All security isn't based entirely on prevention, it is based on delay and threat of being caught. We lock our houses so criminals aren't able to enter by just opening a door. I have no illusions that someone could get in if they were committed enough.

I use the in-room hotel safe, because it is better than just leaving some of my valuables in a drawer.

I agree.
I only consider mine a fire safe...same with hotel safes. They are better than nothing, but not at all secure. For security, I would use the hotel office safe or bank safety deposit box. Anything less is just a deterrent.

I owned a car stereo install shop for about 15 years. People would come to me and ask how to make sure their car didn't get stolen. Every time, I'd tell them, "sell it and take the bus".

The object of car "security" is to make the thief go on to lower hanging fruit. If someone wants your "you've-paid-huge-money-to-make-virtually-impregnable" '86 Civic, they'll wait for you to approach it, put a knife to your throat (this being in Canada) and take your keys. To quote W.O.P.R. "The only winning move is not to play."

There was an entertaining comment along those lines in a recent Jalopnik article, tell us about the worst car you ever owned, user bandi53 talking about a 1987 Volkswagen Fox that was a bit of a lemon:

[...]
Next was the ignition lock cylinder, which just entirely froze up one morning when I went to start the car. After that was the starter, which left me stranded at the gas station. The day after (Christmas Eve) I was heading back to visit my parents, the alternator light came on... So I figured I’d limp the car home. This would have been a great plan but unfortunately the car caught on fire.

I left it in a mall parking lot with the ownership on the seat, signed, and the keys in the ignition. I hoped I'd never see it again, but driving past two weeks later, it was still there. I came back that night with a trailer and scrapped it myself.

Another way of thinking of it, is consumer safes are sold on their appearance and spec sheet rather than their reliability.

These companies know that only select businesses and a minority of consumers will do their research.

Kind of similar to how consumer and business laptops differ in that business laptops tend to look very plain but are generally much more durable.

I drive a 94 Toyota Hilux Surf, and on Monday night some dumbass tried to steal it. They broke a window but failed at breaking the key barrel.

So I'm going to leave a sign on it from now on:
Dear Fucking Idiots,
If you want to steal this truck, you don't need to break in, just call this number and I'll meet you with the keys. If you can still use your hands 5 minutes later, it's yours.

[author flagged as a spammer - redacted]

To be fair, that is a Hugh Jass rare-earth (neodymium) magnet, that costs $40 more than the safe (quick search example- $173 vs. safe $134), and not likely that a casual thief would have it on hand. Good for a locksmith to invest in though.

I would like to see them test progressively smaller magnets, to see what the smallest is that would still do the trick.

It's not the value of the safe that's important, it's the value of the contents. If you've only got stuff worth $173 you're probably not going to buy a safe worth that much to keep it in...