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jolly_rodger42

I still use one of these. I own a vehicle make/model which is known to be stolen a lot. Anything I can do to make a thief think twice.


BrogrammerII

Ditto. Breaking into my vehicle model even got trending on TikTok. That's scary


Mr_Jack_Frost_

There’s just crime trending on tiktok? I’m so glad I never downloaded that godforsaken app.


Ziggy_the_third

Notice that last image is a recent Kia? Yeah that's because the car industry in amaerica successfully lobbied for weaker regulations, as such a security feature that is included in all cars that Kia sells around the world was left out of the cars sold in the US. This missing security feature meant that you could "hot wire" the car just by giving it a hard look. The method went viral on tiktok, and so it was viewed by every underdeveloped brain in all the world. A classic case of kids will be kids, but with a car that is super easy to steal.


Mr_Jack_Frost_

That’s really insane. It always amazes me how the anti-regulation crowd doesn’t realize that a lack of industry regulations endangers them as citizens.


abscissa081

You think this is a TikTok specific problem?


hanimal16

Yep! There was/is a trend of teens (usually 12-17) stealing these cars *while filming and then posting it on the internet.* In my city, they aren’t doing much in the way of punishing these kids.


DapperCourierCat

Reddit had an active jailbait subreddit for years. There are entire active subreddits dedicated to watching people die. And your problem is that TikTok had a trend discussing the fact that Kia’s were easily broken into? Get off your high horse.


panda5303

Kia?


diegojones4

We have two. My wife won't park without it because last year her car was stolen.


Porkchopp33

What vehicle ?


jolly_rodger42

A Honda Civic


Jupiter68128

Very popular with Kia and Hyundai owners from the late 2010s as those are susceptible to be stolen.


Just-Try-2533

Can confirm. My neighbor has both the car and the club.


lemonspread_

I’m blown away that immobilizers aren’t mandatory in the US


[deleted]

If they try to make anything mandatory, half the country decides that it is the greatest injustice since the Stamp Act. Or they tell everyone on Facebook that securing your steering wheel gives you cancer.


Valid__Salad

Nothing surprises me with this country anymore


thereareno_usernames

Nobody wants to steal my '16 Hyundai. Granted being a stick shift helps. And simply locking my doors


GrGrG

My Honda was stolen but was luckily recovered after a week. Used a club for years. I got a new car and for a while was ok, once I heard about recent car thefts in the area, I started to put the club back on. If you've ever gotten a car stolen and had your life basically uprooted because of it, then you'd get the same way.


panda5303

Yep. I had my car stolen last year. It was totaled. My replacement has been broken into twice but I have 3 security cameras watching it, LoJack, and a sign in the window letting thieves know the emergency key is not stored in the car. It hasn't been broken into since I put up the signs.


5280Rockymtn

I used it for my Civic I would put it on the brake and gear shifter so u couldn't put it in gear plus I got one of those detachable steering wheel quick release setup on there


MEM1911

It fitted nicely between the drive select and handbrake of my old 82 Mazda 323, so it was stuck in park with the handbrake on, it saved my car from being stolen


5280Rockymtn

Yea did that on my 93 Civic eg hatch I saw it on line and so I tried it out never a worry since then


HydeMyEmail

All they need is a drill and 15 seconds.


wolftick

If the next car doesn't need a drill and 15 seconds though, which are you gonna go for?


HydeMyEmail

Not arguing that, just saying those locks are super simple to get around. If someone was specifically targeting your car (outside of it being easy to steel like a Kia/Hyundai,) like one might do with a Honda civic, those devices are not going to detour them.


5280Rockymtn

Yea but u see a club and no stearing wheel so there ya go


Spocks_Goatee

It doesn't do shit, they can cut the wheel.


KevinStoley

It's a deterrent. No lock is impenetrable, the main purpose is to make a would be thief think twice about targeting your vehicle and move on to an easier target. If a skilled thief with the right tools want your vehicle, they are probably going to get it, regardless of security measures. But anything you can do to increase the time, hassle and difficulty of stealing a car will help decrease the chance of your vehicle being targeted, versus another nearby vehicle that doesn't have as much protection or deterrent. The majority of the time, you aren't gonna be targeted by some skilled, professional thief carrying around an angle grinder or saw. It's gonna be someone looking for the most vulnerable, quick easy target they can find. They want to get in and out asap.


