Report: Thieves swipe $140K BMW 7 Series in Detroit during auto show

2010 BMW 760Li

2010 BMW 760Li – Click above for high-res image gallery

The 2011 Detroit Auto Show is proving to be more eventful for BMW than the automaker had originally intended. As workers were preparing to load a BMW 7 Series onto a transport truck near Detroit’s Westin Book Cadillac hotel, a pair of thieves jumped in and drove off with the German luxury sedan. The car is said to be worth $140,000, and as of this writing, local police have had no luck tracking down the stolen vehicle. Thankfully, this 7 Series is equipped with BMW Assist, which locates a vehicle if it’s stolen, so it’s only a matter of time before cops close in on the BMW bandits.

If some brand new 7 Series parts wind up on Craigslist’s Detroit-area ‘for sale’ section, we’re willing to bet the sale price is too-good-to-be-true for a reason.

Gallery: 2010 BMW 760Li: Quick Spin

2010 BMW 760Li2010 BMW 760Li2010 BMW 760Li2010 BMW 760Li2010 BMW 760Li

Photos copyright (C)2011 Steven J. Ewing / AOL

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

Report: Thieves swipe $140K BMW 7 Series in Detroit during auto show originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Scion tC is a bolder swipe at Generation Y

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Hatchback, Scion, First Drive

NOTE: Our first drive report of the 2011 Scion tC was originally published at 9am EST when Toyota’s embargo lifted. We didn’t want you to miss it, so check it out below.

2011 Scion tC

2011 Scion tC – Click above for high-res image gallery

There’s no demographic that’s targeted more often than young, affluent males. Though these buyers may not have quite as much expendable income to throw at new car purchases than say older, affluent males, automakers are still very keen to cater to the needs of Generation Y with the hope of earning a customer for life.

The tC is Scion’s most important product.

Toyota is no different than any other automaker in this regard; perhaps even more so as the Japanese giant’s customer base is just about as old as that of Buick. To resolve that issue, Toyota created the Scion brand in North America back in 2002 and has been marketing the heck out of its up-and-coming feeder marque ever since.

The ploy has mostly been successful. Toyota merrily points out that Scion has the youngest average customer in the industry and that 71 percent of all 800,000 or so Scions have been sold to buyers who are new to the Toyota family. Interestingly enough, with a median age of 26, it’s the tC coupe’s 310,000 total sales since 2002 (accounting for 41 percent of all Scion production) that manages to attract the youngest customers of all.

In other words, while the funky xB may be the most recognizable, it’s actually the tC that is the brand’s most important product. Therefore, Scion absolutely needs the new 2011 tC to be a runaway hit. Especially since the second-generation of the xB has, by many measures, failed to live up to the success of its straight-ruled predecessor.

So does the new tC pass muster? We set out to answer that very question when we grabbed the keys in sunny San Diego. Read on to find out what we learned.

Gallery: 2011 Scion tC: First Drive

Photos copyright (C)2010 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL

Continue reading First Drive: 2011 Scion tC is a bolder swipe at Generation Y

First Drive: 2011 Scion tC is a bolder swipe at Generation Y originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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