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Thief Steals Seven Catalytic Converters From Seven Chevy Cavaliers Within A 12 Hour Period

Chevrolet Cavalier owners in and/or around Naperville, Illinois better watch their backs their cars’ catalytic converters — because a whopping seven of the devices were stolen during the late-evening and early-morning hours of Monday and Tuesday in a single area near the city’s northwest side. That’s right folks, someone stole a whopping seven “cats” from equally as many Cavaliers.

Originally introduced in 1975 to U.S. automobiles, catalytic converters reduce the toxicity of gasoline-powered engine emissions, keeping the vehicles in compliance with air pollution standards set out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Theft of the devices isn’t new, as they contain small amounts of precious metals palladium, platinum and rhodium. Just how precious are these metals? Well, an ounce of rhodium went for $6,500 on the black market nearly seven years ago.

What’s peculiar about this particular turn of events is that the seven “cats” were stolen from Cavaliers — a model that’s has been out of production for over a decade — representing a compact Chevrolet sedan from three generations ago (Cavalier, Cobalt, Cruze).

“I wouldn’t want to speculate as to why that is happening,” said GM spokesperson Alan Adler in discussing the possibilities behind the seemingly targeted burglaries.

Naperville Sgt. Lou Cammiso said the thefts took place Monday and Tuesday and involved Cavaliers products from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s. Owners whose cat has been stolen will instantly recognize the device’s absence, since a vehicle sounds noticeably louder upon start-up and acceleration compared to a car with a catalytic converter. What’s worse, replacements can be quite pricey: in 2007, they cost more than $1,000.

The Naperville Sun instructs those who believe to have information about any of the Cavalier-related thefts to call Naperville police at 630-420-6666.

The GM Authority Take

Well, looks like there’s a cat-burgler on the loose. But why is the thief targeting the Cavalier? Our guess is that the thief has found an easy way of removing them from the vehicle, thereby being able to “grab and run” quickly and easily. Oh the crazy, wild, and wacky world we live in today…

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Comments

  1. Actually here in my city if Edmonton, Canada we too recently had an out break of catalytic converters stolen too, police say nearly 50 have been stolen in a period of a week while people were shopping and warned owners of Cavaliers and Pontiac Sunfires to be aware. Has to be something special in them to brave doing is such a publicc place.

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  2. Crazy…

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  3. They steal them around here all the time and in some lots they will take 10 of more in one night.

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  4. I have not seen the underside of the Cavalier, but many vehicles have catalytic converts attached with only bolts, and may be easy to remove. One solution is to weld the two ends, so a thief needs a torch or a cutter to remove them. Converters usually last the life of the vehicle, and never need to be replaced.

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  5. Never need to be replaced! Wow some people must live in lol lol land! They are being stolen for the metals that are inside! Hint!

    Never that’s so funny!

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  6. Yeah Trevor and the 4th and worst one is “f*** the haters”. I see it spelled out on cars; would love to see them get pulled over and given a ticket just for being obscene in public. Little kids don’t need to see that…

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    1. What are you referring to

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  7. My sons car just had it cut off. They use a battery saws all two cuts and gone. They love cavalier because what is inside. Savage yard here gets 60-100 for 1.

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  8. Fun times

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  9. Just got mine stolen today in Hollywod Florida, someone in the same parking lot got theirs stolen also, theirs was a honda svu

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  10. They are hitting apartment complexes in Raleigh, NC this past week

    Reply

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