theft


VW Bus stolen 35 years ago returned in mint condition... to Allstate

In 1974, this 1965 Volkswagen Type 2 (a.k.a. 'Bus') was stolen from Washington State. Fast-forward to October 19 of this year and custom agents at the Port of Los Angeles open up a container bound for Europe only to rediscover said van. Somehow, the Bus's VIN was still in the LAPD's stolen vehicle database. Guess which 1965 Type 2 is no longer headed for Europe? Here's where it gets a little bit foggy, a little bit weird. According to the Los Angeles Times, the cops and the feds can't find the original owner. And the gentleman that ... Read more →

REPORT: Omaha Toyota dealer employee accused of selling $282,000 in parts on eBay Chris Shunk

James Norwood was hired on at Old Mill Toyota in Omaha, Nebraska in 2000, eventually working his way up to parts and service director. At the same time, Norwood reportedly sold over $548,000 in ...

Irony Police: U.K. authorities reportedly resorting to 'theft' to discourage stealing Jonny Lieberman

England is a very strange place. Not only do they like having a royal family, but they talk like this: "Oi. Buncha southy Londoners are suddenly stroppy over the constable's wonky plan to nick ...

REPORT: Tough times yield more insurance fraud cases Michael Harley

They're called owner "give-ups," and their rise is a sign of the tough economic times. Despondent over being financially strapped and unable to cover car payments, vehicle owners are ditching, ...

No Quarter: Aussie gang pinched for stealing over $550,000... from parking meters Noah Joseph

Ever since the advent of the parking meter, there have been hoods cracking them open and stealing the coins inside. Historically, we're talking about nickels and dimes here, but while those can add ...

REPORT: FBI busts up $25M car cloning ring 8 months ago on Autoblog

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has shut down a car theft ring operating in the U.S. for more than 20 years, causing in excess of $25 million in losses to owners and banks. According to CNN, the ring would clone cars, swiping the legal identity of one car – VIN numbers, tags, stickers -- ...

Three Nebraska auto execs disappear... along with 81 cars 8 months ago on Autoblog

Perhaps it began as an innocent experiment among dealer personnel: what would happen if three dealership executives all disappeared on the same day and 81 of the dealership's cars showed up at auto auctions in two other states? The answer to that question is that the FBI went bird-dogging on the ...

Innovative UK car theft kingpin jailed 10 months ago on Autoblog

Recently, a Cadillac once owned by Steve McQueen was caught up in a theft ring in Colorado that stole the car from a rental company, "sold" it to a new owner - one of the theft ring members - and then re-stole it to claim the insurance. They might have got the idea from London's Nokhiaz Khan, a man ...

People turn to torching cars in bad economy 1 year ago on Autoblog

Vehicle owners behind in their payments and faced with mounting debts have begun taking matches to their cars and trucks in an effort to stop their payments and collect the insurance settlements. Unfortunately, in most cases the attempts backfire (pun intended). According to police, when ...

Whoops, eh? - Canadian Ford ad spurs backlash 1 year ago on Autoblog

The Catch-22 with advertising these days is that someone will undoubtedly be offended if your campaign is clever enough to be memorable. Ford of Canada came up with such an effort for the Escape, showing the CUV wearing a bumper sticker with the phrase "drive it like you stole it," and the tagline ...

Dubious pioneer: Russia's first stolen Maybach 2 years ago on Autoblog

Picture this, you're stuffing your face full of gourmet food, giving your gullet a real workout, and you look up from your plate just in time to see your Maybach speed by. That last bite sticks in your throat, refusing to budge. Whoever absconded with your über-uglified super S-Class boots ...

eBay Find of the Day: Jeep Grand Cherokee Commando Edition 2 years ago on Autoblog

Here's a familiar morning routine now that the weather's turning colder: start car, set heat on high, retreat inside to finish coffee. There's plenty of debate for and against the practice of warming up by idling, but the unfortunate story of this ZJ could bolster the argument for just getting in ...

