Autoblog

Grand Theft Auto goes high-tech in the digital age

John McElroy — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Technology

Modern Car Thieves Outsmart The Law By Cloning

Car thieves are adopting depressingly creative ways to clone cars.

When it comes to car theft, the good news is that law enforcement has become so good that theft rates have dropped for a decade. The bad news is that this is forcing car thieves to become far more clever and daring than they ever were in the past.

Not long ago, chop shops were the favorite fence for car thieves. They'd drop off a stolen vehicle where it would get "chopped" into its most lucrative parts and sold off for big profits. But today, chop shops are practically passé. Now car thieves find it faster, safer and more profitable to "clone" a car.

Cloning is not a new practice, but it's becoming more and more popular. It involves stealing a car, then creating a new title and VIN for it, but doing it in a way that makes it very difficult for law enforcement to track. And car thieves are adopting depressingly creative ways to clone cars.

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit" and daily web video "Autoline Daily". Every month he brings his unique insights as a Detroit insider to Autoblog readers.

Continue reading Grand Theft Auto goes high-tech in the digital age

Grand Theft Auto goes high-tech in the digital age originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Report: Thieves swipe $140K BMW 7 Series in Detroit during auto show *UPDATE

Jeff Glucker — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:29:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Sedan, Etc., BMW, Luxury

2010 BMW 760Li - Click above for high-res image gallery

The 2011 Detroit Auto Show is proving to be more eventful for BMW than the automaker had originally intended. As workers were preparing to load a BMW 7 Series onto a transport truck near Detroit's Westin Book Cadillac hotel, a pair of thieves jumped in and drove off with the German luxury sedan. The car is said to be worth $140,000, and as of this writing, local police have had no luck tracking down the stolen vehicle. Thankfully, this 7 Series is equipped with BMW Assist, which locates a vehicle if it's stolen, so it's only a matter of time before cops close in on the BMW bandits.

If some brand-new 7 Series parts wind up on Craigslist's Detroit-area 'for sale' section, we're willing to bet the sale price is too-good-to-be-true for a reason.

Gallery: 2010 BMW 760Li: Quick Spin

Photos copyright (C)2011 Steven J. Ewing / AOL

*UPDATE: According to a new report in the Detroit Free Press, the missing BMW 750i xDrive, now understood to be worth $94,000, has been recovered at a gated apartment complex on Detroit's west side. It is not immediately clear if the car's onboard tracking device led to its recovery by police, or what the condition of the vehicle is.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Report: Thieves swipe $140K BMW 7 Series in Detroit during auto show *UPDATE originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Protect your sound system with smarts

Chris Tutor — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:34:00 EST

Filed under: Audio, Gadgets, Tuners, Etc., Technology

One of the easiest ways to customize a car is to yank out that factory radio and stick in something with more snazzy looks and more jazzy sound. Unfortunately, thieves know how easily your new stereo can be yanked out.

There have been many variations on the concealment method of stereo protection through the years. One of the most popular being to hide the newer unit behind a nest of wires to fool would-be crooks into thinking someone had beaten them to the prize. But over at Instructables, there's a new twist to the trick.

The key to the hack is to conceal your upgraded stereo behind what looks like your car's OEM unit. There are step-by-step instructions showing you how its done, from mounting the old radio's faceplate on a removable fascia, to making the fakery look even more unappealing by halving a cassette tape for added realism. They used "Christmas With the Brady Bunch," which might work in a Geo Metro in December, but would be probably guarantee your G35 getting busted open in July.

[Source: Instructables via Gizmag]

Protect your sound system with smarts originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Thailand gov't delivers crushing blow to Ferrari

Chris Shunk — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:03:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Etc., Government/Legal, Ferrari

In Thailand, exotic car theft is a pretty common occurrence, and thieves are pretty sophisticated about it, too. First, they make off with the vehicle's important components. Then, after the police seize what's left, the criminals purchase it at auction at about 15% of its value. This is "car laundering," and local officials have caught on to the ruse. Now, rather than auction cars off to the people who stole them to begin with, the government will simply crush what's left behind. Here's an example.

In June, Thai officials seized a Ferrari 456GT that was stripped of its ABS brakes, transmission, wiring systems, and exhaust. In proper condition, the car would be valued somewhere between 30 and 40 million Baht. In its stripped state, it likely would have brought under Bt 5 million at auction. If the original thieves were to re-acquire the car at that low price, and then restore it to working order with its own stolen parts, it could be sold at a tidy profit. So the government decided to make an example of the GT and sell it off as scrap. Enter one heavy excavator, exit one Ferrari 2+2.

It's a shame, really, but Thai authorities are serious about efforts to dissuade car laundering. At the very least, thieves won't be flipping this one for a quick buck...er...Baht.

Thanks for the tip, Gregg!

[Sources: The Nation, WreckedExotics]

Thailand gov't delivers crushing blow to Ferrari originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments