They are enough to let you inside the car, though, which is enough for (I would assume) the majority of locksmith calls.

You buy expensive makes then, I really hope you know that you're way above what most people spend on cars. Most cars don't have those chips yet. The only sort of mainstream car I've seen with a chip in the key is the prius, which starts in the low 20s new.

My 1998 Honda Accord had a chip... I don't usually cite Wikipedia links, but... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transponder_car_key

Come to think of it, I've only had a Mazda the last 10 or so years. Maybe it's just Mazda then. Their bottom-line Mazda3 (currently 16.7k MSRP) came with it when I bought one 6 years ago too.

Curious. I don't think you could buy a mainstream car in the UK without a chip.