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 airbag theft teasley




From: het3@panix.com (Harry MF Teasley)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: First The Club - Now The Cap
Date: 26 Oct 1995 13:21:28 -0400

Lane A Highbarger bequeathed:
> Last time the question of whether there has been a rash of airbag thefts
> was brought up, I seem to recall the consensus being that there is no
> proof. No increase in insurance claims ect. In the FAQ lingo, I guess
> that "airbag theft" gets a Fb. Please feel free to correct if my memory
> is failed^H^Hing.

I phoned the San Diego Police, and after a few misdirected calls got in touch with their Crime Analysis Unit and spoke with a female officer who did not wish to give me her name, and she said that she could not find any instance of airbag theft in her database. She seemed very casual about the call and did not seem to take looking for the info very seriously, so I doubt that her word was final. She did say that she "had heard of [airbag theft] occuring back east." Voracity meter did not even flicker the needle.

> It now seems that the manufacturers of The Club (car anti-theft device)
> have taken advantage of the airbag theft legend, and have created 'The
> Cap', a device that fits over the steering wheel and prevents such a
> theft from happening. This was reported on NPR's morning edition as one
> of the mail order catalogue Christmas gifts for your paranoid friends.
> I, for one, am looking forward to perusing my Christmas influx of
> catalogs to find the price and availability of such a useful item.

I called Winner International Corp in Sharon, PA, makers of the Club, and spoke to a woman in their Consumer Relations department. She said that Winner is not the manufacturer of The Cap, but they will be marketing a similar device, The Shield, later this year. I asked her what the primary reason for this device was, and she indicated that it was to counteract the cutting-of-the-steering-wheel club removal that is prevalent. I asked if airbag theft was a crime with which they were familiar, and she said, "I know we've received many calls about it. I know in New York City, there seems to be generating(sic) a lot of calls from there." Hmmmmm...

I asked how Winner intends to market The Shield, and she said she only had a preliminary information sheet on it as it hasn't been released yet, but she said it was going to be touted as preventing the cut steering wheel theft and airbag theft, so they are going to mention airbag theft in their advertising. She could not direct me to any study or data they might have accumulated regarding airbag theft and suggested that I call the NYPD.

Oh, she did not know who makes The Cap, but that she read something in _Money_ magazine about it within the past few months. I'll see if I can track it down (the local Kragen and the Auto Parts Plus did not have The Cap).

Winner International can be contacted at 412 981 1152.

Harry "Out in the field; perhaps I should've asked these good folks what folklore they've heard lately, and where it originated and what the permutations were" Teasley

--
"Tradition and the status quo cannot be underestimated as enemies of free expression." -Edward D Wood, Jr


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