I had the misfortune of having one of my earlier Camaro's broken into. :( I found the car with everything inside still in place. But, the steering column was completely smashed.
As I spoke with the officer writing the police report, I asked him for his opinions on what steps I could take to protect the car in the future. His advice; I could spend alot of money on an alarm, or, go to 'Pep Boys' and buy a few "alarm stickers", as well as 'The Club'. Now, I know 'The Club' isn't very effective, but his thinking was to make the car appear as unappealing to the person looking to steal it as I could.
His example was, if someone is prowling the lots looking to steal a car, they want to do it quickly, and be gone as quickly as possible. If the come across two cars, one with "alarm notices" and the club, or a similar device, vs. one w/o this, the thief will go for the easier one.
Also, in his experiences, he saw cars hooked up to tow trucks and dragged off, cars winched onto flatbeds, even an engine ripped from the car by a tow truck. BAsically, if the thief wants the car bad enough, they'll get it. :(
So, after my long winded reply (sorry) my plans are to stick with the factory system, and just avoid places where its more prone to be stolen, ie; malls.
