I remember a fad in the 70s where people engraved a number on all their stuff. I think it was called Operation ID.
I remember my dad doing that.
Um, won’t the thieves just break/remove the glass? Not sure how this is a deterrent.
First this will be voluntary, and people will think it’s a great idea. Then it will be mandatory. Then there will be enforcement checkpoints. Then some poor schlub will get arrested because he failed to get his windows etched, or because the dyslexic doing the etching mis-transposed a couple digits in the VIN.
Toyota did that as an anti-theft package for my new RAV4 back in 1996. As a matter of fact, the VIN is engraved on every piece of glass and all large components.
Car thefts are way down in my part of the nation due factory installed anti-theft devices, like the key fobs. Car jackings seem a little up, but theft of scrap metal is through the roof. So, sometimes that older car that gets stolen goes to the car crusher for scrap metal and a couple hundred bucks into the thieves pocket. Leave an old car on the side of the highway and it may get towed by an unscrupulous scrapper.
Here’s a little tip for any DIY’s or homebuilders. Spray paint any copper piping that you put in your houses because scrap yards will not accept it and copper thieves know this.
Car thieves can’t replace auto windows?
Most mechanics could do that in their own garage.
This poster - hardly a grease monkey - removed a car window once to replace a convertible top, having nearly *zero* mechanical aptitude.
This is just more nannie state cr@p.
Glass ain't permanent though.
The VIN is already clearly visible on the dash through the windshield.
Whoopee.
The number is already on the frame, transmission and other places. VIN on a window? Replace the window.