News: Dream Cruise becomes nightmare for '66 Corvette owner

[Rob]

Dream Cruise becomes nightmare for '66 Corvette owner

Tom Greenwood / The Detroit News

Related Video: http://vettetube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ec4f0307cf5c3c721d94

BIRMINGHAM -- There were an estimated 40,000 classic cars at this year's Woodward Dream Cruise and they all went home with their owners ... except one.

Police are on the lookout for a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette valued at $80,000 that was brazenly stolen on Saturday from Old Woodward in Birmingham. According to a report by Detroit News reporting partner WXYZ-TV (Channel 7), the midnight blue Corvette convertible was parked on Old Woodward when its owner, Mike Sarazin, went for a bite to eat.

When he returned, he found that the car was gone.

"It was locked, and I had a Pedal-Jack on the gas pedal," Sarazin said.

"The thief defeated it and then hot wired the car. It was special to me; I got a lot of complements on it."

Birmingham police launched an immediate search, even looking for the vehicle by helicopter. Witnesses told police they saw a white male drive off in the car. He was described as having brown hair and being in his 40s.

You can reach Tom Greenwood at (313) 222-2023 or tgreenwood@detnews.com.

 

[Tom Bryant]

That just shows how worthless most of those theft devices are when put up against a pro. I hope they find it.

 

[XLR8]

My God, that makes me sick to even think of it.

Hope they find it soon and return it to its owner!

Jane Ann

 

[Rob]

PUBLISHED: Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Man's Corvette stolen during Dream Cruise

Owner says loss of '66 vintage classic won't keep him from event in the future.

By Ann Zaniewski
Journal Register News Service

A Livonia man said having his vintage Corvette stolen during the Woodward Dream Cruise won't deter him from attending the landmark classic car event in the future.

Mike Sarazin, 56, parked his dark blue 1966 Corvette convertible in a metered space on North Old Woodward in Birmingham Saturday evening. He locked the doors and put on a pedal jack, which locks the clutch and the brake pedal together, before he and his girlfriend left to look at other cars.
When they returned about an hour and a half later, the Corvette was gone.

Sarazin said he felt a "sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach."

Birmingham Police Cmdr. Mark Clemence said a witness saw another man drive away in the vehicle, which was insured for $80,000.

Sarazin said a police officer told him Monday that a vehicle matching his Corvette's description was spotted in Redford. Police continue to investigate.

Sarazin bought the restored car in 2004.

"It was just perfect. The color, the equipment. It was just spectacular," he said.

Sarazin said someone may have been looking for a car like his because it's distinctive. He said only about 2,000 of the 27,000 Corvettes made in that year were painted Laguna Blue, a dark blue that almost looks black at night.

Sarazin, an engineer, has taken his Corvette to every Dream Cruise for the past five years.

"I'm not sure I'll replace it with another classic Corvette. I don't want to go through the whole thing again.

"This one was almost perfect. Maybe too perfect, I guess."

Sarazin said he hopes whoever has the car now takes good care of it.
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[Rob]

Search goes on for missing Corvette

By Jay M. Grossman • Eccentric Staff Writer • August 26, 2008

The search continues for a stolen 1966 Corvette convertible that went missing from downtown Birmingham during the Woodward Dream Cruise.

“We’ve had three, four calls but nothing concrete,” Police Cmdr. Mark Clemence said Monday.

The car was reported stolen Aug. 16. Owner Mike Sarazin, 56, of Livonia told police he parked the car along North Old Woodward between 6-7 p.m. to grab a bite at Fleming’s Steakhouse.

It was gone when he returned.

The midnight blue car has a tan-colored corduroy top, all original parts and a Michigan license plate, TA-5863. While the vehicle was left unlocked at a metered parking spot, an anti-theft device called a Pedal Jack was attached to the clutch and brake pedal.

A witness told police he saw a man in his mid-40s or 50s driving the car on Old Woodward. The witness said he noticed the car right away because he had seen Sarazin park the car and later saw a different person driving it.

The car was insured for up to $80,000. Sarazin, who told police it was the fifth year in row he attended the Dream Cruise, was unavailable for comment.

jgrossman@hometownlife.com | (248) 901-2529

 

[Vettebigguy]

Missing Corvette

I am a firm believer that car theft should be a ' Hanging Offense ' and I am deadly serious about this, in the old days, horse theft was a hanging offense and my Corvette is my modern day horse....what do you think, lets make this a Presidential issue !! Who's in???

 

[73shark]

Count me in on this one.

 

[Vettebigguy]

Just for fun, lets see how many people we can get on this and who knows.....maybe we can change the laws !! if not that we sure can make our voices heard. I am sick of car thieves getting away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, with a ' don't do that again,,' from the judges. Just this week a car thief, one of the biggest and most sought after who had many convictions got a mere two years and would only serve one year !!! The he will be out in the world to do it again...this is in British Columbia Canada. this is sickening...ad