Floyd

iTrader: (9)

Just read my copy with the article about the EVO's and Scoob's being stolen. Simon DB put our side of the story across and overall it was quite a good article IMHO.

This was the chap who posted for info about a month back and was heavily flamed. It seems he was reasonably balanced afterall.

Mind you if I hadn't read the stats at the end I would be very paranoid now.

F

airhead

what issue/page please so I can have a look.

dteagles

Could you provide a brief resume of the article, along with stats?

Cheers,
Darren.

Mad Max

Yeah, I don't get topgear in portugal anymore...

Iain Cockburn

...my god. I wasn't that bothered about the car being stolen but I am now. After reading this article about car jacking and burglary of keys I'm now concerned. Whether it's a 22b of impreza turbo the criminals want it and according to this it's set to get worse, back to the days of the cosworths. Be aware.

tonybooth

Good article that can be found on page 78 of July's BBC Top Gear Magazine.

Other motoring magazines are available

TONY

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

Stats were 21/1000 scoobs stolen and about 5/1000 EVO's (I think).

Conclusion - you'll be unlucky to be a victim if you take sensible precations, garage your car, immobilise, hid keys and lock your doors wilst driving. But if this'll only stop your average scumbag, if they really want your car for a 'blag' then there's nothing you can do apart from a tracker system.

F

p1 media

phew ! no what you mean.... cant believe the number of times i've "accidently" left my garage unlocked at night... still fairly confident my Tracker device will keep the car safe....... but it does make you think ....


Greg

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

Yeah, I agree.

With what Simon said.

Mind you you couldn't expect any other approach from a daily rag. They'd love it if they could promote the idea that the scoobs/evo's are gangsters cars and they could get to print more stories about them.

F

Rebecca

Just to make matters worse .... the Top Gear article also featured in yesterday's Daily Star (I read it for work purposes ... before anyone says anything) .... with the lovely headline

The Perfect Getaway Cars and pics of both the Scooby and the Evo.

Owners of high-speed Japanese motors are being targeted by criminals seeking the perfect getaway car. The Mitsubishi Evo VI and the Subaru Impreza Turbo have become the underworld's ideal wheels for ram raids, armed robberies and bank heists.

With a top speed of 155mph and superb four wheel drive handling and traction control they can outrun most police cars in a chase.

Some terrified owners have been stopped and forced out of their prized motors at gunpoint.

Now BBC's Top Gear has joined motoring organisations, car clubs, and police to issue specialist advice to owners of the road-burning saloons.

And West Yorkshire police have even written to every Subaru owner on their patch warning them of the problem.

Scoobynet - the website of the Impreza Owners' Club - has now warned members to be vigilant at all times in case criminals follow them home. It tells owners: "Check your rearview mirrors for following cars. Do not drive home if the car is still following you. Drive to the nearest police station or a CCTV equipped petrol station and call the police on your mobile."

The Top Gear probe noted: "The Impreza and its soulmate, the Evo have become the Mk2 Jaguars of our time. In order to acquire them, thieves are not just stealing them from the roadside, but have started carjacking their owners or breaking into their houses to find the keys."

One bright spot is the efficiency of tracking devices. Six P1s have been nicked, but all were recovered, undamaged, inside an hour.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Well, we'll all rest easy in our beds now won't we.

SDB

I really don't think this is a bad thing..

It *could* have been, if we hadn't worked so ahard with Top Gear to reduce the sensationalist aspect of the article, and I have to say I'm grateful to them for that.

The daily star's snippet shows how the tone could have easily been different..

but..

If anything this is just bringing heat to the cars. I would think that criminals might start to see them as too conspicuous now, more owners will fit trackers and become more vigillant, and eventually the cars will be more hassle than they're worth.

Cheers

Simon

Darren Thompson

Parked outside the parents-in-laws last night and a police car stopped next to Scooby and hung around so I went out and asked what the problem was. The reply gave me some confidence which went something like " saw your Subaru and didn't recognize it from around here so we were doing a check on it." The next question was "Is this your car sir?" and then a chat about the car and one of the police men in the car was a rally fan and so it went on. Nice to see them doing some real work.

Darren.

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

"...CCTV equipped petrol station and call the police on your mobile." Lets just hope those warning signs to switch off your mobile phone at petrol stations are not based on fact