pop-up trunk latches

[jimmy jet]

both of my vehicles have had pop-up hood latches. neither have had trunk latches - i needed a key. until tonight, i had never heard of a pop-up trunk latch.

how common are they in vehicles today ?

and who may i blame for this ridiculous invention ?

the trunk is the one place that has some safety for storing things. with a latch, it is now available to anyone who breaks into the car.

of all the stupid convenience inventions, this one takes the cake.

[Leighcm]

both of my vehicles have had pop-up hood latches. neither have had trunk latches - i needed a key. until tonight, i had never heard of a pop-up trunk latch.

how common are they in vehicles today ?

and who may i blame for this ridiculous invention ?

the trunk is the one place that has some safety for storing things. with a latch, it is now available to anyone who breaks into the car.

of all the stupid convenience inventions, this one takes the cake.

Don't they usually need to be unlocked from the lock switch inside the car before you can unlatch them? I had a BMW that was like that...had a button to open the trunk on the trunk itself, but had to be unlocked from inside first.

[jimmy jet]

i was told that this was only on high-end cars. (having to unlock a compartment to get to the latch). i guess it would also depend on how strong the lock on the inside is. if it is just a glove compartment, any crook could pull that off in seconds.

it might not be too bad if you need to turn the ignition key into the on-position before being able to use the pop-up trunk latch.

organized crooks are smarter than the average person. i am sure they know which cars have easier access to the trunk.

i think it is a convenience item that causes a lot more risk than it gives reward.

[Leighcm]

i was told that this was only on high-end cars. (having to unlock a compartment to get to the latch). i guess it would also depend on how strong the lock on the inside is. if it is just a glove compartment, any crook could pull that off in seconds.

it might not be too bad if you need to turn the ignition key into the on-position before being able to use the pop-up trunk latch.

organized crooks are smarter than the average person. i am sure they know which cars have easier access to the trunk.

i think it is a convenience item that causes a lot more risk than it gives reward.

I think the interior lock is enough to dissuade the casual thief, but I think the organized crooks can defeat most car security...they'll probably just take the entire vehicle.

[jimmy jet]

with my toyota truck dying, i now have my own answer, as i had to get in the new car market. they all have them now. and the irritating part is that for the most part they can not be disabled. and to add salt to the wound, the back seats could be folded down. so much for the safety of a trunk.

i went to several car lots and got the same message from all of them.

then i started calling the various auto dealerships in my area (5 or so of the more common car companies). asked them when the interior trunk latch started. i already knew that at some point they were not there.

most of the replies were somewhere between 2000-2002 for the various models. and dealerships very seldom have that old of a car.

so then i started calling up the dealers and other car sales places. i put it very bluntly. i wanted a car with a trunk that operated like a trunk was supposed to - not with some idiotic interior trunk latch that could open it. i might as well then go with the extra inside storage of an suv, since the trunk was only inside storage. i made well sure that they understood how stupid i thought that ridiculous invention was.

well - one of the car salesmen calls me back later in the day, and almost with atonishment in his voice, he said he thought he had a car for me. it was a 2004 hyundai xgl. sure enough - the interior latch can be disabled with a switch at the trunk latch itself. and then inside the trunk, you can press switches down on the back seats to disable the back seat release from inside the car.

it drove well, and seemed to be well taken care of, so i bought it.

[Leighcm]

You know, if someone really wants into your trunk, a crowbar will take car of that locked trunk pretty easily...a little determined brute force could get anyone into just about any vehicle.

[jimmy jet]

sure. that is true of old car trunks, as well. someone could steal the car, if they had a mind to do so. but i want it to be as difficult as it once was. breaking into the car, and pulling down the seats - heck i may as well bend over and invite them to give me a kick. at least now, i make it quite a bit more difficult - such that they arent gonna waste time breaking into my trunk, when they could much more easily break into the trunks of 50 other nearby vehicles.

sometimes people get carried away with things. inside trunk latches is one of them. for an insignificant convenience, they lose the whole idea of a trunk. like i said, i find it to be absolutely ridiculous.

there are many nice features to my new car. i can choose to have the outside mirrors move down when i put it into reverse. if i remember to put the parking brake on, the car seat moves back automatically when i pull the key out. there are all sorts of adjustments to the seats. my outside mirrors fold back, so less chance of them getting clipped in a parking lot. quite a few more. but the best of all - from within the trunk, i can make it so that only a key opens the trunk, and the seats cant be folded down. in other words, i have one of the few newer cars that actually has a TRUNK.

