A friend of mine wrote and said all a car thief has to do to steal your Volvo is look down through the front windshield at your VIN number, copy it and take it to a Volvo dealer, tell them that you lost your keys or had them stolen, and the dealer will make you a new key. Whereupon said thief can go back to your car, open it and drive away. This sounds just too damned simple. Does Volvo or the dealer take any precautions to prevent this from happening? Asking to see your registration to check against your ID wouldn't really be realistic if you said it was in the glovebox of the locked car or that you were miles from home and the registration. Add a note of desperation to your voice and I think most dealers would make you the key based on your VIN number. I hope being able to steal your car this way is folklore and not reality. The European market models do not have the VIN number out in the open where anybody can see them like the US models. Is the above reason why? If true, then I guess the safest thing to do is tape over your number so nobody can see it. Comments, please. Dick