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Re:Car Insurers Find Tracking Devices Are a Tough Sell by nroets on Tuesday January 12, 2016 @02:26AM (#10886047)
Over the last 2 decades, technology has secured many products from common criminals. Think of Internet banking or the authentication provided by mobile phone SIM cards.

Yet cars theft is still surprisingly common. Why is that ?

Re:Car Insurers Find Tracking Devices Are a Tough Sell by semi-extrinsic on Tuesday January 12, 2016 @02:54AM (#10886115)
Because car manufacturers are idiots who, in the race for the most "ooh, shiny" features don't appear to understand what "improvements" are actually useful and appreciated. If you look at many of the nice features on an S-class Mercedes, for instance, they're neither expensive nor technologically advanced, yet other car manufacturers don't see them as selling points. E.g. the ability to get cold air in your face and warm air on your feet simultaneously. Or the tiny fabric flap between the driver's seat and the central console that stops stuff from your pocket falling down into that hard-to-reach gap.

To wit: look at the amplifier attacks that got hundreds of Range Rovers stolen in London last year [1]. Is the tiny effort saved in not getting the keys out of your pocket worth a 50x increase in the chance of your car being stolen? And the subsequent large increase in insurance premiums? Most reasonable people would say "No".

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/oct/27/thieves-range-r...

Re:Car Insurers Find Tracking Devices Are a Tough Sell by rconti on Tuesday January 12, 2016 @02:46AM (#10886098)
Car theft has virtually fallen off a cliff in the United States. In 2013, the rate was 1/3 of what it was in 1991 (the peak for auto thefts in the US).

https://www.nicb.org/newsroom/news-releases/historical-look-...