the secret service wants to know your location.

I had the same impulse when seeing that convoy. I think there should be enough stuff from the war in ex-yugoslavia floating around, and with the current political climate there shouldn't be an issue finding 50-100 people to place on rooftops.

Obfuscation is part of the motorcade, but not to the extent you would think. The motorcade has two presidential limos, and the POTUS is typically put in one while the VP is put in the other. Or in this case, the second limo would simply be empty. The order of the limos is random. The idea being that if you manage to bomb one limo, you’d only get either the VP or POTUS, and you’d have no way of knowing which one you got until after the fact. And that’s assuming the bomb is even effective, because the presidential limos have RPG-proof windows and heavy armored plating underneath the body panels.

Most of the motorcade is focused on things like landmine detection, biological weapon detection, chemical weapon detection, standby security forces in case they need to fan out/circle the wagons and create a secure perimeter, on-site medical staff, monitoring local radio chatter, jamming equipment to activate in case of an attack, etc…

You’re right. Only the first two vehicles show signs of armouring. I don’t think that all this theatrics would happen and then not put the cargo in the armoured car. But I’m not an expert, just a critic

the one with the softest leather....