All the cool children are stealing Kias and Hyundais. Owners of those vehicles, who seemingly thought their autos had safety measures that went past “hope the thieves target someone else instead,” are understandably upset — their costly property are disappearing earlier than their eyes.
It’s gotten so unhealthy that 17 cities have filed impartial lawsuits in opposition to Kia and Hyundai, however the firms assume they shouldn’t need to pay up. Instead, the 2 automakers try to shift the authorized blame to outdoors events: TikTok and police reformers.
A story from Reuters covers each excuses by the businesses, beginning with the TikTok protection. The outlet quoted Kia and Hyundai, which claimed they shouldn’t need to pay for crimes “resulting from an unprecedented criminal social-media phenomenon.” If the phenomenon had been precedented, do you assume they wouldn’t have tried this protection? I’m considering no.
The automakers additionally tried to shift blame to “budgetary decision-making that diverted public safety resources away from the prevention and disruption of auto theft and reckless joyriding,” a thinly-veiled jab at efforts to defund and restructure police departments throughout the United States. There’s just one drawback with this protection: Those defund efforts by no means occurred, police spending continues to extend year-over-year, and cop budgets have by no means meaningfully correlated with crime charges anyway. Besides these minor particulars, although, the protection is hermetic. Looking ahead to seeing this one argued in court docket.
For the 17 cities at present suing Kia and Hyundai, this retort from the automakers is a press release. It says the businesses gained’t roll over, gained’t admit legal responsibility, and gained’t hand out a penny that isn’t mandated by a decide or jury. For the house owners of these vehicles, it paints an much more disappointing image: The firm that offered you your automotive clearly doesn’t have your greatest pursuits in thoughts.
Source: jalopnik.com