Car stereos are now safe (but watch your umbrella)

We won't mourn the loss of the car stereo theft. I'm just old enough to recall the desks of the students in high school who lived in the better neighborhoods -- or worked the best part-time jobs -- adorned after an off-campus lunch with a pull-out car stereo. (And yes, they had cassette players, so now you know exactly how old I am.) In college, car stereo manufacturers got sophisticated and all the cool kids carried their faceplates into their dorm rooms after a road trip.

While it probably has nothing to do with the economy and everything to do with changing technology (and the ubiquity of iPods and other MP3 players), the black market for a car stereo just ain't what it used to be. On NPR this morning, Washington, D.C. police officer Mark Lakomec says that the stolen cars he finds every night on the job still have their stereo intact.

What are they missing? Motor oil, sunglasses, umbrellas. I've had friends report the theft of all the change in their cup-holders and ash trays; empty gas cans; and yes, cassette tapes. I guess some things never change.