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Mercedes leads in US luxury car thefts

Mercedes-Benz makes some fine automobiles. The Silver Arrow'd cars are so good, apparently, that thieves can't help but try to steal them. The German brand is at the top of the charts for luxury car thefts in the US, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with New York City leading the way. (And those New Yorkers complain about Detroit being bad!)
The C-Class was the most stolen model, with 485 ganked between 2009 and 2012 in NYC alone, while the E-Class and S-Class (which also boasted the worst recovery rate, at 59 percent) both finished in the top ten. Following the C-Class was the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G. Not surprisingly, each of these were the most common models in their respective lineups. Los Angeles and Miami are also prime hotspots for luxury car thefts, according to the Detroit News report.
While getting your car stolen is pretty awful, there was one inspiring statistic compiled by the NICB - the average recovery rate across the board was 84 percent, with the Cadillac CTS getting recovered 91 percent of the time.

BMW M235i in circuit scrap with legendary E46 M3 CSL

Earlier this month, we brought you news that BMW's one-year wonder, the 2011 1 Series M Coupe, is actually trading for more money today than it did when new. That sort of short-term appreciation is a major rarity with modern production cars, but apparently it's not the only BMW enthusiast coupe to enjoy far-above-average residual values. The not-for-North America 2004 M3 CSL, itself a single-year offering, apparently also fits that description, as we've just learned from Auto Express.
The M3 CSL ruled overseas BMW showrooms a decade ago, with just 1,400 examples built. Based on the well-regarded E46 M3, the rare two-door was relieved of extraneous bits for improved track work and driver fidelity, coming in at around 240 fewer pounds than a garden-variety M3. With carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic bodywork, thinner glass and a lot less sound insulation, the CSL was one of the more raucous cars of its day. Like the 1M Coupe, it was also one of the more connected cars of the era, with a retuned suspension, quicker steering, and a bit more power than its brethren.
As Auto Express points out, a good used one commands about the same money as a brand-new 2014 M235i - the closest thing BMW makes to a 1M Coupe today - which makes this video track battle an interesting new-versus-used showdown. According to AE, a well-sorted used M3 CSL will run UK consumers anywhere between £30,000 and £35,000 - roughly $50,000 to $59,000 US. That's a massive premium over the $10k-17k British buyers can expect to shell out for a comparable standard M3, similar to the story that plays out for the 1M versus lesser 1 Series variants.

Guess what BMW's '30 Years M3' special edition celebrates

It's anniversaries on top of anniversaries at BMW in 2016. The company celebrated its 100th year of existence at an elaborate celebration in March, last week we got a new hommage concept to mark five decades since the iconic 2002 debuted, and now, in time for the holiday weekend, there's this limited-edition M3. Wait, that's not what this holiday is for? This celebratory sports sedan gets the not-quite-grammatical name of "30 Years M3," which is totally grammatical when translated back into German ("30 Jahre M3"), and BMW plans to build just 500 of them for the whole world. We don't yet know how many will come to the US, but seeing as ours is one of BMW's larger markets, we are at least banking on "some." What makes it neat besides rarity? It comes with pretty much everything you can get on a standard M3, including the Competition package with its 444-horsepower engine tune, Adaptive M suspension, and Active M differential. To that it adds an M exhaust with black tips, the requisite dash plaque, shouty door sills, and unique "30 Years M3" badges on the fender gills. The interior has special seats with gray or blue inserts and stitched headrests, plus seat belts with M three-stripe trim. (And yes, the cars in the photos say "30 Jahre M3," but we already explained that, right?) And then there's the paint. It will be available in Macao Blue metallic, a color that was available for special order on the E30 M3. And if there's any car that deserves some celebration, it's the original M3. Happy 30th, neat car. Related Video: