__________ is/are overrated.

[vdeane]

having to rearrange things so your car is less likely to be a target for random theft.

This is why I would never want to own a SUV, CUV, or pickup truck.  Nobody can see what's in your trunk unless it is open.

Coming from someone who has never owned anything without a hatchback, I would argue the uncertainty of the trunk's contents may actually encourage someone to break in. Unless you keep gobs of stuff in your car, hatchbacks clearly allow thieves to see into your car and can decide to break in or not. Trunks are just a giant question mark (kind of like "the box" from the "Homer Goes to College" episode from the Simpsons), almost encouraging thieves to break in just to find out. I never kept anything in my hatchback, so thieves could clearly see breaking in wasn't worth it.

I used to street park in a dangerous area (this stretch of S 4th in Tacoma, WA -- my VW Golf is in the picture with the purple University of Washington license plate); most cars were broken into once along this stretch, but never mine. The stick-shift may have also been a deterrent, but the clear lack of any content worth stealing probably sealed the deal for most potential thieves.

I have heard of areas with enough thief activity where people actually leave their car unlocked just to keep people who might want to look though to see if there's anything worth stealing from breaking in, but I've never parked overnight in those spaces.  I haven't heard of any issues in my apartment's parking lot.  I don't keep much in the car day to day, anyways; the trunk is just jumper cables, my portable air compressor, and grocery bag (center console has my aux cable, car charger, and tissues; glove compartment is just car manual, insurance card, a cloth that can clean the windshield, and my tire pressure gauge; inside the car, the only thing that would be lying around would be snow brushes in the winter).  I was thinking more while roadtripping, where I'd have luggage, including my laptop (which I definitely don't want visible when I've stepped away from the car).  I imagine time is shorter and visibility higher during the day, so thieves probably want only what they can assuredly grab quickly and easily in such circumstances.

[J N Winkler]

I have heard of areas with enough thief activity where people actually leave their car unlocked just to keep people who might want to look though to see if there's anything worth stealing from breaking in, but I've never parked overnight in those spaces.

I have an acquaintance who used to live in a subdivision adjacent to the highest-deprivation ZIP code in Wichita.  He would park his SUV in his driveway, unlocked, with coins in plain view in the console as a decoy, and regard the almost inevitable nightly theft of this loose change (generally by young children) as a sort of parking fee.  But I don't know what would have happened if he had locked it with nothing in plain view, or parked it in a garage or behind a fence, because if he ever tried any of those counterfactuals, he did not report the results.

The neighboring ZIP code in question does have numerous houses (though by no means enough to form a majority) with fenced front yards where the bulk of the driveway lies within the fence line.  That is an unambiguous sign of a neighborhood with an out-of-control theft and vandalism problem.

[kphoger]

I was thinking more while roadtripping, where I'd have luggage, including my laptop (which I definitely don't want visible when I've stepped away from the car).  I imagine time is shorter and visibility higher during the day, so thieves probably want only what they can assuredly grab quickly and easily in such circumstances.

When road-tripping with a cargo box on top of the vehicle, I definitely feel better in a motel (where I can back right up to the door/window) than in a hotel (where I'm nowhere near the vehicle).

[Rothman]

Heh.  The only time I was on a road trip with a cargo box on the roof was when my family headed down to KY to my grandparents' place for Christmas.  Box held our presents.

[bugo]

I've owned 2 hatchbacks and a station wagon, and they all had tonneau covers that hid any belongings in the luggage area.

[Bruce]

I have heard of areas with enough thief activity where people actually leave their car unlocked just to keep people who might want to look though to see if there's anything worth stealing from breaking in, but I've never parked overnight in those spaces.

Heard about it happening in the Bay Area, but this isn't a common practice in Seattle. I've parked overnight in downtown without any issues, even with a relatively full trunk that is just hidden by a dark blanket.

There is a risk in keeping doors unlocked, though: you might return to the car to find someone sleeping inside or doing any number of other things...

