Edmunds Says Manuals Don’t Necessarily Prevent Thievery
Stories of manual transmissions foiling would-be car thieves have been popping up in the news throughout the past few years. In instances that sound more like they should be on America’s Funniest Home Videos rather than on the local news crime beats, there are people who legitimately have broken into, then started cars, only to get caught because they couldn’t figure out how to work a clutch and shift into gear. In a world where manuals are increasingly less popular, that’s the state we’re in today.
The good people over at Edmunds had this on their minds and wondered whether or not it’s a legitimate reason to buy a manual or an advantage of owning one. After all, these stories are in the news because they’re rarities. It’s generally not reported when a thief breaks into a car with a manual, and is actually able to drive it away. Considering the Corvette is one of the last sports cars with a manual, it seemed relevant to y’all’s interests.
Now, this report is already a couple years old, so take it with a grain of salt, but according to Edmunds, Frank Scafidi, director of public affairs for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, said there’s not enough information to confirm or deny this theory.
“Some thieves might be thwarted in their attempt to steal a car with a manual transmission, since many thieves possess varying levels of intellect,” Scafidi said. “That very personal element is also a factor in the degree of expertise necessary to overcome some of the more sophisticated security systems. … But there are those in the car thief ranks who are quite capable of making off with anything that they intend to steal.”
Basically, it neither hurts nor helps. If you think that having a manual adds an extra layer of security, you could be right. If the people are dumb enough to steal cars, then they might be too dumb to work a stick. But there are plenty of extremely clever thieves who will thoroughly enjoy your brand new Corvette, stick or no stick, as well.