Stolen car

[Michael Weber]

Daughter was out of town for a few days and someone steals her 1994 Honda Accord right out of her driveway one night. Who the heck steals a locked 20 year old car??? She’s mad because she had put 220000 miles on it and she really wanted to get to 250k.

[Brian Elfert]

The 1994 Honda Accord is the #1 most stolen car in the USA. The fact they last so long means a lot are still on the road and in need of parts. Thieves can part them out for good money. They also have little in the way of anti-theft devices unlike newer vehicles.

[David Weaver]

Next time, put a fake sticker on the windows that says it was a partnership product in joint cooperation with Chrysler corporation.

Nobody will touch it.

[glenn bradley]

Next time, put a fake sticker on the windows that says it was a partnership product in joint cooperation with Chrysler corporation.

Nobody will touch it.

So you've owned your Chrysler product too, eh? Many folks seem to own one . . . those of us who learn never own another ;-)

[Brian Elfert]

I've owned six Chrysler vehicles in my lifetime. All have been been pretty good except the Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab. The Quab Cab was miserable in the back seat and the doors were thin enough to flex a lot going down the road. One issue with the older Chrysler vehicles was the lack of creature comforts that other vehicles had. My 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan is the base model and is really well equipped. It has features I would have never expected on a base model vehicle.

[David Weaver]

I think the last one that anyone in my family owned that we liked had a slant six. Indestructible car. It wasn't something that made you feel special riding in it (I don't go for that, anyway), but it did what it was supposed to do.

My parents have had uncanny luck with ford products. Almost to the point that I can't believe it, but they have. That's converted them. I've been converted to the stripped down japanese vehicles.

Not that it has anything to do with the topic, but I did see an early 1990s model caravan sitting behind a new volvo SUV at the stop light while I was waiting for the bus yesterday. It led me to think about where we've gone wrong with utility in cars. The caravan was a little worse for wear, but I'll bet it had more room in it that is easier to access, and gets a lot better mileage, especially in the city where the weight difference matters. Chrysler did a good job popularizing the caravan and making good ones for a while.

[Shawn Pixley]

Who steals a 19 yo car? Joyriders or people needing parts. The neighbors' 90 something Nissan pickup was stolen. It was found about two weeks later about three miles away - undamaged. Somebody likely stole it after a night of drinking on the beach, drove it close to their house / apartment and abandoned it.

[Jim Rimmer]

My daughter's car was stolen from the Burger King where she worked while she was in high school. I asked the cops the same question; they said much the same as has been said here about parts but also they are stolen for use in a crime and then dumped. Long story short: her car was a green Ford Granada (8 years old, 130K miles) parked next to a green Ford Fairmont. Fairmont owner had sent tranny shop to get his for a checkout. When he went by to find out what was wrong, they said nothing is wrong. "Where's my car?" "Right there." "That's not my car." The key he gave them also worked in my daughter's car. They just towed her car back, picked his up and left with out telling anyone what happened (I found out by doing some sleuthing on my own). So she was quite surprised to got to work and find her car back where she had left it.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Good story Jim

[Charlie Velasquez]

1998... My son borrowed my '90 Ranger, "The Pickle", to move into college apartment. After the last load he rearranges boxes for an hour, then returns to parking lot to move truck; it's gone. Immediately call the police, they say we'll keep an eye out (translation- way down on our list). We put an ad/reward in local papers- no luck, neither from the ad nor the police. Every tan Ranger we see reminds us of the truck.

Finally give up. Old work truck, liability only, so we chalk it up to experience. A couple of months later my son and his brother are driving past a convenience gas station and say, "There is another truck that looks like the Pickle... It is the Pickle!"

Sons call the police then go into the store to watch the kid that was paying for gas. Scrawny kid, so they feel brave enough to confront him. Kid takes off, very fast. Police don't show so they decide to just drive it on back home. Four blocks later, siren and flashing lights.
Even with the convenience store's security tape of the kid, they never did catch him.

[Jim Becker]

Michael, there is truth to the previous comment about the Accord from that time period being one of the most stolen vehicles in the country. They are hot, hot, hot for chop and even just modding directly. Consider them something like the popular "hot rods" of yesteryear...

[ray hampton]

I seen myself on the banks security camera a number of times and I would have a hard time using this method to identify anyone unless they got a up-to-date camera

[Steve Meliza]

I did see an early 1990s model caravan sitting behind a new volvo SUV at the stop light while I was waiting for the bus yesterday. It led me to think about where we've gone wrong with utility in cars. I know which of these two vehicles I'd feel safe about putting my family into. It would be the one made by the company that proactively researches car crashes and implements new safety features before they become required by law. The next time you get in your car and put on the 3-point seat belt pause to think about which car company invented it in 1959, patented it, and then opened it up for all other auto manufacturers to use for free.

[David Weaver]

I know which company also modified other companies' vehicles to make theirs look better in relative comparisons (wasn't it volvo who did that, either modifying steering columns or cutting some of the supports in competitor vehicles. That was long ago enough that I can't find any information on the internet about it, but I was a motor trend reader at the time, maybe early 1990s).

That said, the car I compared the new volvo to could just as easily have been a volvo wagon right behind it and the utility vs waste issue would be the same. I just personally think car design has gone in the direction of wasteful, heavy and lacking utility when room and usefulness are compared to their piggish weight and exterior dimensions. The whole crossover thing irks me because they're designed to give people a station wagon that doesn't look like one, they just cost 50+% more, weigh another 1000 pounds and get worse mileage.

Either way, I can't say I live in the "scare me into it" world of looking for perfect safety. One of the best things I've seen in the last decade was Mike Rowe's speech where he basically said "what if safety isn't first?". The difference in price and ownership cost between a volvo and what I drive is effectively enough to put one of my kids through college if the purchase is made three times (though my cheap car scored the same as the XC 60, it wasn't determinative in picking the car)

[Michael Weber]

Turns out the police from a neighboring community (they were delivering someone to their home) spotted the car only about 4 blocks from my daughters house. Had a busted trunk lock but otherwise okay. So she is happy to be on her way to 250k on the car.