The British restaurant critic took it pretty hard…
On April 10, British celebrity restaurant critic Giles Coren took to Twitter to let his 224,500 followers know someone had stolen his Jaguar I-Pace, an all-electric SUV, the previous night. He seemed pretty emotional in the post and we get it, having your car swiped feels like a huge violation. The man was so mad about the incident he threatened to buy a 6-year-old Skoda diesel, like that would cause the thieves to see the error of their ways.
Gordon Ramsay has way better taste in cars. Check out his collection here.
What really got Giles worked up was the ease with which the thieves apparently boosted his ride and the fact the GPS tracker wasn’t showing him where it was located. Jaguar Land Rover responded to the tirade, saying it “takes vehicle crime very seriously.” It went on to say the company spoke with Giles directly but won’t disclose details of such exchanges since they are “confidential.”
In other words, we won’t know if something in the Jag malfunctioned or if the thieves had a GPS blocker with them. Also, we have no idea how they broke into the vehicle and started it all without triggering the alarm or immobilizer. Giles claims the thieves cloned his key, which certainly seems possible. He also said the GPS tracker was jammed, but Jaguar Land Rover apparently helped fix both issues.
In total, Giles posted 21 times in 2 days about his stolen Jaguar EV, which seems a little overboard. Instead of his situation turning out like it does for so many others, the man actually got his precious SUV back and in one piece. He was so ecstatic he posted a photo of himself kissing the electric kitty’s grille badge.
This incident does highlight a sad reality of vehicle theft: even as automakers use increasingly sophisticated technologies to stop thieves, the criminals also lean on technology to subvert those systems. It’s a constant arms race, so sometimes the thieves win and get your car.
Relying on more than the vehicle’s onboard antitheft systems certainly helps, like keeping it in a locked garage at night. Giles thinks he has a solution: a steering wheel lock which fits over the entire steering wheel and hub since he has to park in the street.