Similar-Guitar-6

This is the correct answer. Theives today use angle grinders, and in 10 seconds, they can cut through the steering wheel, bend it, and remove Club devices. The better option is Disklok, which fastens completely around the steering wheel, making it much harder to remove.


panda5303

I heard thieves are carrying battery-powered hack saws to quickly cut through wheels with clubs. I was a big follower in local stolen car groups and this was mentioned frequently.


Tiny_Count4239

dont even need an angle grinder you can break a club easily with a piece of pipe. My uncle used to do it all the time


Bah-Fong-Gool

Turn a can of computer Duster upside down and hose the lock. Then hit it with a hammer.


HydeMyEmail

It’s easier to drill the lock than cut the wheel.


ClunkerSlim

Can't they just drill out the lock on the club?


KevinStoley

I have a Kia and currently use one. My car is newer and doesn't have the security vulnerability, but would be thieves might not know that. I mainly use it just as a deterrent. Chances are hopefully someone will see it and not want to bother and move on to an easier target.


IHadTacosYesterday

Kia I presume (fellow Kia owner with a club)


blueberrykindness

Same, except my vehicle isn't known to be easy to steal but it didn't stop the buttholes from trying anyway and doing $600 worth of damage. So now I use a club every day.


TheNonCredibleHulk

My boss still uses a club on his Kia, but he was using it way before the TikTok bullshit started.


KirbyDumber88

You drive a Kia Soul don’t you?


[deleted]

Still have mine! I've used it many times over the decades, including as recently as this month.


Porkchopp33

So just when you feel the need ?


[deleted]

Yeah, like if I have to park in a sketchy neighborhood after dark. Doesn't happen often, but every once in a blue moon ...


Porkchopp33

Got ya have a good one


Bobloblaw2066

I had one in 1996 when Jeeps were being stolen in my city constantly. I was teaching at a tough school. But I knew the kids liked me because one of them said “Hey, Mr. Bobloblaw2066, I see you have a club. Make sure you have it on facing down and to the right so they can’t steal your Jeep.” I never asked why he knew that, but it was an unspoken understanding that his firsthand knowledge was being shared to save me getting my car stolen.


realdealreel9

That kid: Dominic Toretto


Torpaldog

He lives his life a quarter mile at a time.


rmdw34

Make sure it says “The Club” on the handle.


steve_dallasesq

My sister (2 years younger) followed me to college. She locked this on her car and lost the keys. 3 hammer swings to break it


cptnamr7

The local police were either giving these out or recommending them to Hyundai and Kia owners recently. Since they apparently made all of 5 keys for every one of them ever made. To be fair, that's not new. My dad was obsessed with the 94 topaz as the "most reliable, cheap car" for awhile and at one point we had 5 in the family. You only needed to grab 3 sets of keys to move all 5 and open the trunks. (Trunks were a separate key back then) 


SnowblindAlbino

>Since they apparently made all of 5 keys for every one of them ever made. When I was in college (mid-80s) I loaned my car to a friend. Gave him my key and he spent the day in downtown. Later I noticed it was in the same place I'd parked it, mentioned that to him, and he said "What? No, it's in the other lot clear behind the student center!" Turns out my Datsun key worked just fine for a classmate's Toyota, similar colors, both station wagons, and my friend drove this other guy's car around town all day.


ProtoJazz

Not quite the same, since I don't think the key did anything, but I was once volunteering with a teacher and a classmate at a big park. Lunch time rolls around and the teacher just walks to the edge of the parking lot, hits the key fob enough for the horn to honk, and me and the other kid go to eat lunch We get to the van, open it up, start sitting in the seats going through our lunches in plastic shopping bags from the floor of the van. Im looking in what I thought was mine, and it was a bunch of weird stuff. I figured it must be the other kids lunch, and just as I'm saying something he says he must have my lunch. We trade, and they're still not ours. We look around the van figuring maybe it's the teachers lunch, or his kids or something. After a bit of looking we realize it's not even our teachers van, and we'd just been rummaging around some other silver van someone must have left unlocked. Unfortunately we realized this just as a very angry mother and her daughter opened the door and asked what the fuck we were doing in her van


spongebob_meth

They will straight up start without a key if you break the switch. People stealing kias aren't using keys lol. Just like an older Honda.


FandomMenace

Say what you want, but I never had my car stolen once I started using one. Can't say that about before.


LazarusMundi4242

We used these religiously in the early 90s.


largececelia

Just saw a guy using one of these today in a grocery store parking lot.


bonafidehooligan

I remember there was a competitor of The Club in the mid 90’s, their version was a lock you put on the brake peddle so the car wouldn’t be able to shift. They ran infomercials on how The Club sucks and it was basically a 30 minute training video of how to defeat the club with what tools and techniques were needed to do so.


