI turbo-diesel engine with particulate filter as standard producing 103kW of power and 320Nm of torque via a six-speed manual transmission.

Acceleration from zero to 100km/h is a claimed 10.2 seconds, with a top speed of 197km/h.

The Scout is said to use 6.6 litres of fuel per 100km (43 miles per gallon) on the combined urban/highway cycle from a 60 litre tank and put out 178g of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

It will tow a trailer with brakes up to 1600kg, 650kg without.

At 4581mm, the Scout is 9mm longer than the standard Octavia 4x4 wagon and is 15mm wider and 17mm higher at 180mm, making the ground clearance 40mm greater than the two-wheel drive Octavia.

It also looks very different from its sibling with chunky bumpers at the front and rear, moulded side protective strips and profiled door sills, all giving greater protection for the bodywork.

Black roof rails reinforce the practical nature of the vehicle, as do circular fog lamps below the headlights.

Protective wheel-arch strips, unique kick plates on the front door sills and sump guards below the front and rear bumpers are all standard. A four-spoke multifunction steering wheel, gear lever and handbrake are trimmed in leather, while special seat fabric and a grab handle on the dashboard ahead of the passenger seat are unique to the SUV.

The wagon gets a swag of standard equipment including heated front seats, dual zone air-con, electronic stability control, six airbags, rear acoustic parking sensors, cruise control, twin chrome exhausts and unique Scout touches throughout the cabin.

And the generous 580 litres of rear cargo space can be increased to 1620 litres with both back seats folded flat.

Cargo can be anchored down by means of an expandable net and a privacy cover retracts at a single touch.

During a drive in the Victorian Alps over bitumen, gravel and in mud, the Scout proved to be all it claimed and more.

As well as producing a comfortable ride under sometimes trying conditions, the car never once lost its footing.

The cabin was welcoming and quiet, with little intrusive engine sound, and minimal road and wind noise even at the legal speed limit.

Altogether it's a surprisingly functional and smart package which, at a starting price of $39,990, takes it right up to rivals for value and versatility.

Options include Columbus satellite navigation ($2490) and the usual additions such as sunroof ($1730) Alacantara and leather seats ($2490), xenon headlights ($1730) and front park distance control ($490).

The Scout could suffer some initial sales resistance due to the fact there is no automatic gearbox on offer.

But it is already on a winner with former world surfing champion and Gold Coast resident Mark Ochilupo about to take delivery of one as a Skoda ambassador.

After rejecting the increase initially, the Senate has approved an increase in the tax from 25 percent to 33 percent after a second round of voting.

“This is an unsatisfactory outcome, made worse by further exemptions. It makes the Luxury Car Tax more confusing than ever,” VACC Executive Director, David Purchase said.

“The concessions to the minor parties simply muddy the issue and, for car dealers, will add to the complexity of applying this unjustified tax.”

The Senate yesterday rejected an Opposition proposal to have the Government's planned luxury car tax increase applied only to vehicles worth more than $90,000.

All seven balance of power senators sided with the Government to vote down the Coalition amendments, 36 to 34.

The Government's legislation seeks to lift the luxury car tax, which applies to cars worth more than $57,180, from 25 per cent to 33 per cent.

An amendment by the Greens would exempt cars priced up to $75,000 if they use less than 7.0L/100km of fuel.

The Coalition yesterday sought to amend the Government's Bills so that only vehicles worth more than $90,000 would be taxed at the increased rate, while cars worth between $57,180 and $90,000 would be taxed at the current rate.

The Coalition believed such a change would ensure people with 4WDs and people movers would not be slugged with the increase.

The deputy leader of the Government in the Senate, Stephen Conroy, attacked the Opposition's proposal.

"This is just another part of the raid on the budget surplus,” he said.

"By lifting the tax threshold, they are giving a tax break to Porsche drivers.”

VACC now hopes the Henry Inquiry into taxation will have the courage to tackle the issue of Luxury Car Tax and recommend it be abolished.

“It is the VACC’s view that LCT is out-dated and unjust. How can cars attract a unique additional tax, when other ‘luxury’ items such as plasma TVs, holidays, and yachts do not?” Mr Purchase said.

^{Video: Bryce Levido.}

Competitors from around the country battled it out at Oran Park Raceway south of Sydney for two elusive spots at the World Championships to be held in the USA in November.

The event featured two full days of drifting action, which also included the Toyo Tyres Super Drift Series, Expression Sessions, Max Entry Speed runs and trick motorbike action.

Beau Yates (Toyota TRD AE86 Sprinter) won the final round with second place going to Adelaide’s Leighton “The Crab Man” Fine (Team CTS Nissan 180SX) who gained enough points to become the 2008 champion.

Third place went to Luke Fink (Holford Motors Nissan Silvia) with a strong performance all weekend.