Kias and Hyundais Keep Getting Stolen by the Thousands and Cities Are Suing | A viral Tiktok trend that began in 2021 demonstrated how the companies failed to install a basic anti-theft technology …::A viral Tiktok trend that began in 2021 demonstrated how the companies failed to install a basic anti-theft technology that made them trivially easy to steal.
It’s worth mentioning that this impacts only US vehicles from those brands.
And only the key operated ones. Push to start are not affected.
“Push to start” may stop someone driving off in the car, but they are still targets.
Thieves smash the windows, hop in, see the lack of key startup, then hop out. You still will end making a call to the police or insurance company.
Having “Hyundai” or “Kia” anywhere on the car makes them a target of thieves, even with push to start.
More needs to be said. Insurance companies have raised the rates of basic, liability only, for a salvage title car, by more than 70% increase in the last 3 years. $440/6mo > $770/6mo.
This is an attack on all motorists in a way I’ve never seen. Financially attacking everyone for two car models that have been designed to be targets of “model”, and to allow children to make a mess of their futures.
What leverage can we possibly have against this exploitation?
I hope it’s the result of not using the metric system.
No, but it is the result of deregulation. Similar models sold in Canada don’t have this issue because (drumroll please), federal regulations require immobilizers on new cars. Free market at work folks.
But Canada operates as a free market without the issue…sounds more like a US govt with a weak regulator problem.
A free market requires stringent regulation to function humanely and morally. The two are at odds with each other. My final sentence is a critique of neoliberalism, an ideology in which regulation is reduced and power is given to corporate entities and away from regulators. It’s been impossible to escape in politics since Thatcher and Reagan, and leads to some of the worst aspects of today’s society that we havr to suffer. One of which is the poor people who bought a car assuming it’d be safe, just to find that the companies saved a quick buck to their loss. I hope the people win these lawsuits, but I doubt the justice system has the teeth (or willingness) to prosecute this negligence as it should be.