Need advice: building a James Bond-ish secure 100 (1 Viewer)

[modus]

Thanks guys for all the help and suggestions. This has given me multiple ideas.

I'm traveling from central PA to southern OH. Between the turnpike and I-70, I travel 500 miles each way

When the attempted carjacking/robbery happened, I was outside of a decent sized city and it was daylight. They paced me for a good 30-45 minutes. I had zero interaction with them so this wasn't road rage.

They tried to stop my on the interstate by slowing me down. I have been through defensive driving school, so I knew getting out of the situation was the best idea. I was able to drive around them in the grass median and when I did, they gave chase. We hit speeds as high as 110 while I was on the phone with 911 and Mercedes Me. I was finally able to get away from them or they just gave up.

Never saw a cop and they didn't even callback to get a description of the car. Nothing.

 

[hoser]

There are immobilizers that will shut off the vehicle if the immobilizer FOB is out of range. So, the carjacker drives a few blocks and then the vehicle shuts down. The downside, you are carrying a separate FOB along with your car keys and the system adds a failure point.

 

[GremlinMobile]

I thought the primary concern was a robbery, for which all the armageddon outfitting ideas are great. But a car jacking? Who jacks cars anymore? Hard to get away with it nowadays, and you have insurance that covers you anyway.

OP's story seems suspect at best. He had to go 110 MPH to escape someone on a highway during daylight? Cops never called back? Mercedes without a blown engine? Give me a break!

 

[krice118]

Buy some really good smoke bombss and hold it out the window?

 

[Mike NXP]

I thought the primary concern was a robbery, for which all the armageddon outfitting ideas are great. But a car jacking? Who jacks cars anymore? Hard to get away with it nowadays, and you have insurance that covers you anyway.

OP's story seems suspect at best. He had to go 110 MPH to escape someone on a highway during daylight? Cops never called back? Mercedes without a blown engine? Give me a break!

Lol dude there is still some hood ass gangster s*** going on all the time. People jack cars on a regular basis...story seems wild but I've heard crazier.... Maybe hes tied up in some mob affiliations


Either way. my advice remains the same, anything less and you might as well be on a bicycle

 

[NE Snowman]

There are immobilizers that will shut off the vehicle if the immobilizer FOB is out of range. So, the carjacker drives a few blocks and then the vehicle shuts down. The downside, you are carrying a separate FOB along with your car keys and the system adds a failure point.

What sucks is then you’re a standing target w/ no vehicle at that point. They’ll be back looking for you and why the car don’t work, and you’ll no quick transportation out of there.

Carrying is great but once you pull that out of the hat, so may a lawless thief.

Honestly blending in and not looking like a target($$$) is the best, I know this can’t always be done.

At the end of the day losing a car is better than your life. There is no reasoning with people trying to jack someone’s car.

 

[Manhattan]

Shift your mindset. It’s not you vs. the bad guys… it’s you vs. other targets. You can’t stop crime. You CAN make yourself look like a less attractive target. Any mildly built 100 (like 90% of the trucks on this forum) looks much less attractive as an easy mark. Lifted trucks in general scream “armed” or at least willing to get rowdy. A stock GLE screams “I rule the pickle ball court”. Kidding aside, put yourself in the bad guy’s head for a min. Who would you go after?

 

[NE Snowman]

This, it’s way smarter to look poor but have wealth than to look rich and deal with those problems.

 

[MechE30]

Shift your mindset. It’s not you vs. the bad guys… it’s you vs. other targets. You can’t stop crime. You CAN make yourself look like a less attractive target. Any mildly built 100 (like 90% of the truck on this forum) looks much less attractive as an easy mark. Lifted trucks in general scream “armed” or at least willing to get rowdy. A stock GLE screams “I rule the pickle ball court”. Kidding aside, put yourself in the bad guy’s head for a min. Who would you go after?

I’ve never heard a better way to justify my next bumper purchase!

 

[hoser]

What sucks is then you’re a standing target w/ no vehicle at that point. They’ll be back looking for you and why the car don’t work, and you’ll no quick transportation out of there.

Well, a good system would have a timer. In 30-60 seconds, they will get pretty far.... far enough for you to take cover. Add an AirTag to your vehicle to locate it after they abandon it.

 

[modus]

Shift your mindset. It’s not you vs. the bad guys… it’s you vs. other targets. You can’t stop crime. You CAN make yourself look like a less attractive target. Any mildly built 100 (like 90% of the trucks on this forum) looks much less attractive as an easy mark. Lifted trucks in general scream “armed” or at least willing to get rowdy. A stock GLE screams “I rule the pickle ball court”. Kidding aside, put yourself in the bad guy’s head for a min. Who would you go after?

Thank you for this great advice. I certainly dress to blend in. LOL!

I agree the GLE probably made me a mark, as I was also traveling alone. Sad that we work hard to attain things we enjoy and can't enjoy them.

 

[MongooseGA]

I think if a GLE in your area screams wealthy, it's probably the area that's the problem.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Thank you for this great advice. I certainly dress to blend in. LOL!

I agree the GLE probably made me a mark, as I was also traveling alone. Sad that we work hard to attain things we enjoy and can't enjoy them.

You should move out of that area. Living in an area where driving a mid-grade Mercedes SUV makes you a mark is crazy. This isn't Haiti, this is the USA.

I think if a GLE in your area screams wealthy, it's probably the area that's the problem.

That's my thought. If that car makes you stand out in a dangerous way you can fix the car problem, but you're still choosing to exist in an area with all the other quality of life detractions that go along with that.

 

[MechE30]

Idk this story seems sus. How can we be sure these weren’t very persistent Mormons?

 

[hoser]

You should move out of that area. Living in an area where driving a mid-grade Mercedes SUV makes you a mark is crazy. This isn't Haiti, this is the USA.

He's driving 500 miles between two homes. I think most of us live within 500 miles of a shady area.

 

[MongooseGA]

Idk this story seems sus. How can we be sure these weren’t very persistent Mormons?

Or someone just wanting to check the status of his vehicle's extended warranty.

 

[suprarx7nut]

He's driving 500 miles between two homes. I think most of us live within 500 miles of a shady area.

Living within range of a bad area is one thing. Having no choice but to trek straight through an area where you're concerned enough with violent crime to armor your vehicle? That seems.... unusual.

 

[hoser]

@suprarx7nut You did read the part about this happening on an Interstate Highway, right? I don't know about you but I'm thinking it is much more difficult to carjack a moving vehicles versus one that makes a lot of stops.

 

[plainjanefjc]

The cordless hole puncher is still the best solution.

 

[Jwoodywild]

Get a police trained Belgin Malanois. Not only is it a great pet but nobody is going to approach the car let alone stick their limb into the vehicle.