A wild video has circulated on social media showing a team of thieves breaking into a car dealership in Kentucky and stealing a handful of brand-new Dodge Challenger Hellcats in under a minute.

The dealership made it easy for the thieves by leaving the keys inside the sports cars, each valued at $95,000.

Adam Bryant, the manager of Don Franklin Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Somerset, told local media outlet WKYT: “$600,000 worth of Hellcats stolen In under 60 seconds! You know, that's a lot of money. And they were gone. Once they tripped the alarm, it takes 60 seconds before it starts alerting. They were gone 20 seconds before the alarm started to go off. The response time of the police was like three minutes. It was really good.”

Did the police recover the cars?

Although four of the six stolen cars were retrieved in neighboring counties, one of the vehicles was recovered as far as Alabama, and another was discovered in Tennessee. Police are still searching for the sixth vehicle. No, it’s not a smart idea to leave the keys in the cars.

Meanwhile, a new analysis of the National Crime Information Center data by the National Insurance Crime Bureau said annual car thefts across the U.S. exceeded one million for the first time since 2008. Between 2021 and 2022, car thefts nationwide rose by 7%. Last year, monthly thefts totaled around 75,000.

Here is another car theft recap, from Buford, Georgia. Just this past Feb. 19, 2023, a pair of criminals who robbed a retail warehouse were caught by the police in their stolen Tesla Model X electric SUV that needed a charge just 14 miles away from the crime scene. I couldn’t help but laugh.

This is not uncommon. Sadly, here’s another example. In Chicago, Illinois at least 10 thieves were caught on video stealing high-end luxury cars from northwest suburban dealership earlier this year. These thieves were caught on camera, the general manager of the dealership said they have made significant changes after the costly car heist.

Here’s the story: Early in morning, a sport-utility vehicle pulled into the pre-owned car lot at the Exclusive AutoHaus. At least 10 masked people jumped out. The manager refused to share surveillance of the thieves in action. They were seen breaking the glass to the garage and calmly walking in. The manager said the criminals appeared to be young kids. Once inside, the owner told Cook County Sheriff's police investigators the crooks found the lock box with the vehicles' keys, broke in and stole six luxury vehicles.

The video shows the thieves using the key fob to look for cars to unlock on the lot. Despite the burglary alarm going off, the thieves and vehicles were gone before police could respond.

Dealers are elevating their security as crime continues to soar. Hopefully they can stop these costly burglaries going forward.

There is so much more to discuss on this, put your comments below and let’s start the conversation.

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Lauren Fix, The Car Coach is a nationally recognized automotive expert, media guest, journalist, author, keynote speaker and television host. A trusted car expert, Lauren provides an insider’s perspective on a wide range of automotive topics and safety issues for both the auto industry and consumers. Her analysis is honest and straightforward.