[vdeane]

I have heard of areas with enough thief activity where people actually leave their car unlocked just to keep people who might want to look though to see if there's anything worth stealing from breaking in, but I've never parked overnight in those spaces.

I have an acquaintance who used to live in a subdivision adjacent to the highest-deprivation ZIP code in Wichita.  He would park his SUV in his driveway, unlocked, with coins in plain view in the console as a decoy, and regard the almost inevitable nightly theft of this loose change (generally by young children) as a sort of parking fee.  But I don't know what would have happened if he had locked it with nothing in plain view, or parked it in a garage or behind a fence, because if he ever tried any of those counterfactuals, he did not report the results.

The neighboring ZIP code in question does have numerous houses (though by no means enough to form a majority) with fenced front yards where the bulk of the driveway lies within the fence line.  That is an unambiguous sign of a neighborhood with an out-of-control theft and vandalism problem.

If it's like the stories of places I've read of where people leave their doors unlocked, probably have his window smashed in.

[Rothman]

Outside of leaving my doors unlocked in more rural areas of Hawaii, I've not worried much about parking my car.  I find generalizations about criminal activities in cities to be...overrated.

[jakeroot]

I've owned 2 hatchbacks and a station wagon, and they all had tonneau covers that hid any belongings in the luggage area.

My hatchbacks have both had them, but I often kept them underneath the false floor because they'd get in the way of taller items. I think this is where I developed the "don't leave things out" habit because everything was in plain sight most of the time.

[JayhawkCO]

Amusement parks.

[webny99]

I guess hyperboles are overrated. They're exciting to compose, but seem to fall flat 9 times out of 10.

[Rothman]

Amusement parks.

Disney, especially.

[LilianaUwU]

I'm gonna sound like I'm twice my age, but Taylor Swift.

[kphoger]

I'm gonna sound like I'm twice my age, but Taylor Swift.

There's no shame in being right.

[hbelkins]

I would not recognize a Taylor Swift song if I heard it.

[LilianaUwU]

I recognize Taylor Swift songs by their blandness.

[Rothman]

I recognize Taylor Swift songs by their blandness.

Shake it off.

[gonealookin]

I'm gonna sound like I'm twice my age, but Taylor Swift.

There's no shame in being right.

I dunno, I respect anyone who achieves that supreme megastar status.  If Taylor Swift is overrated, so was Michael Jackson.

I would not recognize a Taylor Swift song if I heard it.

And I say that even though I wouldn't recognize one of her songs either (though I'm sure I've heard plenty of them).

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't know there.  Micheal Jackson is one of the few singers who could do a range of multiple genres in a viable way.  At minimum I'd put him way ahead of Taylor Swift as a musical talent.

[vdeane]

I recognize Taylor Swift songs by their blandness.

I sense some bad blood here.

[kphoger]

I dunno, I respect anyone who achieves that supreme megastar status.  If Taylor Swift is overrated, so was Michael Jackson.

I can tell the beats of Michael Jackson songs apart...

[Big John]

I recognize Taylor Swift songs by their blandness.

I sense some bad blood here.

I was thinking Neil Sedaka, but googling also shows Swift also has a song named Bad Blood.

[LilianaUwU]

I recognize Taylor Swift songs by their blandness.

I sense some bad blood here.

Bad blood against her rabid fanbase who will doxx you if you dare say anything negative about her, yes.

[1995hoo]

I recognize Taylor Swift songs by their blandness.

Shake it off.

The first time I heard that song, I was in the men's room at Verizon Center. I had just reached the front of the line and was standing there doing what I came to do when I started hearing this girl's voice saying "shake it off" and I thought, gee, thanks for the advice.

[jakeroot]

Music should be off-limits. Every single generation thinks the generation of music following their preferred generation of music is of poor quality. There seems to be genuinely few people who enjoy all genres of music across multiple decades.