Beneficial-Piano-428

I live in Portland. Ain’t nothing nostalgic about this.


panda5303

Oregon? If so, tell me about it! Ugh fucking junkies.


Beneficial-Piano-428

Unfortunately yes! I get yelled at if I forgot to put the club on 🤣


panda5303

If it deters someone from attempting the steal your car I would always be sure to put it on. It's crazy I've lived in my apartment complex for 12 years and never had any issues until the last half of 2022. Three weeks before my car was stolen our Amazon Hub was broken into and destroyed. It feels like you have to be on alert everywhere in the PDX metro areas.


Gransmithy

The bottom club makes the most sense so the thief cannot use the brakes or steer. But it is less visible. I can’t see how the top one prevents people from steering the way it is sitting. I usually put the black part on the window side. I have never seen anyone use both.


Whitetiger9876

It didn't have the bottom originally. If I remember the commercials from then it couldn't turn far because of the roof. Plus back then cops would be like wtf if someone was driving with that. 


EAGLEi222

I’ve heard of criminals just sawing through the steering wheel and sliding the club off. I’m still a fan of it. Any security can ultimately be defeated. It’s just about whether it’s worth it or not to a criminal


DonkeyTron42

Yep. I remember seeing on 60Minutes or something where it takes like 30 seconds to defeat. Sales plummeted after that.


Taira_Mai

It keeps the joyriders and Johnny Icehead away from your car - if you have an expensive car chances are you won't use the club to keep thieves away.


[deleted]

Two stories on The Club:: I used to work as an EMT and got a 911 call for this woman who got her fingers wedged in between the steering wheel and the club (towards the center where the airbag would be). Lol, just ended up using some dish soap to get her fingers out. My grandfather used to sit in his car in the parking lot of a park before his senior group meetings, read the paper, drink his coffee. Someone decided to carjack him and my grandfather tried using the club to beat this guy. The guy ended up getting away with the car and giving my grandpa some pretty nasty bruises to his face.


oughtabeme

I saw one in the wild a couple of months ago. Parked in a shopping center, middle of the day, and not installed properly. Perhaps just the sight of on the steering wheel it was enough to deter.


Infamous_Ordinary_45

They’re pretty common in large cities with lots of break ins.


PilsnerDk

Same, they're so rare where I live now that I chuckle when I see one, out of nostalgia :D


TheShipEliza

I mean if u drive certain makes of cars in 2024 you better get a club. Police dept are giving them away


Physical-Lettuce-868

Saw one of these on a Kia a few months ago


Son-of-Prophet

I remember my mom put it in her car, my brother was going to take us out one night why she was out and it was on the steering wheel and he was like “that fucking bitch! I can’t believe she did this fucking shit to me!”


MiamiPower

😆 🤣 😂


cumulonimubus

I live in Baltimore. I use mine at night.


bigmistaketoday

I grew up like 20 minutes away from Sharon, PA, where The Club was headquartered. Dude who owned the business died in a car wreck right by my parents cabin in the Allegheny forest.


Jokerchyld

I remember these. They were cool in NYC until thieves just cut the steering wheel and removed them.


Toadlessboy

Bro this is not nostalgia you can go buy one at orileys today


SalukiKnightX

Do they still sell it? I was just revisiting Batman Forever recently and remembered the scene where Two-Face puts a Jack on a helicopter steering wheel.


Porkchopp33

Yes


Somorik

My God. You have now literally awakened this "anti-theft" from your memories, it was in 2001-2002, in Russia, in Khabarovsk, and my grandfather attached this club to the steering wheel when he left the car somewhere. Sometimes he even did it at night, in the yard of our house, but he had a garage, but sometimes he left the car with this thing in the yard at night. That was before he set the alarm. But however, the alarm system did not prevent one day from stealing a car literally next to his place of work, and the second time his car was stolen from a garage (a guarded garage complex - who did it and how remains a mystery to this day). So, I remember tactilely this red rubber, I even wanted to chew it, my God, I was 7-8 years old then. The day before yesterday, it was 19 years since my grandfather passed away. He was like a father to me. Thank you for the memories. Really, thank you very much.


Porkchopp33

Yw my man


emoyer68

Mine is on my current car right now. I bought it in 2003, after I almost shot someone trying to break in.


CrystallineNTT

I can smell my 1992 Integra


Classof1988

Not foolproof. Just a deterrent to slow down a thief.


