Posted on 08/28/2019 6:25:50 AM PDT by Red Badger
Anyone who’s lived in California will advise you to never leave anything of value out and visible inside a parked car. That’s just an open invitation for a car thief to break in. But now it seems thieves are going beyond ransacking a car’s interior: A San Francisco woman returned to her Toyota Prius only to find the car disassembled and its main battery pack stolen.
Multiple reports say that Marjory Kaplan parked her 2017 Prius just down the block from her apartment in Pacific Heights. Upon returning to her vehicle, she found that someone had stolen the Prius’ mid-mounted central battery pack, the one that supplies power to the hybrid-electric system, and not the auxiliary functions under the hood.
"You know, you go looking for your car and you know what you car looks like. It didn't look like my car. It looked like a jalopy car. It looked different. It looked disheveled," Kaplan explained to ABC7 News. "They took the seat out, cut all the wires and removed the battery, which I understand weighs 180 pounds.”
Hi from Pacific Heights where a woman came out to find her PRIUS had been disassembled and car BATTERY stolen. (As a fellow Prius owner I didn’t even know this could happen!) @abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/l6DBO1gKcF — Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) August 25, 2019
Battery pack thefts have been on the rise since ABC7 News first reported on the increase back in 2015. The packs are resold on the black market, which harks back to the days when clever thieves stole catalytic converters off new vehicles to extract the expensive precious metals found inside.
But what's different about this theft is that no windows or doors were forcefully damaged during the break-in. Rather, a small rear window was tactfully removed to gain access. This is a clear indication that the battery thieves are professional and know what they’re doing.
“It’s very organized, yeah, it’s very organized,” Jeff Garcia, a Toyota mechanic, told KRON4. Garcia said his shop is in the middle of repairing four other Prius cars whose batteries were stolen in a similar manner. “It’s not just the battery they’re stealing, they’re damaging all the harnesses and everything else around there. Seatbelts are being cut.”
"Had I been lucky enough just to have the window broken and the change taken," Kaplan continued. "I would have been very happy."
As a result of the battery theft, she’s reportedly facing a $5,000 to $10,000 repair bill.
A street-view security camera was nearby, but unfortunately it was pointed the wrong way, so Kaplan doesn't expect much to happen. She also plans to sell her car after the repair and to depend more on public transportation.
Ah, San Pelosi-Sh*tsco. No t*rd left unpooped, no moral left alive, no criminal left in jail (or even described), and no conservatives allowed.
Google heaven.
Some people have no pride at all.
Bless their hearts.
The poor dear. Now she better buy boots. To walk in the streets. San Francisco streets.
Like a good little lefty.
Californians love it
I read a sci-fi novel, written in 1982 by Robert Heinlein, where he described the California of NOW to a tee. I thought it was crazy then, could never happen.
The California Confederacy, as it was called in the novel ‘Friday’ is a post apocalyptic amalgamation of California, Oregon, Washington and parts of Nevada and Arizona. The US had been broken up into several regional powers..................
The new thing here is catalytic converters. In Walmart or Target parking lots. Go in and do some shopping and come out and your catalytic converter is gone.
At USC Columbia, a couple of cars had their converters stolen during normal hours in a staff parking lot.
Well that took awhile.
About 7=8 years ago, using battery powered Skill saws, theives in the Sac area were cutting off new catalytic converters and selling them in illegal after markets.
There is even a UTube by Wikipedia showing how to do this.
“If it’s not nailed down it’s mine. If I can pry it up it wasn’t nailed down.” thieves or lawyers ... traditional
... and one regional Stupid....
Now you know how to get rid of your cat/dog feces - wrap them up real nice and leave them in your car.
Too much work - fill up an Amazon box and leave it by your front door.
Thanks.
I just ordered a free Kindle sample of this book.
Often, I quote his insight here on FR.
100% citiot.
Battery-Cam
If you live around a toilet, and don’t flush it, expect it to stink. If you can put up with the stink, and don’t take care of the filth, it will mold and in time it will grow mold that is dangerous to you. If you let the really bad mold continue, it will make you sick and kill you.
See the similarity? The toilet needs flushing and cleaning. And the top of the tank needs to be wiped down and sterilized like their government. Then it will smell fresh and be safe again as soon as you get rid of the filth.
rwood
It’s also prescient in another way, the entire western world is controlled by multinational conglomerates.
The story is basically about warring factions within on of them......
This was written before the PC, Internet, Google, et al........
I’m sure the electric car market will soar on this news.
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