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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.

Editors' Choice: Top Five 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show Debuts

Consider the 2015-16 auto show season officially kicked off. The Frankfurt Motor Show offered a great look at the newest crop of production cars and conceptual machines, and brought some old favorites back into the spotlight for a closer look. (The Alfa Romeo Giulia, for example, debuted in June, but this was the first time most of us saw it.) Now that the dust has settled and we're all on flights back to the US, our editors cast their votes for their personal favorites from the Frankfurt show. These are the cars we truly loved seeing the most. But unlike other shows, there was no one runaway winner – all of the Top Five received positive praise from our team. We won't spoil the results, though. Scroll down to see what we liked most from this year's Frankfurt expo. 5th Place – MERCEDES-BENZ IAA CONCEPT View 12 Photos MIKE AUSTIN: The clean lines on this concept have me excited for a more elegant beauty to future Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Next to the Concept IAA, the lovely S-Class Coupe looks like an overstyled barge. DAVID GLUCKMAN: Yeah, the extendable rear is neat and all, but I'm more interested in the front-end styling of this one. It looks like the Tron version of a 300SL, in a good way. I'm hopeful it portends the future of Mercedes design. STEVEN EWING: I was super impressed when Mercedes said that, with the rear end extended, this concept has a drag coefficient of just 0.19. That's crazy aerodynamic. I'm not head-over-heels about the styling, but I think the lessons learned from this concept are really important, and will play a huge role in the future of Mercedes' products. 4th Place – ALFA ROMEO GIULIA View 15 Photos SEYTH MIERSMA: I can hardly express how in love with this car I am. The styling feels creative, modern, and evocative, without going over the top. The proposed performance is spectacular. And the Alfa badge speaks to a legacy of romantic motoring. DAVID GLUCKMAN: Pretty Italian car makes big promises and will probably deliver on about three quarters of them. I think that will still be enough for me. JEREMY KORZENIEWSKI: I'm really intrigued by the Giulia. It looks great, sounds awesome, and I'm expecting it to have a load more character than its German rivals. I hope I'm not disappointed. 3rd Place – JAGUAR F-PACE View 15 Photos GREG MIGLIORE: It's the first SUV for Jaguar, and I think they nailed the design, capability, and electronics. It's the right car at the right time.

Brabus 600 brings a dose of black subtlety to Frankfurt

The latest AMG-fettled C-Class from Mercedes-Benz is a wonderful thing. It's turbocharged heart may displace just 4.0 liters, but that forced-induction powerhouse spits out 503 ponies and 516 pound-feet of torque. That's enough to satisfy even the most power-mad compact luxury sedan junkie, right? Apparently not, as the Brabus 600 now exists in this world, and it just debuted at the 2016 Frankfurt Motor Show. As its name suggests, the turbocharged wick has been increased up to 600 horsepower (or 591 if you're not metric) and 590 lb-ft of torque. Shuttled through all four wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission, that's enough gumption to push the Brabus 600 to 62 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds, which is a tenth quicker than the regular Mercedes-AMG C63 S sedan. Top speed nudges up from 180 mph to 186, or an even 300 kilometers per hour. Of course, this wouldn't be a proper Brabus if it didn't sport a bunch of body modifications, and the 600 doesn't disappoint. There are diffusers, spoilers, and wings galore in clear-coated carbon fiber with either a matte or shiny surface, depending on the buyer's preference. All of that looks pretty cool, but we're less smitten with the oversize fender outlets. Aluminum monoblock wheels measuring 20 inches in diameter and fitted with carbon accents round out the body kit. Inside, Brabus fits the 600 with a custom leather interior that can be tailored for each buyer. A new speedometer that goes to 340 kmh (211 mph), redesigned aluminum paddle shifters, and, of course, stainless steel scuff plates with a color-changing Brabus logo. Because who doesn't love subtlety? If you want to know more, there's a full press release down below. But what you really need to do is scroll through the image gallery above to take it all in. Enjoy. Related Video: World premiere at the IAA 2015 New from BRABUS: 600 horsepower, 800 Nm and 300 km/h for the Mercedes C 63S A rated power output of 441 kW / 600 HP (591 bhp). A peak torque of 800 Nm (590 lb-ft). A sprint time of 3.8 seconds from 0 – 100 km/h (62 mph). A top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). And exclusive sporty options from aerodynamic enhancement and wheels to the suspension and the interior: At the 2015 IAA in Frankfurt am Main, BRABUS (Brabus-Allee, D-46240 Bottrop, phone + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777-0, fax + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777 111, Internet www.brabus.com) presents an extensive tuning program for the new Mercedes C 63S in a world premiere.