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2nd July 2024
12:20pm BST
Car thieves who attempted to steal a Porsche in Maryland, USA, gave up after realising it had a manual gearbox.
The incident, which was first reported by Fox 5 DC, took place in Maryland where three thieves attempted to steal the Porsche 718 from the owner of a restaurant by taking his keys at gunpoint.
However, none of the would-be thieves knew how to drive a manual and after jumping in the car, they proceeded to stall it, not once but twice before they were forced to give up.
Unfortunately, they managed to flee the scene in the Nissan they had used to get there.
Although manual cars are still popular in the UK, they are few and far between in the States and the number sold each year is decreasing rapidly.
Less than four percent of cars sold last year were manual in the States, and most of that is because of cars such as Mazda Miata’s and Aston Martin Valiant’s that have manual transmissions.
It’s not the first time an incident like this has occurred. In 2016, there were two incidents in the States that grabbed headlines.
One man was involved in an attempted carjacking outside his home after filling up at a gas station. After being held at gunpoint he handed over the keys to his Nissan Altima but the thief, thought to be in his late teens or early 20s was stumped by the manual gearbox.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, Ladell T. Cox was caught and convicted for car theft after he attempted to steal someone’s car before handing back the keys and asking for a lift once he realised it was a manual.
