The Club (automotive)

The Club is the trademark version of a popular automotive steering-wheel lock, produced by Sharon, Pennsylvania-based Winner International.

The inventor, James E. Winner Jr., derived the idea for the device from his service in the Korean War, where he and his fellow soldiers were instructed to secure the steering wheels of their vehicles with metal chains.

When the lock is set, the larger piece's long handle protrudes out, so that the wheel is practically impossible to turn due to collision with other parts of the car or with the driver's legs, and the device cannot be removed because it is too large to slip around the wheel.

The Club as originally designed was prone to having its lock shattered by freezing with freon; later models addressed this issue by changing to a chromium/molybdenum alloy.

It is a big screw with a hook on one end and a large handle on the other and two legs designed to rest on the lock.