A Grand Rapids woman believes the manual transmission in her car may have played an unexpected role in preventing it from being stolen, after an apparent theft attempt ended with the vehicle left behind despite visible damage.
The incident occurred Monday morning on the east side of Grand Rapids, where Lila Burns-Weerstra had parked her black Kia Soul on the street outside her home. According to Burns-Weerstra, the vehicle was broken into and hot-wired, but it was never driven away. Security camera footage from a neighboring home showed the attempted theft, though the suspects ultimately abandoned the car without taking anything from inside.
Burns-Weerstra suspects the presence of a clutch pedal may have discouraged the would-be thieves. Manual transmissions are increasingly uncommon, and operating one requires a skill set many drivers no longer have. After the vehicle’s interior lights came on, she believes the intruders may have realized the car was not easily drivable and chose to leave it behind…