Jurgen Schrempp is the head of DaimlerChrysler. He used to drive the pride of his fleet, a Mercedes S600. The £500,000 (~$935,000) limousine with 5cm-thick steel plating, a landmine-resistant petrol tank and bullet-proof windows could drive on, even accelerate, after the tyres had been shot out or lacerated with spikes. The finest German engineers spared no expense to make this thief-proof, bomb-proof Mercedes. The 3.5 ton vehicle included an extensive security system, a satellite receiver and tracking system.

Mr. Schrempp locked his car and left it for 20 minutes while he dashed into an evening business meeting in Stuttgart, the centre of DaimlerChrysler’s operations in Europe. He was travelling without a chauffeur or the customary bodyguard. By the time he returned, a gang had overcome all the security systems, rolled the car on to a transporter and made their getaway. They also blocked the satellite navigation and tracking systems.

Not a good advertisement for DaimlerChrysler. But maybe they could put a good spin on it. "Our security systems are so good, it takes a professional to steal a Mercedes."

More information is available from the Times Online

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