Ranking of most stolen passenger cars

Interestingly, the '94 Accord was the most stolen car last year,
according to the Insurance Info Institute. The 2nd is also a Honda, the
'95 Civic. I wonder why such old models? Any ideas?

OP TEN MOST FREQUENTLY STOLEN PASSENGER VEHICLES, 2009


Rank Year/make/model
1 1994 Honda Accord
2 1995 Honda Civic
3 1991 Toyota Camry
4 1997 Ford F-150 Pickup
5 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup
6 2000 Dodge Caravan
7 1994 Chevrolet Pickup (Full size)
8 1994 Acura Integra
9 2002 Ford Explorer
10 2009 Toyota Corolla
Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau.

 

I had a 1992 Prelude, in Texas, which I gave to my second son, to move
to Hollywood. He did bit parts on several films and TV shows. The
car was stolen, but found shortly, with the engine missing. He was
told that "ricers" burn out their engines, and there are gangs in LA,
that steal cars, on spec, for the engines. He made the wise decision
to leave LA. He also bought a Mercedes. It seems the "ricers" do
not know what to do with a Mercedes engine.

 

Before they put RF chips in keys, my old Civic key would work in other
cars.
I'd sometimes open a same model year, same color car in the parking
lot before
I realized it wasnt mine.
A worn down key seemed to be a master key.

 

Stupid car thieves?

 

I've seen that in Crapslers too.

 

And I should add that the keys were not worn at all.

 

no,it's because the motors and engine control electronics are easily
swapped and hacked for more performance.

**also no anti-theft immobilizer system.(programmed keys)**,makes them an
easy steal.

I know because I used to have a 1994 Integra GS-R,stolen in 2007. It took
them less than a minute to break in despite the alarm with "ignition
disable" and push start it and drive it off.
"Gone in 60 Seconds" was pretty accurate.I didn't even have time to fire
off a shot.
It was found 3 days later,stripped and burned,a total loss
They take the high performance B18C3 motor and it's ECU,and maybe any other
parts they can use or sell.

the only useful anti-theft method is a hidden fuel cutoff switch,which I
had the parts for,but didn't have time to install them. I had already re-
routed the hood release cable inside the engine compartment and made a
shield for the hood latch itself.
theives like to use a wire to pull the hood release latch from under the
bumper,or tear open the left wheelwell and cut the release cable to release
the hood latch;then they quickly lift the hood and cut any alarm wire
before it can sound long enough to be recognized;that happened to a girl I
knew.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

The older ones are easier to steal because they tend not to have
immobilizers. And the vehicles on this list were mostly best-sellers, so
there are lots of them around to steal.

The newer Explorer and Corolla are probably on the list simply due to the
sheer size of their sales numbers. The Dodge Ram? I can't explain that one.

 

Boy-Racers.

 

Boy-Racers.

 

I just don't see my '94 Accord LX as much of a racer car these days.

 

Dodge Caravans with fart cans, wings, dubs and stickers?

 

put in V6 from above?

trucks are trucks. Probably sheer numbers bring it up the list

Early models were actually pretty good. If they have the V10 ...

Maybe the thieves have lots of kinds. Or lots of bangers

trucks are trucks. Again, numbers help

Hot engine, a Civic is still lighter

Actually a pretty good SUV

Great getaway car. Drive a mile or so to the real car. These puppies
are rupted to burn down to the ground very quickly :-0

--

- dillon I am not invalid

An object's desireability to a dog is directly
proportional to its desireability to another dog.

 

Boy-Racers.

 

Boy-Racers.

 

Teen mothers?
--

- dillon I am not invalid

An object's desireability to a dog is directly
proportional to its desireability to another dog.

 

Larry, you have a little problem with either your reader or your feed.
Four identical posts except for the message ID.
--

- dillon I am not invalid

An object's desireability to a dog is directly
proportional to its desireability to another dog.