Google Map Tracks Berlin's Burning Cars | Autopia from Wired.com

Description

Torching cars is becoming a pastime in Berlin, where it seems people pissed off about the sorry state of the German economy have taken to immolating automobiles with such frequency that a Google map tracking the arsons is obliterated by pins.

At least 29 cars, a good many of them luxury vehicles from the likes of BMW and Mercedes, have been burned since the first of the year, according to Bloomberg , and at least one-third of the arsons have been deemed "political" in nature.

What the hell?

We caught wind of this via MetaFilter , which is quite possibly the second coolest site on the Interwebs after Wired.com. Word has it 292 cars have been torched since May, 2007 and the Web site Brennende-Autos ("burning cars") is tracking the details with a Google map. For the record, 55 were Mercedes-Benzes and 29 were BMWs.

Bloomberg says "protesters in Berlin rage at their economic plight by targeting the most expensive cars - symbols of German wealth and power," but that doesn't explain the VW Polos, Smart ForTwos and Ford Escorts that have gone up in smoke. A group calling itself BMW - the initials stand for Movement for Militant Resistance in German - has claimed responsibility for several attacks, Bloomberg says. Yeah, guys, that'll go over well. We can see you getting scads of sympathy for your cause. Look how well it did for the guys from Earth First!.

The arsons also are linked to other issues, such as the gentrification of older artist colonies and squats in parts of what once was East Berlin. ...

Original URL

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/03/burning-cars-in.html

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/03/burning-cars-in.html