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  Geebo 10:59 am on February 8, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: austin ( 4 ), cars, texas ( 22 ), vending machine   

  Would you buy a car from a vending machine? 

  

  Are you the kind of person who hates to shop for a car? Do you hate having to deal with salespeople who you know are trying to rip you off just to make a big commission? Do you wish you could just press the buttons of E and 5 and have the car of your choice of produced magically in front of you? Well now you can.

  AN online car dealership has opened what they call a car vending machine in Austin, Texas. The structure is a five-story tall glass structure that houses 30 cars. However the term vending machine is a bit of a misnomer. You still have to finance and make your actual selection through the dealership’s website, however when you go to pick up your vehicle they give a giant novelty coin to put in the machine to get your car.

  Thankfully, it’s not like an actual vending machine. Could you imagine having to lug $30,000 or more in quarters only to find out that you’re a few dollars short. Then you take out the crumpled bills in your pocket and try to straighten them out against the change machine only to have your selection of vehicle get stuck in the machine that has a sign that says ‘no refunds’? That would actually be worse than dealing with a sales person.

   

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  Geebo 1:07 pm on December 8, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: car theft ( 3 ), cars, grand theft auto, security ( 46 ), technology ( 7 )   

  New device could make anyone a car thief 

  

  Before cars became mostly electronic and computerized it took a skilled thief to steal or break into a locked car. Only a select few had the talent to be able to pick the lock or use a slim jim to gain access to the inside of a car without breaking the window. Then if they wanted to steal the car, in most case they had a tool that would pull off the ignition and they’d be able to start the car with a screwdriver. Now, the more electronic a car becomes the more points of failure it has when it comes to auto theft.

  If you have a car that either opens the car or can be started remotely there’s a pretty big chance that it could be stolen by just about anybody. Investigative reports have determined that there is a device used among thieves that relies heavily on your cars wireless remote features. For example if you lock your car using the wireless key fob that came with it, this new device can clone the wireless frequency your car uses then replicate it to gain access to your car’s doors and ignition.

  So outside of buying a car that predates these electronics what can you do to protect your car from being stolen this way? While many of these cars use sophisticated electronics many of them still use old-fashioned keys. Rely more on the physical keys themselves when locking or unlocking the car and the criminals have a less of a chance of cloning your signal.

  The odds that this device will be used around your car are slim but it’s better to be prepared than to have to deal with an insurance company over stolen car.