OC mall exotic car incidents

Not only am I concerned about parking the Ferrari I am equally concerned about taking my Hellcat Redeye Challenger around SoCal. Crime is out of control and don't want to be a target. I am extremely cautious and limit taking these cars where they will be parked and/or out of sight for even a little while. Cruises and car meet ups are all good - Just make sure you are not being followed when you get home. Crazy times.

 

My parents who live in SoCal won’t wear any jewelry out, won’t drive nice cars. It’s insane what the state has turned into.

 

We have modified our behavior when out with the car. We changed how much jewelery and watches we wear and handbags. Doubt we will take the F car to malls going forward.

 

When in Rome ... Sad to say, some tricks of the trade apply closer to home as urbanization intensifies and economic stratification increases.

When we lived near Rome, local ladies would put fancy bags inside innocuous bags, fancy jewelry not worn in public spaces, and fancy cars not parked publicly. I can't tell you how many tourists I saw get purses snatched or reached into a pocket to discover the wallet was missing. A display of car wealth in a public parking lot was asking for a break-in while absent from the lot.

Gotta assess the time and place without assuming it stays the same as in the past. I'm not sure if safety with high end cars in mall parking lots is a rising concern since it is hard to factor the quick and broad communication these days compared to times past. South Coast Plaza has had private security patrols since at least 1980 to my experience. In the '80s the concern was tape deck theft. I don't know what the catalytic converter theft rate from late nights in malls is.

In the '90s car theft for models popular south of the border was a mall parking problem increasing as one got down to San Diego. I remember an Aston Martin theft outside a Newport Beach restaurant in the '90s. I heard the owner was in financial trouble and was very disappointed when the car was found in Mexico minus the Aston logo on the hood (bonnet) and returned to him.

In the 2000s the most active chop shop I ran across was in Buena Park when I was looking to buy a trailer. They were chopping Japanese cars and Chryslers. I'm not too worried about Ferrari theft, the resale market is a bit thin unless the car is chopped.

Nowadays I hear mostly about watch thefts and have not really heard of that many. But wealth redistribution does occur. Unfortunately the news skews reporting towards events one is relieved to have seen happen to someone else instead of yourself or about resources not available to all.

 

I also think that the carjacking attempt and shooting at Fashion Island highly suspect. Why were two guys alone with unusually expensive cars in the Fasion Island Parking lot when everything is pretty much closed? Also, why did he go to the Shell Station instead of the Police Station which is basically on the Fasion Island Property?

I always hope there was some sort of connection between the criminal and victim.

The incident with the older couple from New Zealand in Fashion Island, recently and where no exotic car was involved, is what makes people worry. Random crime.

 

I stopped driving in sketchy areas long ago. I'll still drive to facist island or southcoast plaza no problem but I am aware. Nothing is like it used to be. I'm aware even in my truck. I have a truck as a daily. It is the "high ground" and much more difficult to approach. My wife stopped wearing her rings long ago. It's too bad you can't wear nice things. Staying low profile is best. I'm not sure why I love Ferraris because they really do not fit into my life. My truck had 2 fishing rods and a 4x8 sheet of plywood right now. That's how I roll. In the Ferrari I can't even wear my pocket knife with clip because it scratches the cheesy soft Ferrari leather. In my truck I can stand on the leather seats with my ski boots to reach the roof with zero damage.