[The Champ]

Originally Posted by gtohurstjudge

It's amazing that the whole car wasn't missing when you came back out.
Since about 1990 it has been unsafe to park a nice GTO anywhere out in the open unattended. If you go park your car in unattended public parking lots, take a Ford
Taurus or Honda Civic.

I'm sure glad I don't live by you...

I've been driving my '64 since 1994 and in nice weather it gets parked outside with the top down. Fathers Day we took a cruise to an arts and craft fair 40 miles away and had it parked in a public lot near the park.

Of course, I live in flyover country near the corn fields, so maybe it's just a little bit different lifestyle.

[gtohurstjudge]

Originally Posted by The Champ

I'm sure glad I don't live by you...

I've been driving my '64 since 1994 and in nice weather it gets parked outside with the top down. Fathers Day we took a cruise to an arts and craft fair 40 miles away and had it parked in a public lot near the park.

Of course, I live in flyover country near the corn fields, so maybe it's just a little bit different lifestyle.

Dorothy, you are not in Kansas anymore! Here in Dallas if you park a nice GTO
in an unattended large parking lot at a movie theatre, shopping center, the mall, a grocery
store etc. chances are you won't like what you see when you come out to get back in
the car, if there even is a GTO to get into! One of my friends restored a 70 GTO convertible
and stopped at a shopping center for fifteen minutes on the way back from a car show
and both sides of the car were keyed all the way from the front bumper to the rear bumper..
this was on a new 16,000 dollar paint job. I was amazed that the car was even there at
all when he came back out. In Plano where I live, organized gangs prey on all the public parking lots along
US highway 75 and steal anything that is older and doesn't have an antitheft system. By the next
day the cars and trucks are in Mexico. I have a spare beater car that I use primarily to go to movie theatres, the mall,
along hiway 75, etc. I wouldn't dream of parking any of my nice cars in such an area, even my late model stuff.

[jasonblair]

Originally Posted by gtohurstjudge

Dorothy, you are not in Kansas anymore! Here in Dallas if you park a nice GTO
in an unattended large parking lot at a movie theatre, shopping center, the mall, a grocery
store etc. chances are you won't like what you see when you come out to get back in
the car, if there even is a GTO to get into! One of my friends restored a 70 GTO convertible
and stopped at a shopping center for fifteen minutes on the way back from a car show
and both sides of the car were keyed all the way from the front bumper to the rear bumper..
this was on a new 16,000 dollar paint job. I was amazed that the car was even there at
all when he came back out.

I would actually be surprised if lots of GTOs are stolen... They aren't exactly low profile, and chop shops probably don't have an easily fungible market to sell the parts to. That's why I always hear the most commonly stolen cars are Camrys, Civics, etc...

I'm sure people would love to steal a GTO for the joy-riding aspect, but I would think the vast majority of professional car thieves would move on.

[gtohurstjudge]

Originally Posted by jasonblair

I would actually be surprised if lots of GTOs are stolen... They aren't exactly low profile, and chop shops probably don't have an easily fungible market to sell the parts to. That's why I always hear the most commonly stolen cars are Camrys, Civics, etc...

I'm sure people would love to steal a GTO for the joy-riding aspect, but I would think the vast majority of professional car thieves would move on.

In my area Mexican gangs steal most of the cars and they prefer the old cars as
they can work on them themselves. If you park an 87 cutlass supreme outside overnight
where I live you'd better have an armed guard standing beside it or it likely will be gone by
morning, no matter how trashed out it is.

[zeebo]

Originally Posted by gtohurstjudge

In my area Mexican gangs steal most of the cars and they prefer the old cars as
they can work on them themselves. If you park an 87 cutlass supreme outside overnight
where I live you'd better have an armed guard standing beside it or it likely will be gone by
morning, no matter how trashed out it is.

same in detoilet..i didnt figure my 82 cutlass was worth its weight in gold until i started looking on dub websites...lol...all my large cars i love..caprices, park avenues, etc are stolen more than new $40k cars!

[PonchoV8]

Originally Posted by jasonblair

I would actually be surprised if lots of GTOs are stolen... They aren't exactly low profile, and chop shops probably don't have an easily fungible market to sell the parts to. That's why I always hear the most commonly stolen cars are Camrys, Civics, etc...

I'm sure people would love to steal a GTO for the joy-riding aspect, but I would think the vast majority of professional car thieves would move on.

On the contrary. Very nice cars get stolen like that, frequently. They have a VIN and title to a junker and just swap them on it and, Voila. Several have been stolen locally in the past year or a little more. Some go overseas where you don't need a title from America. Some to Arabs and some to Central America in shipping containers.