There’s an Army of Thieves Coming for Your Catalytic Converter

My latest for Popular Mechanics is now live!

I did a thorough dive into a phenomenon that has exploded in recent years and is pissing off drivers all over the world! The battle against this kind of crime has precedent in previous metal theft epidemics, providing lawmakers with some precedent in how to combat this crime but also giving unscrupulous individuals ideas on how they might be able to further obscure the buying and selling of stolen parts.

Read all about it here, from mining operations to wild police raids to the science of recycling autocats to harvest the valuable precious metals inside. (The article is paywalled, but speaking of unscrupulous individuals, a workaround can be found here.)