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Baltimore sues Hyundai, Kia over spike in car thefts

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

#271

Post by aimor »

aardvarkr wrote: post #18
aardvarkr wrote: post #8

Lots of comments that didn’t read the article so here’s a good excerpt on why there’s a lawsuit. Baltimore’s lawsuit says the companies “failed to keep up with industry standards,” and claim it was a result of business decisions made to reduce costs and boost profits “notwithstanding decades of academic literature and research supporting the deterrent effects” of anti-theft technology. “The dramatically increased rat…

It’s also worth noting that this was all started with a viral TikTok video showing Hire ridiculously easy it is to steal a Kia/Hyundai is. Here’s a collection of graphs showing the before and after of theft data in major cities. https://usafacts.org/data-projects/car-thefts

Those charts are great, really drives home how quickly trends like this explode and increase total car theft. Also interesting how regional it is, the exploit at its peak quadrupled car thefts in Milwaukee in less than a year so Baltimore has plenty of room for things to get worse.

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

#272

Post by jrochkind1 »

annexrichmond wrote: post #215

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.

The first line of the OP:

> The city of Baltimore has filed a federal lawsuit against car manufacturers Kia and Hyundai, joining a number of cities who say the companies created a public nuisance by making cars that can be easily stolen.

later on:

> Cleveland, St. Louis and Seattle are among the other cities that started suing the the car companies earlier this year.

I feel like this whole thread has a lot of odd takes stirred up by people's suppositions of what happens particularly in "Baltimore".

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

#273

Post by Natsu »

plagiarist wrote: post #222
macinjosh wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Schwinn does nothing to stop bicycle thefts. Let’s sue them too!

If a Schwinn-branded bicycle lock is so easily broken that the majority of thefts are from opening those locks, why not?

There will always be a most popular car to steal as long as there are car thefts.

Maybe the problem is the thieves?

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

#274

Post by Chris2048 »

plagiarist wrote: post #220
stickfigure wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You left your house unlocked? It's your fault" "You dressed like that? It's your fault"

Sorry, just to get this clear, you are likening an argument over a manufacturer creating defective products with arguments that might come from a rapist's defense attorney?

The argument isn't comparing the manufacturers liability, but that of the people choosing to steal the cars in the first place - why is it relevant how easy the cars are to steal?

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

#275

Post by tomp »

pySSK wrote: post #209
lordloki wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China has literal concentration camps and prisoner organ harvesting. I don't think your comparison means much.

[flagged]

> openly anti-communist organization

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Most organisations worldwide, are openly anti-communist, except those that explicitly support dictatorship and human rights abuse.

I guess that's a good thing.

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

#276

Post by r00fus »

g42gregory wrote: post #245

Maybe this is naive, but wouldn't the solution be not to sell the cars in Baltimore? It's not that large of a market and there are local car manufacturers there as well. Maybe require in the user agreement not to drive to Baltimore either, similar to the rental car agreements that don't allow for the cars to be driven to Mexico?

I mean, like, people relocate and stuff or go into other cities to buy cars. Banning sales isn't going to do much other than a middle finger to Baltimore.

Kia/Hyundai need to fix their security flaw.

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

#277

Post by MavisBacon »

btilly wrote: post #257
MavisBacon wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most career criminals have a felony conviction under their belt and thus would not be able to vote, so this does not make a whole lot of sense

The interaction between felony convictions and being able to vote varies by state. You can find a map of the rules at https://www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights/voter-restoration/... . In Baltimore, Maryland, you cannot vote while in prison. But you can once you get out. Felony conviction or no. (I honestly don't think that the population with felony convictions are significant factors in elections, but they can and d…

Ah my apologies, that change came in 2016 after I moved. Appreciate the correction

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

#278

Post by vanilla_nut »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #4

Imagine if a city sued homeowners because it’s their fault for calling the police after a break-in, because they used a deadbolt that failed the LockPickingLawyer. This is about equally as sane. Yes, yes, I know that Hyundai and Kia vehicles are easy pickings, but they talk as though “those vehicles are easy to steal, so those teenagers, they just felt so compelled to…” Nobody forces somebody to steal a car. If anti-…

The answer is enforcement: cars were much easier to steal in the past, and somehow we managed to deter theft anyway. But in many US cities if your car gets stolen the cops won't even pick up the phone. They openly admit there's next to no chance of recovery, and rarely help you even if you have some kind of tracking solution.

If you do manage to track down your car, you won't get a timely enough response from the police to hold folks who stole it accountable. Most of the time they'll simply claim that they procured the car from someone else, and the police don't push the issue. Same with bicycle theft.

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

#279

Post by jolux »

prmoustache wrote: post #265
lowkey_ wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

High incarceration rate makes sense when the US has a high crime rate. I don't understand why anyone thinks incarceration rate should not be correlated or would not be correlate to crime rate. Incarcerating criminals isn't the issue, having so many criminals is the issue.

Apparently incarceration and death penalty do not really work as a deterrent in this country. Is it because most of the violent crimes are related to drug addiction?

The US prison system is violent and brutal, which begets a high recidivism rate. In my opinion this is because American culture tends to confuse retribution for justice but opinions vary I'm sure.

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

#280

Post by jyrkesh »

plagiarist wrote: post #220
stickfigure wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"You left your house unlocked? It's your fault" "You dressed like that? It's your fault"

Sorry, just to get this clear, you are likening an argument over a manufacturer creating defective products with arguments that might come from a rapist's defense attorney?

If I buy a front door lock that has a systemic manufacturing problem and someone breaks into my house, I might want to sue the manufacturer.

But if someone breaks into my house--regardless of whether it was unlocked, the lock was defective, or they broke a window--and the police are negligent or incompetent in investigating or prosecuting the perpetrators, in what world is that a) not the police's fault? and b) an opportunity for the _police_ to sue the _manufacturer_?

If I start a cultural movement to get rid of front door locks and it gains traction, and then B&Es spike, can the police sue _me_ too?

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