Yesterday, when even the radical weenies over at HuffPo were making hay about auto sales in June, the big obvious story was a step beyond the "death of GM, Ford and Chrysler" crapfest. Yes, truck sales took another swan dive last month. HUMMER down nearly 60 percent? Check.

The big story is the symbol of the times: the Toyota Corolla. Toyota's sales were down 24 percent, too, but the iron horse Corolla continues to surge. Even in a year of changeover, from the bland 2008 model to the tastier 2009 version, Toyota's kept enough Corollas coming out of California and elsewhere to feed its sales machine--and to become the first vehicle to trump Ford's F-Series in 20-odd years of counting.

The bigger tectonic moves in car sales are easy to see--just look at the monthly tea leaves compiled by AutoData. Last year's champ was the Ford F-Series; this year, June sales of the big truck were off 40 percent and the Ford truck ranked behind two Hondas and two Toyotas. SUVs and pickups are way, way down--and only Honda seems immune to the huge monthly drops in numbers right now.

A little then and now will tell you how dramatically your tastes have changed in just 12 short months--and show you more evidence for the magnitude of change at showrooms and boardrooms across the industry.

Then:

• Ford F-Series


• Toyota Camry


• Chevrolet Silverado


• Honda Civic


• Toyota Corolla


• Chevrolet Impala


• Dodge Ram


• Honda Accord


• Nissan Altima


• Toyota Tundra

And now:

• Toyota Corolla/Matrix


• Toyota Camry


• Honda Civic


• Honda Accord


• Ford F-Series


• Chevrolet Silverado


• Nissan Altima


• Chevrolet Cobalt


• Ford Focus


• Hyundai Sonata

Everyone should be so lucky as Jay Leno. He has essentially lifetime employment if he wants it, a chin that could double as billboard space, and the world's best garage, next to the Sultan of Brunei. So it's hard to feel jealous of the Tonight Show host in this video that shows him taking possession of his new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8.

Leno's own Web site hosts the video, which Chrysler passed around to the world on its blog even though it's stuffed with ads for GM cars. Also starring: Leno's 1970 Challenger and a couple of telltale skid marks (the fun kind). Please to enjoy--work safe, but kind of loud, so use the iBuds:

Sure, it's only mid-June. Apple's iCal must be served, though, and planning ahead for this fall at TheCarConnection.com means looking forward to the 2008 Paris Auto Show.

The Paris Auto Show has a unique place in our hearts; it's where we got the background on the Ford-Firestone debacle and lost approximately 40 pounds in water weight, since the Mondiale de l'Expo hall has no air conditioning. It's also been the platform on which some very important cars have been launched to the media and the world, cars like the Audi R8, the Ford Mondeo, the current MINI Cooper and, er, the Dodge Avenger.

Since we're already looking forward to Paris, it's only right that you should get in on some of the excitement. Here's the first batch of cars we're expecting to see in some form or another on the outskirts of town, down at the Porte de Versailles. TheCarConnection.com will be back with a full preview at the end of summer--and of course, we'll be on hand when the show opens to the media on October 2.

Until then, soak up a little joie de vivre with these debutantes:

Ferrari California
Ferrari's first folding-hardtop car will get a splashy, no doubt overattended press conference in Paris's steamy Expo. A new 4.3-liter V-8 powers the California, and Ferrari promises it'll develop 460 horsepower and have "a torque curve that enhances vehicle dynamics and provides maximum driving pleasure which is typical for Ferrari." Teamed to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, the engine will push the California to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds.

Kia Soul
After a long trip around the auto show circuit as a "concept," the 2009 Kia Soul gets its worldwide coming-out bash in Paris. Few details have been confirmed on the production version of the Soul, but Kia promises that owners will be able to customize their Soul "through a variety of options, accessories and colors."

BMW X1
Months ago, BMW confirmed that it was working on a small, new crossover vehicle. There's talk that a concept for the coming 2011 BMW X1 will show up at the Paris Auto Show and that the production version will bow at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. An eight-speed automatic transmission may be teamed to a new range of direct-injection turbocharged four- and six-cylinder engines. The new X1 will be built by Magna Steyr in Austria.

Audi S4
Audi's new S4 range will ditch its V-8 engine in favor of a new 3.0-liter V-6 with twin turbochargers. Coupled to quattro all-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch S-tronic transmission, the new S4 and S4 Avant should pose a more serious threat to the BMW M3 range.

MINI Crossman
The new MINI crossover, which may or may not wear the Crossman badge, could make its inaugural appearance in Paris. Essentially a Clubman wagon with four-wheel drive, the Crossman shares its mechanicals with the BMW X1, including new engines and its off-road system.

I hadn't made any real plans to attend the Moscow auto show in August, mostly because Maria Sharapova refuses to take my calls. Now Mazda's giving us all a reason to pay attention to the onion-domed city's car show this year, though, as it preps to show a new crossover concept.

The new concept--as yet unnamed--will take on the styling themes of Mazda's recent concepts like the Nagare and the Hakaze. Though it's a concept, if I had to guess, I'd say it's a new compact crossover spun from the new Fiesta/Mazda2 platform, to be slotted beneath the Mazda CX-7, and named CX-5 in production.

Mazda says the new car's designed specifically with the Russian market in mind, and with younger SUV owners "who have a strong sense of style."

I'll keep you posted on the new Mazda concept as it gets closer to reality. The Moscow show opens to the media on August 26.

Think of it as the ghost of BMWs past and present. It's called GINA, for "Geometry and Functions in 'N' Adaptions," and it's a concept car that's been behind the scenes at the German automaker's styling studios for six years, helping designers play with the unique flame surfacing that's been integral to the latest generation of sporty cars from Munich.

Unlike any concept car I can remember, the GINA's structure of metal ribs is covered in fabric. Not only does its glider-like construction let stylists play with shapes and openings such as headlamps and air intakes, as you can see in the photo set here, BMW says it also opens up some very fundamental questions about car design--including the tantalizing prospect of tailoring a vehicle's shape to a specific owner--or to cloaking some vehicle functions like headlamps when they're not in use.

BMW also points out that the GINA concept give the company insights into how to "work with less raw material and energy."

Since it was designed as an in-house tool, there's no plan to display the GINA on the world auto-show circuit. However, given its role in developing BMW's current range of cars, it will take a place in the newly expanded BMW museum in Munich.