paris!!

Today, photographs of the 2014 Mazda Mazda6 wagon were unveiled ahead of its upcoming debut at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. Aside from the obvious increase in storage space and resculpting behind the B-pillar, the details are nearly identical to those of the sedan that was unveiled in Moscow earlier this year and will also be making an appearance in Paris.

The automaker's Skyactiv-G direct-injected gasoline engine will make an appearance behind the "Kodo" grille in 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter displacements. The Mazda6 wagon should also be available with standard and high-power versions of the Skyactiv-D … Read more

The Beetle may be an older nameplate, but for many drivers the world over the Volkswagen Golf (and its performance variant, the GTI) is the quintessential VW model. The Golf's combination of style, performance, and flexibility have helped the hatchback to remain a constant favorite. So, it's no surprise that the seventh-generation Golf -- which makes its debut later this month at the 2012 Paris Motor Show -- doesn't deviate too far from the established formula of its six predecessors.

The photos and details released by Volkswagen today detail what will be the European-spec 2013 Golf, but … Read more

We knew that the handsome Mazda Takeri concept that debuted at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show was an indicator of the direction that Mazda would be taking with its Mazda6 sedan. Now, after a handful of teaser videos released to YouTube, the automaker has finally given us a clear look at exactly how close the concept is to production with a handful of photos of the production 2014 Mazda6's front end.

The 2014 Mazda6 will be the third model in the automaker's lineup to wear the SkyActiv badge and to be powered by the 2.0-liter SkyActiv-G direct-injected … Read more

News leaked out early today that Mitsubishi will debut its upcoming plug-in hybrid Outlander SUV at the 2012 Paris Motor Show.

Although there is no official news release or announcement from Mitsubishi, Edmunds InsideLine confirmed with a company spokesperson that the SUV is headed to the auto show next fall. It also confirmed that U.S. buyers will get the vehicle either in late 2013 or 2014.

The plug-in hybrid will be based on the 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander, and will have three driving modes, including all-electric, serial hybrid, and parallel hybrid. Based on the PX-Miev II Concept that debuted at … Read more

PARIS--Why brave the chilly, early spring air of Paris for hours just to get the latest electronic gadget that you could also just order online?

Because, as Apple demonstrated today as hundreds gathered outside its store to buy the new iPad, there still can be more to it than a mere financial transaction.

"J'aime le Mac," said Zhuang Bin, shuffling slowly but steadily down a chicane of metal crowd-control barriers to buy a new companion for his first- and second-generation iPads.

The Apple tablet no longer is such a novelty, and buying one is mundane for plenty … Read more

Perhaps, like me, your troubled sense of self-worth has been caused by following Paris Hilton's cultural moves too closely.

The iconic heiress seemed once to put the eyes and the tease into "zeitgeist." Now she teeters on the brink of something closer to evanescence.

I am grateful to Mashable, therefore, for discovering this extraordinary music video in which La Hilton suddenly becomes every teenage girl's mom. For in it she accesses her inner Serge Gainsbourg and talks of the dangers of texting while drunk.

The lyrics drift beyond literature into a chasm of ethereal splendor.

Hilton … Read more

PARIS--The newest iPhone may have not have been everything that fans had hoped it would be, but it was enough to draw hundreds to the Apple store here for the first day the iPhone 4S went on sale in stores.

Many arrived at the store next to Paris' opera house yesterday to get a head start in line for the fifth member of the iconic smartphone family. But as it turned out, spending the night in the chilly Parisian fall air wasn't entirely necessary as long as prospective customers didn't have to be at work early today. Those … Read more

PARIS--It's a sign of just how deeply Apple technology has moved into people's lives that Cedric Jacquiot awoke early this morning to an iPhone notification with the news that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had died.

And it's a sign of the importance of Jobs himself that Jacquiot, on his way to work, decided to go to the Apple Store to purchase a memorial iPod.

"That's why I bought a Shuffle," Jacquiot said. "It's a collector's item, I guess."

He was one of a handful of people who made a pilgrimage … Read more

PARIS--There's something amazing about taking the train from London to Paris in just two-and-a-half hours.

To be sure, it's been possible to make that trip since 1994, but if you've never done it before, stepping onto a train in the middle of the British capital and stepping off in the center of the French capital is totally cool.

I've been traveling to Europe since 1979, and I'd crossed the English Channel by boat back in the mid-1980s, and by plane in the 1990s. Going by fast train was always one of those abstract things that … Read more