This year's Paris Motor Show is highly important for every automaker that wants to have success selling new vehicles, or updated versions of cars that are already on the market.

The European brands, such as Mercedes->ke187, BMW,->ke178 Audi->ke14, Fiat->ke30 and the many others have a chance to show off some wonderful concepts and new ideas that might make there way onto the vehicles of tomorrow. Most of the brands can afford to do this, as they already have strong sales in most of the continent. Mercedes offers plenty of choice for the consumer, as does Audi, Fiat and even a few of the French companies.

America's automakers on the other hand need a strong showing more than ever. Chrysler has had difficulty catching on in Europe, as has Chevrolet->ke199 and Cadillac. Ford->ke31 on the other hand is huge in the United Kingdom, but they can't afford to let their guard down.

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There was a time when America’s big three automakers couldn’t dream of having the same car sell in the United States and in Europe. Even Ford, who are now working on their ‘One Ford” approach, didn’t use the same cars in both areas. This years Paris Motor Show is a sign that things are changing.

This year’s show is a great time for the Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Chrysler Group LLC to show off their new vehicles to the world and the world’s automotive media.

Europe has become a massive world player in the automotive industry, as the new Buick Regal demonstrates. The American company has used German engineering in their newest sports sedan and it seems to be working. Ford is following with the new 2011 Ford Fiesta and the new 2012 Focus. It seems that Europe is a great starting place for sensational vehicles.

Part of the reason for this is our countries new love for smaller and more fuel-efficient cars and the best place to look for those is Europe. All this means that this motor show is key for American companies and for American consumers to see what might be on the market in the future.

The first car to be unwrapped was the new 2012 Focus. It will come in a sedan, hatchback and wagon variants. There will also be an ST model with 247 horsepower. This will be the first time that the ST has been sold in this country and it will go on sale in early 2012.

The base Focus->ke440 will go on sale in late 2011, while the new Fiesta is already on sale. It’s clear that these machines have some very European characteristics and it should be interesting to see how Americans take to them. While the Fiesta will be sold in Europe and in America, there will be some slight variations. That makes the Focus the first global vehicle and by the looks of it, should sell fairly well. Following the Focus will be the next generation Mondeo->ke1709/Fusion->ke433 combination.

Ford will also have a few eco-vehicles that will feature new technologies like a start-stop system that will be called Econetic. The system will be on the Mondeo and the new Ka. Where not sure at this point on the amount of C02 that will be reduced, but it should be fairly substantial.

General Motors will be unveiling the new Chevrolet Aveo->ke403 and three other models at the show. The Aveo will be the only car in Paris that will be sold in America and frankly, the only place to go is up. Other European models that will soon be sold in this country are the Cruze->ke3230 and the new Spark->ke3267.

European sales of Chevrolet’s might not work out to well, as they have had a rough past. When the brand first started selling vehicles in Europe, they were basically Korean Daewoo models and those weren’t very good. On top of that, GM’s brand of choice in Europe is Opel and they already have a large following.

The Chrysler Group->ke21 is looking to market Jeep->ke40 in Paris and for the first time they might be able too. The new Grand Cherokee is fairly sensational and the company will be showing off some new diesel motors for it, as well as the Wrangler->ke425 and Compass->ke422. There will also be a start-stop system shown for the Wrangler that might find its way to America eventually.

This will also be a big moment for Lancia, who offer Chrysler products with a different badge.