Chevrolet at Paris

With two world and two European premieres Chevrolet pulled out all the stops for the 2008 Paris Motorshow.

Its all-new seven-seat Orlando MPV was seen in the metal for the first time.

It boasts class leading space and low emissions, with the company’s latest-generation, 2.0-litre turbo diesel developing 150bhp and 320 Nm of torque.

Based on the same platform as the Orlando, and also making its world debut was the four-door Chevy Cruze.

The budget four-door saloon comes with the same 2.0-litre diesel as the mpv as well as 1.6 and 1.8-litre petrol units. It goes on sale in Europe from March next year.

Appearing for the first time at a European show was the new Camaro muscle car. Packing a 400bhp 6.2-litre V8 and rear-wheel drive the car is aimed more at people concerned about fun than fuel economy.

And it was no shock to see the production ready version of the plug-in electric hybrid Volt. When fully charged, the lithium-ion battery pack provides up to a 40 mile range.