2021: Car Thefts Gone Wild

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The thieves were extra busy this year…

2020 seemed like quite the year for car thefts, but 2021 has resulted in the trend worsening, not getting any better. Here are some of the most memorable and shocking car theft stories we covered this year.

Milwaukee Car Theft Skyrockets 152%

Thanks to a perfect storm of conditions, including a lack of legal consequences for apprehended car thieves, the rate of car thefts has been shocking. One of the worst examples is Milwaukee, where car theft was up 152 percent at the beginning of 2021. The worst district in the city saw a 259 percent increase.

Read more about the car theft problem in Milwaukee here.

Thieves Steal From The Dodge Factory

File this under “Most Embarrassing Car Theft of 2021”: criminals stole two Dodge Durango Hellcats from the Toledo Assembly Complex parking lot right after they rolled off the assembly line. One of the performance crossovers was crashed into a pole and fire hydrant, but all the suspects got away from the police.

Check out the photos of the messy aftermath here.

Hellcat Stolen In 8 Minutes

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so video of thieves using several lookouts while one guy boosts a Dodge Hellcat in just 8 minutes opened a lot of eyes. This helped to illustrate how many thieves are using sophisticated equipment and techniques, as well as working in coordinated groups, all of which screams organized crime. It also highlighted why Hellcats are such popular theft targets.

Check out the original story and see the video for yourself here.

GT500 Boosted From Dealership

Unfortunately, thieves not only hit private residences but also kept going after dealerships for easy pickings in 2021. One of the most valuable acquisitions by criminals was a brand new Shelby GT500 swiped from a dealer in Winchester, Tennessee.

There’s a reward for the return of the car, which you can learn about here.

Transport Driver Attacked

Like we said, car thieves went after dealerships in aggressive fashion. Unfortunately, a car transport driver found that out the hard way when dropping some vehicles off at a BMW dealership in Chicago in the early morning hours. A group of guys beat him up so bad he landed in the hospital, all so they could swipe a few cars.

Check out the shocking surveillance video here.

Stolen Challenger Chopped While Driving

Usually thieves park a stolen car before chopping it up, but in a bizarre twist a teen driver chopped a Dodge Challenger while it was moving. The kid was driving 100 mph through a Detroit neighborhood, lost control, and hit a tree, which ripped the muscle car in half.

You have to see the pictures of the crash here, they’re really something else.

Tom Cruise, Victim

Hey, car theft affects everyone, even famous people like Tom Cruise. The actor had his BMW X7 stolen while he was filming the 7th Mission Impossible movie. The luxury SUV was parked on a street in Birmingham, UK and was recovered in nearby Smethwick.

Learn why we think it was recovered so easily here.

Gate Crashing In Florida

A family in Westchester, Florida was shocked to hear a car thief crash through their driveway gate using their Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door, sending sparks flying. Another thief drove the family’s S-Class through the crashed gate.

The family made a critical mistake which made the theft easy. Learn what it was here.

Renting Out Stolen Cars

Out of Australia comes the interesting story of a father and son who were enterprising enough to launch their own car rental service using stolen luxury vehicles. Their customers were notorious crime figures in the Sydney area, which has been plagued with car thefts like many major cities across the world.

Check out the details here.

Ford Model Ts Swiped

Proving that the problem is so bad not even Tin Lizzies are safe, we covered a story about two Model Ts stolen out of Temple, Texas. Granted, the two classic cars were in a trailer and thieves might have thought something more valuable was being stored inside, which also highlights the risks of parking a trailer with anything inside it overnight.

Read more about this heartbreaking story here.

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