Whether you know it or not the odds are very good that you have at least seen a 1972 Chevy Malibu at some point in your life. The classic muscle car has been driven in movies and television by icons ranging from Rocky to the Mod Squad and even Columbo. The car has also most recently been seen pulling across screens in the “Entourage” movie, the “Anchorman” films and “Wedding Crashers”. It is “cool” incarnate. Unfortunately something so nice can easily catch the gaze of the wrong sort of admirer.

Laura Boos, an employee at Alki Lumber and the proud owner of her own 1972 Chevy Malibu, this week released footage of two car thieves repeatedly breaking into her car and attempting to steal it on the night of Sept. 29. The surveillance footage was uploaded to YouTube (here and here).

A little after midnight on Sept. 29 Boos’s Chevy was parked in the carport area of her Harbor Ave. apartment complex when a black Dodge Charger with two men inside pulled up to the next space. In the first video the Charger parks briefly while the driver gets out and inspects the Malibu, popping the hood and taking a look underneath it. After looking the car over he gets back in his Charger and drives off.

In the second video the same Dodge can be seen parking just outside of the surveillance video’s frame. This time both men approach the Malibu with their hoodies up and quickly break in. The driver of the Charger who first looked the Chevy over can be seen breaking into the steering column with what appears to be a large screwdriver. The second, more rotund passenger paces around the car as a lookout.

When the vehicle won’t start both suspects pop the hood again and look under it to find the problem. According to Boos what the thieves didn’t know was that the carburetor for the Chevy is currently under repair so the vehicle could not be turned over.

The steering column was destroyed from the suspects’ efforts and around $200 worth of tools was taken. To make matters even more frustrating is the fact that all of the Chevy’s parts are original and even with insurance covering the costs the odds of finding an original steering column to replace this one are slim.

The West Seattle Herald showed the videos to two mechanics who identified the suspects’ vehicle as a 2015 Dodge Charger with either a V6 or a base V8 engine due to the wheels. One mechanic wondered if the vehicle might be a rental but was unsure if he could see rental tags or not.

Both suspects appear to be young black men wearing hoodies. The first suspect appears to have long hair under his baseball cap and looks to be wearing Nike sneakers. The second, heavier-set suspect appears to be wearing sweatpants.

If any readers recognize these suspects please contact the S.W. Precinct at (206) 733-9800.