A Car for Every Purse--From Bugatti to city cars, Paris Show has it all

PARIS - For those who arrive here on a Lear jet, there's the Bugatti EB 118, with its over the-top 6.3L18-cyl. engine raring to kick out 555 hp and packaged with full-time all-wheel-drive.

For those on the Concorde there's Mercedes-Benz's new S-Class, 500 lbs. (227kg) lighter, shorter and less pompous looking than its predecessor. This group also may notice the Volvo S80, which takes the Swedish automaker one more giant step out of its boxy paradigm.

Then for those lucky enough to fly business class, but with budget restraints, there is Volkswagen's new Bora (which arrives in the U.S. this month as the Jetta), the Opel Zafira (aimed at the European compact minivan niche exploited so skillfully by Renault with its Megane Scenic), Ford's new Focus (see p.40) or perhaps the Peugeot 206, especially the sport version, featuring a 138-hp, 2L engine.

For those penny-pinching environmentalists crammed back in coach, Toyota takes the wraps off its Yaris, a direct-injection diesel 1L city car that offers 42 mpg (5.6 L/100km). Honda unveils its Logo, a car that hearkens back to the early generation Civics through which Honda established its four-wheel reputation in the U.S. Logo features a 1.3L engine that will meet Europe's 2001 exhaust emission standards as soon as it reaches European showrooms next spring.

Not to be outdone in the B-class, Volkswagen introduces the Lupo, an extremely light 363 lbs. (800 kg), featuring a combination of aluminum, magnesium, plastics and lightweight steel. Carrying a 1.2L, 3-cyl., 61-hp engine, Lupo can be driven more than 625 miles (1,000 km) between fill-ups, convincing evidence that it will never play in Peoria. But it goes on sale in Europe early next year and should do well.

We would be remiss to leave out the exquisite Jaguar XK 180 concept or the twin-turbo 3.2L V8 powered Maserati 3200GT. But there's only so much visual feasting the eye can digest in the city of light.

Bon appetit.