[Leighcm]

sure. that is true of old car trunks, as well. someone could steal the car, if they had a mind to do so. but i want it to be as difficult as it once was. breaking into the car, and pulling down the seats - heck i may as well bend over and invite them to give me a kick. at least now, i make it quite a bit more difficult - such that they arent gonna waste time breaking into my trunk, when they could much more easily break into the trunks of 50 other nearby vehicles.

sometimes people get carried away with things. inside trunk latches is one of them. for an insignificant convenience, they lose the whole idea of a trunk. like i said, i find it to be absolutely ridiculous.

there are many nice features to my new car. i can choose to have the outside mirrors move down when i put it into reverse. if i remember to put the parking brake on, the car seat moves back automatically when i pull the key out. there are all sorts of adjustments to the seats. my outside mirrors fold back, so less chance of them getting clipped in a parking lot. quite a few more. but the best of all - from within the trunk, i can make it so that only a key opens the trunk, and the seats cant be folded down. in other words, i have one of the few newer cars that actually has a TRUNK.

I can do that too...push the hidden button inside my glove box that turns off all trunk releases, lock the glove box, and I'm good to go. No fold down seat, and I can lock the little pass-through door to the trunk. My mirrors move down when in reverse, the steering wheel moves up and out of the way automatically when I turn the car off, no key required, just push the start button as long as I have the smart key with me. Not that I ever use the trunk, or the back seat for that matter, but I could...

[jimmy jet]

great. the newer technology is nice, in many ways. you dont use the trunk ? i have stuff that i use on a daily basis that stays in the trunk, permanently. when i first started looking, i told the salespeople that trunk storage was my main concern. i am not fussy about the car itself. and i already knew that any car i was likely to buy would drive as well or better than my 85 pickup. and i was happy with that.

but i was thinking more about space inside the trunk. i had no idea that it would be that hard to find a car with a trunk that was not part of the interior. oh well - it is taken care of. the next car i buy will be an electric vehicle.

most people dont know it yet - but the electric vehicle is gonna take the world by storm. for quite a few years, the manufacturers will have no way to keep up with the demand.

these next 5 years should be very interesting, as charging stations begin to appear, etc.

[Leighcm]

great. the newer technology is nice, in many ways. you dont use the trunk ? i have stuff that i use on a daily basis that stays in the trunk, permanently. when i first started looking, i told the salespeople that trunk storage was my main concern. i am not fussy about the car itself. and i already knew that any car i was likely to buy would drive as well or better than my 85 pickup. and i was happy with that.

but i was thinking more about space inside the trunk. i had no idea that it would be that hard to find a car with a trunk that was not part of the interior. oh well - it is taken care of. the next car i buy will be an electric vehicle.

most people dont know it yet - but the electric vehicle is gonna take the world by storm. for quite a few years, the manufacturers will have no way to keep up with the demand.

these next 5 years should be very interesting, as charging stations begin to appear, etc.

No, the only thing in my trunk is a cargo net...my car is pretty much back and forth to work, and I try not to keep much stuff in the car at all, just some CDs, sunglasses, and registration/insurance docs. I hate having stuff roll around in the car, and when you drive like I do, that happens a lot.

Electric (and other alternative powertrains) will take off as soon as the range restrictions and part availability issues are resolved. I'd drive a Tesla now, but $100k is a bit steep for a electric Lotus.

[jimmy jet]

look for the nissan leaf (compact), and the coda (midsize sedan) to be the two main leaders. tesla is putting out a midsize sedan, but it is expensive, and they still have not chosen between long beach and downey as the site for the plant. so they are far behind, and not in the game plan for the average person.

the coda will be sold in california exclusively for the 4th qtr of 2010. i think the leaf comes out about that same time.

california is gonna be the main testing ground, as far as evs, and their charging stations, etc.

once some bugs get worked out there, it will spread to other big cities, and from there to the suburbs, etc.

the battery situation is pretty good right now, and there is still probably room for lots of improvement over the next 5 years. but even so, we can get 100 miles per drive, which is more than enough for a large percentage of people going to work and back each day.

they even have some big rigs with electric motors in them. i think it is gonna be the biggest thing in bringing back the world economy. if at the same time we can get rid of all the govt waste, we may not have another economic disaster.