# why is it so easy to hotwire a car? or is it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769 "2005-10-18T17:28:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/41 "2016-10-26T23:14:59Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > Wow. Doesn’t anybody in your country wear pants with pockets or carry purses? IANA Aussie but … Do you carry keys for cars you’re not driving? I sure don’t. I leave the house with exactly the keys I need; no more and no less. The rest are at home in the bowl near the front door. Back in the old days when keys weren’t these big fat plastic blobs o crap it wasn’t a big deal to have all your keys on one ring and carry that everywhere. Not so much any more. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/42 "2016-10-27T00:34:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IANA Aussie but … > > Do you carry keys for cars you’re not driving? I sure don’t. I leave the house with exactly the keys I need; no more and no less. The rest are at home in the bowl near the front door. Shhh. I liked my explanation better. But seriously I actually have my keys in my pocket at all times, and imagine many others do too. There are however a percentage of people who adopt your system, including my neighbours, who had their car stolen _while they were home and watching TV upstairs_ otherwise in exactly the way **NP** describes ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/43 "2016-10-27T00:52:04Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Shhh. I liked my explanation better. > … Me too. 🙂 Brisbane is about 27 degrees latitude. Miami is about 25. We’re both plenty enough tropical to avoid those pesky pants. Ventilation is good. As I recently said in another thread it reminds me of a favorite slogan from the 1960s: “Up with miniskirts! Down with hotpants!” ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/44 "2016-10-27T03:46:49Z")
Welcome to SD and all, **Benzo**. Allow me to say, in addition, that I asked my wife last night if you two had taken English class together and just as she dropped off to sleep she said Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/45 "2016-10-27T04:02:18Z")
Bwuh? ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/46 "2016-10-27T05:06:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IANA Aussie but … > > Do you carry keys for cars you’re not driving? I sure don’t. I leave the house with exactly the keys I need; no more and no less. The rest are at home in the bowl near the front door. > > Back in the old days when keys weren’t these big fat plastic blobs o crap it wasn’t a big deal to have all your keys on one ring and carry that everywhere. Not so much any more. Whadda’ mean “the old days”? I carry keys for 3 cars on my ring, only one of which I drive on a daily basis. And one of those cars has 3 keys (locking gas cap). The model years in question: 1975 1996 2005 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/47 "2016-10-27T06:00:40Z")
I don’t have a car but my wife’s car is a 2010 model. Why are we spoilering this information? ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/48 "2016-10-27T07:30:02Z")
It’s a new thing. Soon, all online communication will be spoilered. Then we’ll do all offline communication by meeting in secluded spots with the music playing loud so the mics don’t hear us talking and we’ll talk with our hands covering our mouths so the feds can’t read our lips. You read it here first. Wait, no. You didn’t read it here. We never had this conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/49 "2016-10-27T08:49:57Z")
[redacted] ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769/50 "2016-10-27T08:54:14Z")
Invisible Internet Ink! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-easy-to-hotwire-a-car-or-is-it/326769.md?page=2)