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You know, we should not be condoning stealing cars, but the route Mitsuhisa Kobayashi used to nab eight different cars was a pretty smart one. A fact that is already telling of his character, Kobayashi has two ex-wives—both of which he instructed to rent cars. He then made copies of the keys and planted GPS tracking devices, similar to this one , on the car. The ex-wives returned the cars and Kobayashi simply waited for them to be rented again and got away with the vehicles. His reasoning behind stealing the vehicles was pretty simple, as well: I wanted to drive my favorite cars. I sold the other five cars on the Internet. With copycat criminals running rampant, it may be time for car rental agencies to invest in a little protection . [ Daily Yomiuri Online ] (Image via Getty)
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LOL UR CAR IZ GONE is what Cistrak will be saying when your car is stolen. Cistrak is a small, boxy device that allows for a car to easily be tracked by utilizing text-messaging technologies. Of course, it could also be used by overprotected parents fearful that their kids are hooning it up all over the state. Luckily for everyone involved, the device is fairly simple to use. Once your car is stolen, or you feel the need to find out where it is, you call the Citrak. It has a designated number. Once called, the Cistrak will immediately send a text message back to the called number with the exact location of the vehicle, including the postal code of the area it's in. Also available is an online service that allows over-protective parents or paranoid car-owners to set a vehicle safety zone. If the car ever exists safety mode, the Cistrak will start firing off alerts and text messages to mom and pops, or to obsessive owners. Cistrak isn't cheap, at nearly $600. It also requires an annual...
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We told you about the development of a cop-car-mounted microwave transmitter that can fry a vehicle's microprocessors almost three years ago , and now it's working pretty well. Pasadena-based Eureka Aerospace claims its device, which weighs about 200 pounds and is suitable for mounting on a car roof, should be ready for vehicle deployment within 18 months. We're not quite sure what will happen to, like, all the other electronic stuff that happens to be in its line of fire (this baby has a peak transmit power of two gigawatts ) when the cops are trying to shut down some parole absconder's primered-out Mercury Sable, but we're sure hilarity (and litigation) will ensue. [MIT Technology Review]
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