damn, you dug a ways down to find this one...

but yeah, it is important info that everyone needs to consider... I remember some pretty decent, rather simple ideas that would help a lot.

I personally stand that the only way to go is an alarm system with a pager/pager function - lo-jack (or something just like it - and full coverage, that includes the parts on the car

people don't respond to car alarms. if anything, they just bitch about the noise. that is why you need a pager to know when the alarm is going off. That kind of notification will allow you to report the car stolen immediately. Even if you happen to hear the alarm and go out to investigate, by the time you get out there, see the car stolen, and get on the phone, you have given the thief a 10 minute head start... typically, you don't know the car is gone until morning, and that gives them anywhere from 4 to 8 hours to tear down the car before it is even reported stolen. Lo-jack doesn't get turned on until it is reported stolen. The sooner it is turned on, the less chance you have of the car getting stripped down. I know a buddy and myself with air tools could tear a s-chassis down and have it all boxed up and the scrap chassis gone within 4 hours. At that point, even if you did get lo-jack turned on, all you are going to find is a bare chassis.
and the insurance is a major thing too. Have the parts and modifications to the car covered as well. That way anything that does get damaged/destroyed/stripped, or otherwise gone gets replaced.
That combination of pager style alarm - lo-jack - full coverage is the best option as far as protecting your car goes.
Maintain the thought that a lock only keeps and honest person honest while setting up your security and you will end up with a far more secure system.