Autoblog

Resourceful thief lifts Jeep from dealer using crane

Zach Bowman — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Etc., Government/Legal, Videos, Chrysler, Jeep, Off-Road

A car thief in La Porte, Indiana recently put his own spin on the old smash-and-grab routine. The enterprising individual drove a flatbed truck that would typically be used for logging onto a car lot after hours on Sunday, October 16. Our man hopped out and used a giant crane to hook a 2008 Jeep Wrangler through the roof and drop it onto the bed. The whole operation took less than six minutes, though the crime's brevity didn't stop police from tracking down a suspect fairly quickly. Officials arrested a suspect in connection with the theft on Wednesday, October 19.

The Wrangler had a snow plow attached, and Matt Magnuson, general manager at La Porte Chrysler, said that the vehicle had sold that Saturday for $25,000. Magnuson also said that in all of his years selling vehicles, he had never seen anything quite like the stunt pulled off on his lot. Hit the jump to check out the video of the theft for yourself.

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Resourceful thief lifts Jeep from dealer using crane originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Angry owner catches would-be Mercedes thief... with a forklift

Jeff Glucker — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:59:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Mercedes-Benz

Forklift operator foils Mercedes-Benz theft - Click above to watch video after the jump

Forget LoJack, your Viper alarm system and The Club, all you really need to nab would-be car thieves is a forklift. That was the preferred tool of one Norwegian man who was set on stopping a crook from pinching a Mercedes-Benz E-Class from the W210 generation. The man grabbed the Benz with his tractor-based forklift and raised the front end of the car off the ground, damaging his car in the process. Tourists caught it all on tape, and the police arrived to find the not-so-grand larcenist sitting in the driver's seat.

Click past the jump for the clip. You can click forward to the two minute mark if you want to see the fuzz arrive.

Continue reading Angry owner catches would-be Mercedes thief... with a forklift

Angry owner catches would-be Mercedes thief... with a forklift originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Infographic: NHTSA helps you crack down on auto theft

Chris Shunk — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:57:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

What a terrible feeling. You walk outside, ready to head out to work or maybe to a friend's house, and your vehicle is gone. Auto theft is a $6.4-billion-per-year problem. In fact, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration built a handy infographic to illustrate just how big of a problem vehicle theft has become.

For example, in the time it took you to read this far, one vehicle has been stolen - statistics show that one motor vehicle is stolen in the U.S. every 33 seconds. By the time you've finished this post, there is a good chance two or three vehicles will have been lifted. And if you've already been relieved of the ownership of your vehicle, there is only a 57-percent chance of getting it back.

The likelihood of getting your vehicle stolen varies depending upon the state you live in. NHTSA tells us that California has the highest auto theft rates, followed by Florida, Texas, Illinois and Georgia. And if you live in Laredo, Texas, we'd suggest getting a club, and a lojack.... maybe throw in a pit bull to stand guard. After all, this Lone Star town has the highest auto theft rate in the nation. And we thought Laredo was best known for its authentic Tex-Mex...

While auto thefts are a huge problem, NHTSA points out that nearly half of all thefts occur because of mistakes like leaving the keys in the ignition or leaving the doors unlocked. Click on the image to the right to enlarge and take a closer look at some very sobering motor vehicle theft statistics.

Infographic: NHTSA helps you crack down on auto theft originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: FL classic car dealer cops 18 month plea for selling cars that weren't his

Chris Shunk — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:59:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Government/Legal

When buying a classic car from an auto dealer, there is a lot to worry about. Is the vehicle going to be a money pit? Do all the numbers match? Am I getting a fair deal with regards to financing? All fair questions to be sure, but if you dealt with Daniel Lussier of Auto Image Motor Cars you also have to worry about whether or not the car was his to sell in the first place.

