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Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

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231–240 of 670 posts

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a little early to be drinking isn’t it? The city is suing to recover the money they spent on all the police efforts expended because Kia cut corners to reduce costs.

No it's completely ridiculous that police think this is a car manufacturer issue. This is a failure of the police

I don't think you realize how easy it is to steal these cars. Look up a few videos. You rip off the plastic on the steering column, pry out the ignition cylinder and then use the A end of a usb cable to turn the exposed nub to start the car. Under 30 seconds. While there are other issues going on, this is gross negligence on Kia/Hyundai to not use an immobilizer.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#232

I live in Baltimore, in a pretty "good" part of town where most of the young professionals and Hopkins hospital staff live. I know 4 different people who've had cars stolen in the past 24 months. In 3 of these cases the perpetrators were teenagers, and in 2 of these cases they brandished guns. Only one of these thefts were Hyundai/Kia-related, and the thief punched my buddy in the face during the theft. Many others I…

Haha it won't take Ra's or Bane, just more time and more people with money moving into the city and helping to build out the tax base.

Imo now is a great time to buy property if you can deal with the rest.

Sorry to hear about the bad string of luck those close to you have had. It's vile and disgusting how much psychopathic behavior is tolerated by some residents in the city.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#233

I live in Baltimore, in a pretty "good" part of town where most of the young professionals and Hopkins hospital staff live. I know 4 different people who've had cars stolen in the past 24 months. In 3 of these cases the perpetrators were teenagers, and in 2 of these cases they brandished guns. Only one of these thefts were Hyundai/Kia-related, and the thief punched my buddy in the face during the theft. Many others I…

There is data on the Kia/Hyundai problem that is unique to these makes because they cut corners on safety features that are standard across industry -- I don't know why your anecdote of people getting carjacked is relevant at all?

> "Theft and violence reigns supreme in a lawless urban wasteland" > "How are these anecdotes relevant?"

This is a tremendous leap in logic, but I am suggesting that Baltimore's problems can and do exist wholly independently of the engineering standards of Korean automakers

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#234

I should point out to those not from the US that this is how Americans view the US. There is a lot of crime, the government and NGOs are on the side of the criminals etc. It is up voted to the top as well, with agreement in the replies, this is how Americans view the US. The US incarcerates more people than China, despite China having more than four times as many people, but the view obviously is the incarceration ra…

>I should point out to those not from the US that this is how Americans view the US.

No, it isn't. It's the opinion of a single person, and you're taking it for granted that their comment was made in earnest and that they truly represent 'the American view' -- whatever that is.

>So those outside the US can get insights into what the US is and how it thinks from threads like this.

No, they can't. They can learn about the opinion of a single person.

Can you point me to a country with such a unified opinion that any single person can cover the opinions of the entire populous?

If not, why would you assume that such a case may exist for the United States?

And more to the point, the premise was that it is ridiculous to hold the manufacturer of stolen goods to be wholly responsible for the theft in a jurisdiction that has law enforcement -- do you disagree with that, or do you just care to make an example out of someone?

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#235

Is this Hyundai/Kia theft disproportionately rampant in other cities as well? If so then Baltimore may have a reasonable case. If not then it’s a Baltimore problem.

Yes. This was literally a 3 second google, and the first damn hit:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2023/05/09/stolen-...

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Locking up violent people and thieves is very popular among those outside the US! You're right about the comparatively huge US prison population, but the difference is NOT because other countries let violent people and thieves roam free!

That is a false dichotomy version of what they're suggesting. And what do you think is the difference?

The difference is the US has more people who commit violent crimes.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#237
post #193

I should point out to those not from the US that this is how Americans view the US. There is a lot of crime, the government and NGOs are on the side of the criminals etc. It is up voted to the top as well, with agreement in the replies, this is how Americans view the US. The US incarcerates more people than China, despite China having more than four times as many people, but the view obviously is the incarceration ra…

It would take Ra's al Ghul to resolve the problems of this city FWIW, the parent poster doesn't want increased incarceration, they want these people executed (probably without due process).

>FWIW, the parent poster doesn't want increased incarceration, they want these people executed (probably without due process).

that isn't just wrong -- it's not even what parent said.

Their hyperbole was pointing out that the perceived situation is so bad that it would take something drastic to turn it around, not that they in anyway wanted or desired it.

There is a lot of purposeful misinterpretation/mis-reading going on in this thread, it seems.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#238

I live in Baltimore, in a pretty "good" part of town where most of the young professionals and Hopkins hospital staff live. I know 4 different people who've had cars stolen in the past 24 months. In 3 of these cases the perpetrators were teenagers, and in 2 of these cases they brandished guns. Only one of these thefts were Hyundai/Kia-related, and the thief punched my buddy in the face during the theft. Many others I…

Yeah, at some point in Chicago and Baltimore people figured out that career criminals vote, and will vote in their own interests. Very few people vote in local elections anyway, so they've managed to elect a ton of prosecutors who promise not to prosecute. Feels like the 70s in Urban America repeating itself. I feel bad for the older Black population in Baltimore. They busted ass for the last 50 years and they got to…

Why? There are plenty of middle class black neighborhoods in Baltimore and the long term outlook continues to look better after the nadir of 2015.

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You cannot make something that you know will cause a nuisance. You cannot, for instance, sell fireworks only between 1-3am in the middle of a neighborhood and act surprised when the neighbors are mad at you because kids are setting them off all night. It was absolutely predictable that these cars would be stolen and that the police would have to deal with the fallout. Just because there's no explicit law does not mea…

Yea, I'm really surprised at all this defense of these corporations. They produced and sold a defective product, which is causing monetary damages to cities as they need to deal with the predictable exploit of that defect. I'm sure the city is prepared to show that these damages are a result of the companies' negligence. If I owned one of these defective cars, I'd also be keen on participating in a lawsuit against th…

[flagged]

Re: Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

#240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The product sold doesn't comply with the stated fit of purpose. A consumer has the reasonable expectation that an ignition switch will hamper the efforts of someone to steal their car. There are lots of consumer protection laws that can be applied here - up to fraud. I suspect Baltimore isn't as interested in the the money to be gained as they are in generating negative PR for KIA and thus forcing them to address the…

That's not criminal, that's a tort. Baltimore, not being the customer, probably lacks standing.

And Baltimore is asserting they have standing regarding financial damages incurred from policing the thefts. If only there was some way to resolve whether the defendant or plaintiff is the correct party!
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