In Minnesota there was a gang of thieves who were stealing old cars and selling them to junkyards as scrap. They were deliberately selecting cars that didn't look like they were worth anything so as not to raise the suspicion of the junk dealers. They were taking advantage of a loophole in the law. Ordinarily, when you sell a car, you have to prove ownership by handing over a title—a sort of certificate of ownership. However, junk dealers were not required to obtain a title. I don't think this was just a mistake on the part of lawmakers; I think the intent was to allow parking-lot owners, towing companies, etc., to get rid of vehicles that were abandoned on private property by their owners, when the owners couldn't be found.