Top 5 most/least stolen vehicles in the U.S.

mercedes benz e class 540x232 Top 5 most/least stolen vehicles in the U.S.
In a recent study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, it was found that big trucks and SUVs are among the most appealing to car thieves. I guess thieves at the end of the day are just like us, they want to feel safe (while cruising down the highway and being shot at by cops). It turns out that the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the least stolen car in the US. Is it because it’s difficult to steal?, we doubt it, it’s mostly due to the demand for such cars and their parts, since a lot of stolen cars end up being sold as parts or shipped to other countries. This of course is good news for all Mercedes owners, as we’ll be paying cheaper insurance rates, but mostly importantly, we can feel somewhat safer than the SUV owners.

Here are the top 5 stolen cars:

1. Cadillac Escalade ESV – Claim frequency: 15.0 (per 1,000 insured vehicle years)
2. Ford F-250 SuperCrew – Claim frequency: 13.1 (per 1,000 insured vehicle years)
3. Cadillac Escalade – Claim frequency: 11.3 (per 1,000 insured vehicle years)
4. Dodge Charger – Claim frequency: 11 (per 1,000 insured vehicle years)
5. Ford F-350 SuperCrew – Claim frequency: 10.7 (per 1,000 insured vehicle years)

Top 5 least stolen cars:

1. Mercedes E Class – Claim frequency: 0.6 (per 1,000 for each insured vehicle year)
2. Buick Rainier – Claim frequency: 0.6 (per 1,000 for each insured vehicle year)
3. Subaru Forester – Claim frequency: 0.6 (per 1,000 for each insured vehicle year)
4. Buick Terraza – Claim frequency: 0.7 (per 1,000 for each insured vehicle year)
5. Volkswagon New Beetle – Claim frequency: 0.7 (per 1,000 for each insured vehicle year)

via – Yahoo Autos

Mercedes-Benz to discontinuing using V12 engines

mercedes benz v12 engine 540x359 Mercedes Benz to discontinuing using V12 engines
Our beloved friends over at AutoBild are reporting that Mercedes-Benz is considering discontinuing the production of the V12 engine. The current CL 600, SL 600, CL 65 AMG and S 65 AMG still use the 12 cylinder engine, but in the next few years, the switch will be made to the V8 twin-turbo engines. While you might have your doubts about the V8 and its power compared to a V12, Mercedes promises that the V8 twin-turbo will be more compact and lighter, adding less weight to the car, producing similar if not better performance with its twin-turbos compared to the V12. Let’s see what the engineers in Stuttgart come up with, it better be good!

Negotiations on redemption of Chrysler shares more difficult

daimlerlogo Negotiations on redemption of Chrysler shares more difficult
Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, we hope you had a great thanksgiving weekend. I am sure we all had enough rest for now, which means it is back to work. To kick things off, we’ll start with a somewhat unpleasant story between Daimler and Cerberus.

The negotiations between Daimler AG and Cerberus Capital Management LLC on the redemption of Daimler’s 19.9% shareholding in Chrysler and other issues related to Cerberus’s investment in Chrysler have been made considerably more difficult during the last weeks due to exaggerated demands by Cerberus.These demands by Cerberus exceed the value of Cerberus’ investment in Chrysler. For the acquisition of an 80.1% stake in Chrysler, Cerberus had invested USD 7.2 bn. The claims made now go beyond the framework of the contractually agreed possible obligations under representations and warranties. The new claims also include an allegation of conduct outside the ordinary course of business by Daimler during the time between signing and closing of the transaction as well as the allegation of incomplete information about the business. Daimler rejects these absurd allegations and the claims derived there from as being completely without substance.

We hope with will be settled soon, so that we can put this chapter of history behind us; we’d actually rather burn it, but what can you do.

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