Lussier plead guilty to stealing cars and selling them as if they were his, netting Lussier 18 months in prison, 10 years probation and restitution for his victims. That restitution check could be huge, too, as authorities claim Lussier bilked his clients and investors out of $800,000. Felix Yukhtman was one of over a dozen victims who trusted Lussier to sell a vehicle for them. Yukhtman handed over the keys to his 1964 Corvette but after the sale was finalized he said, "We didn't have the money, we didn't have the car, we had no idea we would ever see any money out of this car."

In one particularly inflammatory claim, a classic car owner reportedly said that he brought in his vehicle for a detailing and Lussier sold the vehicle. NBC says that Lussier called those claims untrue. Under the terms of the plea deal, Lessier has to pay tens of thousands of dollars in restitution or risk going back to jail for up to 15 years.

[Source: NBC | Image: Lee County Sheriff's Office]

Report: FL classic car dealer cops 18 month plea for selling cars that weren't his originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fed launches national auto database to curb theft, fraud. Only took 17 years

Chris Shunk — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal

You may or may not know this, but that used vehicle on sale at your local dealership with a "clean" title could have been wrecked, stolen or involved in a flood. So much for the pristine title that you looked at before purchasing the vehicle. Congress and the Justice Department have known about this problem for decades and in 1992 the nation's governing body ordered the creation of a national database to show which vehicles were involved in thefts or other incidents.

That's a step in the right direction for sure, one that took a full 17 years to come to fruition. The feds have finally released the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, a comprehensive list of 300 million vehicles. The national database will reportedly save Americans $4 billion to $11 billion per year in fraudulent claims. That's a lot of money because there are a lot of fraudulent transactions every year. Experian claims there were 185,000 damaged vehicles that were retitled in another state, providing a fraudulent clean bill of health. The Detroit News says over one million vehicles are stolen each year and retitled in another state.

Now that the federal database is online, customers and dealers will be able to find out whether the vehicle was salvaged, scrapped or reported stolen almost anywhere in the U.S. Unfortunately, only 77 percent of vehicles are covered under the new database because five states opted not to participate. The five states not participating are Oregon, Illinois, Mississippi, Kansas and the District of Columbia. All four states reportedly cited budget problems as the reason for not being included in the registry.

Customers and dealers can go to vehiclehistory.gov for more information. There are even links to a pair of government-approved sites where you can run a Vehicle Identification Number for $4.95. It may be a bit annoying to pay for a service that was provided largely by federal tax dollars, but it beats the heck out of purchasing a vehicle that was in a serious accident or was found in six feet of water.

[Source: vehiclehistory.gov via The Detroit News]

Fed launches national auto database to curb theft, fraud. Only took 17 years originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lock Those Doors: New Year's Day the worst holiday for stolen cars?

Dan Roth — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

Maybe it's the mass inebriation that makes it easier, but New Year's Eve is apparently hottest holiday for car theft. If the whole world is already sleeping it off, there's no way anybody is going to pay heed to your stupid alarm, perhaps.

As proof, our corporate cousins at AOL Autos breaks down the car theft rates for various holidays, and New Year's bookends the list of eleven days. While New Year's Eve is relatively quiet, New Year's Day is three times as active. The second-most active car theft day? Labor Day - again, another event that tends to involve plenty of imbibing and a good dose of "hey, watch this." With Halloween in third, it would be interesting to see how many of these thefts were mere joyrides, and how many were determined thieves looking for 1994 Honda Accords (the most stolen car last year) to feed the chop shops.

Many cars are easily stolen because of a lack of owner vigilance. Things like leaving your keys inside the car, even if it's just at home, are about the same as a blinking neon sign on the roof saying "steal me." Josh Max works up a good list of Dos and Don'ts - and if you don't want your car stolen this New Year's season, AOL Autos has tips, whatever the reason.

