Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Armor-plated SUV among extravagant debuts at Top Marques Monaco show

While AutoWeek editors were pounding the pavement at the New York auto show last week, the world's silly rich were nodding polite approval at the Top Marques Monaco show. Included in the debuts were Gemballa, Fisker, Keating, Tirrito and Conquest, the latter of which showed off a ridiculously large, armor-plated SUV called the Knight XV that reportedly took organizers three hours just to maneuver it through the hall doors. Lest we forget that we're all human, Top Marques Monaco also had its “Black Friday at Wal-Mart” moments: According to organizers, Gemballa's world premiere of the Tornado was cut short after it was purchased “within 16 seconds of the show doors opening by a sheikh eager to have a piece of the action.” Full wrap-up release from Top Marques Monaco below.

Vauxhall & Opel could merge with Peugeot Citroen.

GM Europe (Opel and Vauxhall) could extend their deal with PSA (Peugeot Citroen) with a Joint Venture or merger. When GM Europe and PSA announced they were forming an alliance earlier this year, we asked if this was an admission that the mainstream car market in Europe had changed forever, and an alliance between Opel, Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroen was the only way to keep the brands viable. But we did also question what use a projected annual saving of €2 billion by sharing suppliers and co-developing platforms would be to PSA and GM considering their woeful losses.

Volkswagen Beetle Dune IS going in to production – expect it in 2016

The VW Beetle Dune (above) will hit showrooms in 2016 Volkswagen went back to its Beetle history with the VW Beetle Dune Concept at Detroit in January, a car that looked close to production-ready even if VW were adamant it was just a concept. There was no more new on the Beetle Dune until late last month when, for no apparent reason, a raft of new photos of the Beetle Dune were released by Volkswagen with the only rationale being they had made the decision to make the Dune a production car. And they have.