Video: Ford GT stolen in spectacular fashion from California dealer
Gone in Sixty Seconds this isn't. According to KXTV
Sacramento, some ambitiously persistent yet stupendously dimwitted car thieves are at large after stealing a red Ford
GT in Manteca, California.
Apparently, the exotic pilferers not only broke into Manteca Ford via boot and crowbar, they rifled through the dealer's offices until they found the key safe, which they managed to crack open. All of this effort must have made it particularly frustrating when the thieves tried to start the car, only to find it stone dead. Undeterred, the robbers then jumped it via a battery charger (how that didn't anger the supercar's infamously finicky alarm, we'll never know), and pushed a Mustang GT curiously belonging to rapper 50 Cent out of the way to make their exit. And in their zeal to leave with their bestriped booty, the bandits unwittingly learned why drag strips aren't made of linoleum, damaging the GT's flanks while laying Z-rated stripes through the showroom's double doors.
Which took them all the way to the locked parking lot. The Hardest Working Crooks in Manteca remained undeterred, grabbing yet another set of keys, this time to a sacrificial Lincoln Navigator, which they used to ram open the gates.
For all of their persistence (and improvisational flair), the robbers apparently never bothered to learn how to handle a car with 550 horses — the GT was recovered a few miles away with about $30,000 in damage.
[Thanks for the tip, Joe]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
eric 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
I'm not sure who the bigger idiot is - the theif (who used some down-right old-school enginuity) or the dealer for not having an alarm system on the building.
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iamhoff 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
Wow! Persistent little buggers. I find it amazing that the dealership didn't have an alarm system, or security guards. A lot of dealerships, especially those that sell hated SUV's, have security guards and patrols. Here in San Diego, we had a Caddy dealer lose a couple of Escalades to arson one weeknight, and just down the street on the same night, a Nissan dealer lost several Armadas. I bet the dealership's insurance will go up.
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spdracerut 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
Reminds me of car jackers that get into the car but then don't know how to drive stick.
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Stan 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
If you watch the video, you'll see that the dealer/manager doesn't sound the brightest.
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Hank 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
No kidding! How long did this take them? Two days? How many people drove by? Are their no police on patrol that go down that street?
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djSyndrome 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
If you've ever been to Manteca, all of your questions would be answered.
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Joe 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
If you have never been to Manteca, don't make any plans to do so any time soon. Manteca typifies Central California "small town" stereotypes. Funny thing is that they have sold something like 6 GT's, and we are talking about Manteca! I don't think we here in Sacramento have sold that many. Another funny part of the story is that 50 Cent's Mustang had to be moved! What teh F was Fiddies Mustang doing at a dealer in Manteca?
Joe
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kickslop 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
Castration.
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RocketPunch 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
inside job
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mr 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
"inside job"
Right, because it was so clean...
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mooseman 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
..the notoriously finicky alarm you allude to is not a Ford item. Its an afetrmarket alarm system for which Ford has no control over, if you are refering to Mr. Jeremy Clarkson's issues.
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Chris Paukert 12:27AM (12/19/2005)
Mooseman,
As I understand it, the alarm may have been from a third party manufacturer (read: supplier), but Roush installed it as 'original equipment' at the directive of Ford. At the very least, it's a dealer-installed accessory, and more than likely I'd consider it as factory equipment, considering the amount of work Roush did on the GT.
Besides, hearing this from a Ford rep:
Is it the alarm system? he said. They all do that isn't only absolute garbage, it's an admission of guilt.
It's not as if Clarkson popped in to Best Buy and had 'em string up a $99.00 Clifford.
Don't get me wrong-- I'd happily let a GT park in my driveway with the alarm siren wailing day and night, if that's what it took to own one.
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