Raid said:
I wonder if that report gave the actual percentage figure for their claim? I have a Mac sticker on my car and a personalized licence plate... hell I even have my iPod holder in plain sight (but I'm not dumb enough to leave my iPod in there). I find alot of those stories fear mongering sensationalism. Even sadder is the underlying theme to the story (i.e. The only way to protect yourself is to blend in, be anonymous, don't talk to anyone, lock your doors, run and hide...) which boils down to a kind of 'expressing freedoms or individuality is trouble' mentality.
At any rate I'm happy to see people with Mac stickers on their cars. It's nice to know that I would have something in common with that guy ahead of me (other than being stuck in traffic).
i don't know how the crime is in toronto, but in major us cities, car theft is rampant...mostly, it just comes down to common sense...it's ok to have individuality, just don't be stupid about it...when i visited the island of kauai, locals told me there is no car theft...with an island in the pacific which has a radius of a few miles and a road that goes around it...and not even completely around...i would say that your car is safe
i would not want to park a customized license plate sportscar, which indicates wealth somehow, or let's say, a stanford law school alumni sticker or the like, and park the car overnight in the bad areas of los angeles
my friend who has a flashy car seems to always have it broken into where he lives and sees that the less flashy cars, which is every car in sight, are not broken into...he's not rich, but the perps think he is and breaks into his car anyway just in case he has goods locked in his trunk...his car is immaculate and tricked out...he has a college sticker on the windshield from an expensive college
basically, the car sticks out in the neighborhood it's parked in and though it's a working class area and there are nicer homes than the one his car is parked in front of, his car is much different than the old wrecks that litter the neighborhood ,or newer cars which are much more low key in appearance
i worked for this very rich entrepreneur who owned several stores and he used a van to shuttle goods between them and his warehouse...that van was the most unsightly, rusted piece and he did it to hide what he had inside...which often were expensive antiques he would buy from estates and dealers