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The statistics are alarming. Car theft cost $8 billion nationally last year. Almost two million vehicles are stolen each year in the US. Two percent of those thefts are classified as car-jackings. Top auto-theft centers are those adjacent to international shipping facilities.
Profit margins for the crooks are large. A $15,000 car can easily be turned into $60,000 in parts by rings of car thieves. Dismantling a car is a science in and of itself. Professional thieves can totally strip a car in a matter of minutes.
Anti-theft technology, however, is gaining on the problem. From a $40 Club to a $2,000 full alarm system, more and more new car owners are choosing to protect their monetary investments.
In 1995, motorists spent $675 million on anti-theft devices.
Experts predict that number will almost double by the year 2000. Some units combine motion detectors and alarms. Others have buttons built into the console that, when pushed, will automatically call 911 and broadcast whatever is occurring in the automobile at the same time the exact location is transmitted via a Global Positioning System. Yet another system can be instructed to shut down the vehicle and lock all the doors and windows. When a crook is unlucky enough to steal an automobile so equipped, he may suddenly find himself at a dead stop, locked inside the car waiting for law enforcement to show up – like a gaily wrapped Christmas present just waiting to be opened.
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