"I Said Get Me an Import, Not an Opa..."

Whether deserved or not, Poland has the reputation of being a major European auto-theft capital. Reports of organized crime rings targeting luxury models and high-end minivans, destined for resale at points further east, are common.

So 34-year-old German Bernhard Massl should have known enough not to take any chances when he parked his brand new BMW 5 Series outside a florist shop in the Polish town of Zgorzelec. Positive he wouldn't even be out of the car long enough for the engine to cool, he left his 80-year-old grandpa, Falk, waiting in the backseat while he popped into the store to pick up a bunch of flowers.

But if Massl figured the old man, who no doubt told his grandson to keep the doors locked and to be careful of strangers, would act as a living and breathing anti-theft device, he figured wrong. When the young whipper-snapper emerged from the florist, the car was gone -- octogenarian and all.

Fortunately, Falk was found unharmed a few miles away. It seems the thief simply hadn't noticed the elderly gentleman in the back seat.

"He didn't notice me at all until I asked him where he was taking me," Falk said." He was really startled when he realized he was not alone and immediately pulled over to let me out."

Police are still looking for the stolen car and have put out a description of the thief.