I've been forturnate enought to not have anyone mess with my cars. I carry a 5 D-cell Maglite under my seat. Its better than a pipe or short wooden bat, because it can never be tagged as a weapon. I know here you can get in trouble for keeping some stuff lying around in your car if the cops really want to be jerks, but all I have to do is turn the thing on and they've got nothing.
I'm not advocating using it, nor am I going to state if I have or not. Just believe me that it would hurt a LOT.
Sorry about your mom's car. Some people are just morons. But they'll get theirs eventually.
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1997 Mustang GT "The Freak" - 13.80 @ 101.70, 2.07 60'
1995 Honda VFR750 - not much @ really fast (actual data pending.)
1964.5 Mustang 289
Rice Haters Club Member #13