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Mark Vaughn: We’ll always have Vegas

There were a few bare spots on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show this year, spots that in previous years had been jammed sardine-like with myriad Taiwanese makers of Hello Kitty knockoff cell phone cozies and electronic barking dogs, but the show this year was nonetheless pretty well attended. Besides, for those working their way upstream through the aisles like so many digitally trained trout, the empty spots left by exhibitors that pulled out were like refreshing mountain meadows or little piazzas in crowded Italian cities. Show management stocked the open spots with cushy couches, too, on which many a jet-lagged showgoer snoozed.

BMW Brilliance New Energy Vehicle – it’s a plug-in BMW 5-Series Hybrid

The BMW Brilliance plug-in The Shanghai Motor Show is looming, and we’re starting to see pre-show reveals cropping up. But this is one reveal that has no real impact on anywhere but China, but is interesting nonetheless. BMW’s partner in China is Brilliance, and they build a China-only LWB 5-Series.

Legendary photographer Jim Marshall to receive Trustees Award

We're big Jim Marshall fans around here. We've loved his music photography for years. Looking for reasons to run his art, we hired Marshall to shoot behind the scenes at the 2005 Indy 500 (Salute to Tradition, June, 20, 2005), and we had him shoot the Nissan GT-R's creation in 2007 (Bringing a Star to Life, 12/24/2007).