[Source: AOL Autos | Image: Tuppus - C.C. License 2.0]

Lock Those Doors: New Year's Day the worst holiday for stolen cars? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nissan Skyline GT-R thief busted by internet forum members

Merritt Johnson — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:02:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Etc., Nissan, Canada

Due to the Canadian 15 year or older vehicle exemption rule it is not all too surprising to find a slightly modified R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R on a dealer's lot. Such was the situation at Heritage Auto Sales in Calgary, Alberta. The dealership had a charcoal grey 1991 GT-R with a Greddy single turbo kit, Zeal coilovers and Panasport wheels on display for interested buyers. The car attracted one apparently serious customer who returned on multiple occasions looking for an opportunity to take a test drive. It must have been a good day, as the salesman was a trusting fellow and allowed the shopper a brief solo spin around the block. Perhaps the salesman felt a bit of remorse for the guy, as he was missing two fingers he claimed were lost in a recent accident involving his old GT-R. However, it wasn't long before the situation turned sour. The 10 minute journey wound up being a straight-up vehicle theft, leading to a police report and a simple posting on an internet forum. Follow the jump to learn what ensued.

Continue reading Nissan Skyline GT-R thief busted by internet forum members

Nissan Skyline GT-R thief busted by internet forum members originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Taking Liberty: Car thief blunders big-time with trade-in

Alex Nunez — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 14:05:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Jeep

Today's tale involving the questionable decision-making skills of criminals comes from Norwalk, CT. It seems that one Jazrahel King had visited the Wholesalers of America used car lot on Main Street in the hopes of test driving some vehicles. The staff at the dealership nixed the drives, however, after discovering that Mr. King had some issues with his credit.

According to sales manager Diego Coleman, this particular setback did not exactly deter King, who was seen by staffers walking around the lot at the same time Coleman was prepping a recently-sold 2003 Jeep Liberty for customer pick-up. The Jeep, which had the keys in it, must have been left unattended for a moment, because the next thing anyone knew was that both the SUV and Jazrahel King were history.

Read on to learn how not to flip your boost.

[Source: AP via the Connecticut Post]

Continue reading Taking Liberty: Car thief blunders big-time with trade-in

Taking Liberty: Car thief blunders big-time with trade-in originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Apr 2007 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Gone in 4 Seconds - Protecting your valuables and ID

Frank Filipponio — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 11:41:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Videos

Even if it's obvious, it never hurts to remind people to be more careful on the road or around their vehicles, so we figured we'd share this video clip with all of you. Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne offers a frightening look at how quickly and easily a thief can make off with your valuables and/or your identity by showing actual surveillance cam footage from a Broward County incident.

We're told the usual stuff about keeping doors locked, being aware of our surroundings, etc. -- common sense tips, to be sure, but it's in familiar or routine situations, like filling up at our local gas station, where one often lets his or her guard down. An interesting point is made about larger vehicles being targeted because of the lack of visibility on the other side. Sounds to us like just one more reason for everybody to drive sports cars.

Follow the jump to watch the video.

Thanks for the tip, Brad!

[Source: Broward County Sheriff's Office]

Continue reading PSA: Gone in 4 Seconds - Protecting your valuables and ID

PSA: Gone in 4 Seconds - Protecting your valuables and ID originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Feb 2007 11:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Stealing a car to get to your auto theft court date probably not the best plan

Joel Arellano — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 12:35:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Mercedes-Benz

Thomas Minks is either hopelessly compulsive, or a candidate for a World's Stupidest Criminal Award. Last Thursday, Mink was at a crack house when he remembered he needed to appear in court on theft and auto theft charges from stealing a vehicle back in January.

Apparently having no other forms of transportation, Minks elected to swipe a 2002 Mercedes-Benz S500 V owned by Lucas Evelio Hernandez. Police tracked the stolen vehicle via its GPS system. Minks tried to evade the officers, nearly running two of them down before being subdued with a stun gun.Needless to say, he faces a few more charges.

[Source: Miami Herald]

PSA: Stealing a car to get to your auto theft court date probably not the best plan originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 01 Apr 2006 12:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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