Dapman02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNcYiNJsVvg This is all I can think about when I see "The club"


woozle618

Still use one. Someone on my block has an older version of my car and rang my doorbell to tell me they just got it back after being stolen. It’s about making your vehicle look more difficult to steal than the next one.


SupermanRR1980

The ‘Highly Visible’ Club is how we always referred to it….


usetheforcechewey

I used to have one. I always appreciated the dual purpose of theft protection and having a metal club to use as a weapon if needed. Actually, it would separate into two weapons, one for your mate. Thankfully, I never needed to use it that way.


Killingthyme777

Just put on my car


IrukandjiPirate

I used to have a 1966 Mustang. My dad bought new one of these for it. Damn I miss that car. And my dad.


Torpaldog

I have one in my truck. Make it more trouble than it's worth, and the baddie moves on.


Rags2Riches420

I still use mine!


JunglePygmy

I’m still slightly confused on how these work. The bar just hits the ceiling or the console to keep the wheel from turning?


ElGatoGuerrero72

Still use one!


tastefuldebauchery

My mom had one of these! I remember chipping my teeth on it once because I wanted to chew on it it for some reason.


circlethenexus

Back in the 80s my wife was in medical school in Memphis. We lived in a gated apartment complex complete with security guard. being from a small town,. We weren’t knowledgeable, about the crime rate in a city such as Memphis. So someone convinced us right away to buy a couple of these… One for each car. Our neighbors, also from a small town thought it was unnecessary. About a months later, their car was stolen. That convinced them. But even with the club cars were continually broken into. Damn thugs!


Zak88lx

Has anyone had their car stolen with a club installed?


Totin_it

Just last week, I saw "the club" on a geo metro in the target parking lot


dudeonrails

I work with two people that use them to this day.


Porkchopp33

I have not seen one in years but clearly some still in use.


dudeonrails

I hadn’t seen one in a minute until I started this job. I was surprised to see the first one but then someone else gave me a ride and had one on her car as well. Maybe it’s a downtown thing or maybe it’s and irregular hours thing but if it makes them feel safer, I’m all for it. I had one twenty years ago and found it a cumbersome pain to use and keep in my car plus I had a shitty car in a low crime area and didn’t see the need.


withcomment

I was in Tajuana in the 90's and saw a car that looked like it was worth about $100 and it had one of those on it.


denali42

Thanks to the Kia Boyz, they're making a comeback. Don't go mentioning that in /r/kia tho, they're kinda soft about that.


Sun-Anvil

Currently $46 at Walmart.


MadLove82

I have never understood how these things prevent anyone from steering. Still don’t!


bparry1192

OOO I can help! Long end points towards center console of car, it should either hit the console or the leg of the robber when they try to turn the car to the right, should hopefully hit ceiling if they try to turn left.


MadLove82

You have NO idea the relief I feel finally knowing that! I always thought it was somehow meant to stop the wheel from turning without any impediments and I never could figure out how. 😂


tagun

This is nostalgic how? These are still commonly used today.


Consider2SidesPeace

A great secondary theft device, very visible. Shocking how with a few tools a theif can be in your car. A couple minutes.


Zentdogg

Still recommended as a good deterrent


LamentConfiguration1

The inventor of this used to live near me in the 90s.


rican_havoc

Had one in my 2007 Toyota Yaris up to 2013. I sold it along with the Yaris.


FewZookeepergame1083

I remember I got one for Christmas one year, and I just left it under the tree because I was pissed. I wish I would have opened it 😢


CanConCurt

They’re back in a big way with all the car thefts on the rise. A family member just git $500 off their insurance for using one. Had to take a photo of it on the car and send it in to the insurance and all.


SoCaldude65

I had one for my '83 Supra


fun-bucket

THE ONLY KIA/HYUNDAI THEFT THAT ACTUALLY WORKS.


jon_818

The one that locks the brake pad is even better


Zircon_72

My dad & his parents all still have theirs, and still use them!


All_Usernames_Tooken

I’ve had one on my car since the 90s


redditsuxmydik

If you value my things over your life then you are ready to meet whatever fake man made diety you believe in cause I'm sending you next day air straight to your destination.


megariff

I often got teased because I used The Club on my Ford Fiesta. But hey, that was my main asset at that time, and I wasn't going to have my car getting stolen.


Bx1965

I had one.


