Tuesday 11th March 2003

Mighty Dot for Peugeot

Security paint now an option for Peugeots at only £220

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Peugeot is offering a new security measure for its cars. The 'Mighty Dot' will be offered in future in an attempt to deter thieves from stealing cars for parts or ringing.

Mighty Dot can be applied to any new or used Peugeot vehicle and is available at Peugeot dealerships around the UK.

The system involves discretely spraying a clever paint onto the car's bodywork. That paint includes the details about the cars identity in the form of a pin number within the droplets.

The pin number is recorded with the International Security Register which can be accessed at any time.

The dots which are the size of a grain of sand, are laser etched with a code and are invisible to the naked eye. They are only visible under ultra violet light and can be read when placed under a microscope.

Developed in Australia by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, the Mighty Dot system is said to have virtually eliminated the theft of treated vehicles.

Peter Williams, Commercial Director of Parts and Service at Peugeot said: "Car theft worldwide is big business. A car is stolen somewhere every 10 seconds costing over £12 billion per year. The microdots allow tracking of cars broken up for parts as well as cars stolen for selling on. The microdot system only has to be applied once using an environmentally friendly water based adhesive, and it will last the life of the vehicle – offering our customers complete peace of mind."

Mighty dot has been Thatcham approved, and is now available through Peugeot’s dealer network at a cost of £220 (inclusive of VAT) per vehicle.

Your call - will it really deter thieves?

Links: www.datadot-uk.com , www.mdatatech.com/

[kevinday]

Sounds like a good idea, but one question:

'Can be read when placed under a microscope'. So how does that work then, how do you read it when it is on the car?

[plotloss]

The dots are UV reflective, so they locate them with a UV light and then take one off and read the contents.

This technology has been available on bikes for years!

Matt.

[marki]

Jaguar have been doing this for some time now , although they spray it on the inside of the car

[plipton]

To work, it's got to be in an unknown (to thieving scum) location and not be sanded off/painted over, but also be easy to locate for ID purposes.

Catch 22?

[plotloss]

A lot of aftermarket suppliers spray the entire engine and underneath of the car.

Matt.

[Nightmare]

a lot of car choppers also spray the entire engine and underside of the car....just with thinners!

seems to me that a sticker which said "Ive got the mighty dot on my car, motherf**ker so bring it" (or similar) would be just as valuable as actually HAVING said technology....surely the risk is the deterrant?