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70% of premium brand cars stolen are taken with the car’s own keys

High-end SUVs – like the new Range Rover (pictured) are a prime target for car key thieves There was once a time when all it took to steal a car was a wire coathanger and the ability to hotwire the ignition. But as car makers have got better at securing the second most expensive asset most of us will ever own, car thieves have had to look for a different approach, and that approach is increasingly to relieve owners of the keys to their pride and joy. Cobra – the vehicle tracking firm – are reporting that a massive 70 per cent of all premium brand cars stolen in 2014 – with an average value of £40k, up £6k on 2012 – are being parted from their owners using that owners keys.

Skoda MissionL Concept revealed – the Skoda Lauretta, perhaps?

Skoda MissionL Concept - destined to be the Skoda Lauretta Skoda is on a mission to push its sales through the roof in the next year or seven – aiming for 1.5 million sales, no less, by 2018 –  and part of that strategy is to fill the gap in its range between the Fabia and Octavia. So it’s a good thing the Skoda MissionL Concept fits the bill. Not that we have a great deal to go on with the MissionL Concept, as all Skoda have done so far is send us a short press release and the teaser photo above (which was a lot darker until we sent it through Photoshop).

Vauxhall Meriva concept teaser (2008)

By Glen Waddington First Official Pictures 21 February 2008 16:22 It's suicide time for Vauxhall's mini-MPV. This sneak preview of the Meriva concept to be unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show reveals suicide-style rear doors that will be a production certainty for the next-gen Meriva. The mini-MPV will retain its B-pillar so that structural integrity is maintained and so the rear doors can be opened independently of the front ones.'The rear-hinged doors are both lighter and less expensive to engineer than sliding doors,' said Sara Nicholson, GM's European product manager for compact cars.