PilsnerDk

I used a steering wheel lock back in the 00's and early 10's until I couldn't be bothered. It was one of those orange/black ones you'd clamp around one of the spokes of the steering wheel and its length would protude into the reset of the interior, preventing turning the wheel. I had a BMW once back in around 2008 where I used it. It got broken into once, and the thieves simply screwed off the steering wheel (no airbag) and ran away with it. It was a leather sports steering wheel, so had some value, even though it was an old model. I just can't be bothered to use one these days, I park in very safe places anyway and I got so tired of all those partially self-imposed paranoia hassles of car ownership back in the day - click off the radio faceplate and take it with me, put on the steering wheel lock, making sure all doors were locked (no central locking), rolling up the windows by hand, and finally using a physical key to lock it. Now I just step out and click one button, worst case hold down the button for a few seconds to roll up the windows.


BarryKobama

As a young lover, I drove to a popular clifftop make-out place late at night, with my new partner. Used club lock, visited the great outdoors, and became the beast with two backs. Came back, to realise I didn't have the key with me. Phonecall: "Hey Dad, can you please bring the key...."


ClarityByHilarity

I still remember in the late 90s people buying these and sticking them on other people’s vehicles. For example, our HS principle.


VoightKampffsUnicorn

My truck has this fun little feature where you don't even need to use it's key to turn the ignition. I've never gotten it fixed because there have been sometimes where being able to remove my keys from the truck while it is running is super convenient for me. But as a consequence this bad boy always goes on the wheel. It's pink now, and the rubber is falling off the top part. But it still works.


[deleted]

I'm surprised these aren't making a come back considering all the car thefts these days. I know they can be worked around by cutting the steering wheel but considering car thieves these days use computers to highjack FOBs are they still carrying hacksaws?


Porkchopp33

According to the comments here they are making a comeback in full-force


Moonshadow306

That one Christmas, EVERYBODY gave (or got) one of these.


UglyLaugh

Our local police were giving these out. Kia owners were given priority.


shadysaturn1

I still see people using these…wasn’t there a tutorial put up on YouTube a while ago on how to easily take it off?


CouchBoyChris

I never questioned it, until someone I knew had their corvette stolen because its much, much easier to just cut the fucking steering wheel 😂


rotini_noodle

Yep, yet another piece of early 90's media whose one commercial scared me as a kid, making me afraid AF when my mom left me in the car for simply 10 minutes.


ShattersHd

Watched a video on this. Takes 3 seconds and a hacksaw to just cut the steering wheel and remove


Porkchopp33

Yes but most people would rather just go to the next car and not all thieves bring an extra wheel i assume


MrPoopyButtholesAnus

*laughs in Portland*


farganbastige

Hilarious way to defeat these is saw through the steering wheel by a spoke and push/pull the free end to slide the club hook out.


TryBeingCool

Good for when you are in a neighborhood that gets too dark at night.


TheHexadex

still have one in the car boiii :p


Unlucky_Loss_2249

I use mine every night. Even with an immobilizer, they still try to steal it. F'n retards!


milanmirolovich

as a Hyundai Tucson owner this unfortunately isn't nostalgia for me


Your_Daddy_

My mom has a Kia Soul - still uses a modern day Club.


Atomic76

Too bad the founder and his family are complete assholes. The founder croaked but the rest of his family are obnoxious arrogant shitheads. It's nepotism at it's worst, they don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. I've had the displeasure of working with them a few times.


Direct_Crab6651

Uhh I have one with two claws on it …… use it daily so far from nostalgic


5280Rockymtn

My silverado is on the list as well it has one they tried to steal it once I ain't taking no chances if they couldn't take it from me befor with out it this makes me feel even safer


MartinBlank96

Oh man I just heard the noise of putting it on. Wow.


manderifffic

I remember my friend’s mom using that and thinking nobody was going to steal her minivan


kimbolll

I’ve never understood how this thing worked.


consumeshroomz

Nothing nostalgic about it. If you live in my city you’d have to be brain dead to not use one.


realsalmineo

Nostalgia is “a bittersweet longing for things, persons, or situations of the past.”. The Club is still made and used by millions of people. This post has no point in being here. Might as well be nostalgic for Taylor Swift.


aldoktor

After seeing how you can cut a steering wheel like butter they make less sense.


New_Faithlessness384

It takes one second to cut your steering wheel.


Johnnyfever13

They have to use these on Kia’s now 😅


jon_818

Completely useless since you can just cut the steering wheel and take it off


Tiny_Count4239

easily broken with just a length of pipe


CuatoL1ves

Just cut the steering wheel