Sometimes people do things because it is a challenge. Maybe this is how thieves get their kicks. Another boring smash and grab, versus something more unique.
Re: The Club. Walking over to shopping while my preferred indy shop was servicing the car yesterday, I noticed one car with a club mounted. Then another without a club, just the entire steering wheel set up on the dash, not mounted to the steering column.
Not a Prius, just some other random car parked on the street, in the residential neighborhood between the car shop and the nearby shopping district.
I saw a Youtube Video about car theft. The thieves "steal" your signal when you use the fob to lock the car. I always use the button on the door handle to lock the car.
I interpret this story quite different. For opening doors, the thieves are using relay boxes. Using the button to lock your door is no protection against this, because their devices can still talk with your fob. They just need to get close to your fob, being within relay range at the moment they open the door. Apparently some cars can be restarted later with a recording from the fob, but there is no indication of being able to open doors with such a recording.
