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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.

What the Future Holds, Nobody Knows

It's a testament to the talent, charisma and relative celebrity of Ian Callum, Derek Jenkins and Franz von Holzhausen - heads of Jaguar, Mazda and Tesla design, respectively - that they managed to captivate a crowd of industry insiders at the tail end of the Los Angeles Auto Show's second press-preview day. This despite being given a nebulous topic to discuss with a moderator who knew little about the subject. Dan Lyons, a technology columnist at Newsweek, oversaw the panel discussion that was to focus on "Tomorrow's Cars...Practical Transportation or Groundbreaking Design?" He asked only one question on that topic before digressing into a more general discourse on the design strategies of Jaguar, Mazda and Tesla.

Chevrolet rolls out high-performance tires and wheels for the 2012 Corvette

The introduction of high-performance tires and racing-style wheels for the Z06 and ZR1 models is the major change to the Chevrolet Corvette for the 2012 model year, according to information being posted at Corvette fan sites on the Internet. Info is leaking out as Chevy is set to officially talk about the 2012 Vette during the annual C5/C6 Bash fan event at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., this weekend. Look for some official news on April 28.