LoJack Europe foils Lamborghini Gallardo thieves 2 years ago on Autoblog

LoJack's international recovery network makes it increasingly difficult to escape its satellite eyes. Here's the best example yet. Two Albanian thieves broke into the Italian vacation of home of a Frenchman and knocked him out with sleeping gas. They then stole his French-registered Gallardo. When ...

Grand Theft Auto, Malaysian style: 1 Porsche stolen by 1 thief... twice 2 years ago on Autoblog

The guy who pulled off this 2-part heist is probably now teaching cucumbers a thing or two about being cool, and instructing killer bees in the value of persistence. The unnamed -- and uncaught -- thief walked into a Porsche dealership in Malaysia nattily dressed and holding a checkbook. He asked ...

Bristol break-in stops the presses 2 years ago on Autoblog

Bristol, a little known British builder of expensive luxury and sports cars, opened up its shop this past Monday in Patchway, England to find a rude surprise. Thieves had broken into the factory over the weekend and, instead of stealing cars, ripped off the company's presses that stamp out body ...

Out of sorts: Race team's transporter stolen, 2 cars missing 2 years ago on Autoblog

Sorted Performance had its Speed World Challenge racing season come to an abrupt halt earlier this week when its transporter consisting of a 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 dually and 48-foot Gooseneck Haulmark Edge triple axle trailer were stolen from a Hampton Inn parking lot in Livonia, MI. Team manager ...

Beckham's stolen Bimmer turns up as personal ride of Macedonian official 2 years ago on Autoblog

You may recall last year we posted on David Beckham's intimate experiences with grand theft auto. His armour-plated BMW X5 was boosted from a shopping mall parking garage in Madrid, Spain despite the high-tech anti-theft security system onboard that the criminals may have used a laptop PC to ...

VIDEO: BMW lock decoding secrets explained 2 years ago on Autoblog

We knew that certain footballers abroad were having problems with their X5s being lifted, but we were unsure about how this could happen in such a short period of time. Well, the veil of secrecy behind how Bimmers are being broken into has been lifted and we're absolutely amazed at the speed in ...

Ex-manager arrested for stealing $67 million from DaimlerChrysler 3 years ago on Autoblog

A 41-year-old man who formerly worked as a manager for DaimlerChrysler in Europe has been arrested and charged with breach of trust and falsifying documents for allegedly bilking the automaker out of $67.35 million. You'd think they charge him with theft too, but whatev. The man worked as a manager ...

Forget the car - crooks want what's inside 3 years ago on Autoblog

As the interiors of our cars start to resemble the sales floor at Circuit City, and as auto manufacturers get increasingly better at discouraging at least casual thieves (the pros will just roll your ride onto a flatbed), what's inside your vehicle may now be more attractive than the ...

Escalade achieves highest theft rate 4th year in a row 3 years ago on Autoblog

The Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, has revealed the Cadillac Escalade had the highest rate of insurance theft claims for the fourth year in a row. About a quarter of the claims were for over $40,000, which means that thieves were often ...

$450K show car gets Grand Theft Auto treatment: $5K reward for return 3 years ago on Autoblog

It’s one thing when thieves outside a 7-11 nab your winter beater. It’s another whole thing when low lifes hijack your $450,000 vintage 1937 Ford convertible show car along with the 1999 Ford F350 and trailer in which it was being transported. This one-of-a-kind vehicle nicknamed ...






Autoblog Podcast #154: Gobbling up the News

Chris, Sam, and Dan kick out a podcast just in time for the long holiday drive.

 
 

Featured Galleries

  • 2011 BMW 5 Series sedan
  • Texas unveils new Vanity Plates
  • Spy Shots: Next-gen Buick Excelle for China
  • 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe
  • Hyundai 2.4L Theta-II GDI
  • Ginetta G50EV and John Surtees at the Channel Tunnel
  • 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser
  • Review: 2009 Infiniti G37x S Sedan
  • Quick Spin: Superformance MKIII-R
  • 2011 Buick Regal Live Unveiling
  • BMW Concept 6
  • Zenvo ST1 Details
AOL Autos

Find Your Next Car

Resources

10 Most Searched Cars on AOL Autos

Autoblog Video

Autoblog Green

Daily Finance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum