We've been on the ground in Paris for three nights now and we've walked the halls of the Porte de Versailles a dozen times in each direction. The Day 1 pictures are up now, with Day 2 galleries coming shortly.

Many of the big international auto shows in Japan and the United States are deep into an era of sobriety, coming off a decades-long binge of wild concept cars and celebrity appearances. That might be the proper approach for the times, but the truth is, we like a good party. And we have to thank the Europeans for having too much love for hot cars to not throw one once in a while. The list of supercar debuts reads like a list of the most lust-worthy cars of the next few years, with announcements from Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Maserati, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, and more. Meanwhile, an even sexier new Mercedes-Benz CLS is joined by its new Audi A7 and S7 competition, as well a sexy midsize coupe, the BMW 6-series.

Even the normal cars at Paris are sexy. The new Volvo S60 and V60 R-Design models are that brand's hottest sedans, Ford has a mean new Focus ST, the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque debuts in full form, and yes, even lowly Chevrolet managed to make a great hatchback out of the Cruze. Mini, meanwhile, took something as nerdy and boring as a scooter, added electric power and some attractive body panels, and make the around-town two-wheeler something pretty desirable. Excitement, it seems, can come in all forms, and all of them are at the 2010 Paris Auto Show.

While we already knew about the Elite, and that Lotus had plans to release up to four more cars alongside it, we thought they wouldn't be major releases, merely new versions of the Evora. But clearly the chaps in Norfolk have been busy, debuting four brand new cars.

With each passing auto show, we see more and more how devoted Audi is to the electric car market. It seems that with each major show, Audi has been there with a new electron-and-diesel-fueled concept of some sort. For Paris, the German automaker has shown up with a topless version of its e-tron concept.

VW threw quite the shindig last night in Paris, showing us all the new metal the extensive family of brands had to offer. Well we were at that party, and if you want to see it through our lens, click through.

At the 1980 Geneva show, Audi changed the way it makes cars with the debut of quattro all-wheel drive. At this year's Paris show, the 1984 Ur-Quattro becomes a proud father.

The sixth-generation Passat has been in production now for five years, and with the variant CC being only a few years old, the mid-sized sedan was in need of a refresh. Today Volkswagen showed us what the replacement will look like as part of its festivities at the Paris Motor Show. From the early looks, it seems like Volkswagen is all about moving this car upmarket.

What can we really say about the Jaguar C-X75 that its brilliant body work can't? Well, just one word: turbines.