Earlier this week, LoJack (the world’s most famous aftermarket tracking device) and the National Insurance Crime Bureau released its annual collaborative list of the 10 most stolen cars. It features the Honda Accord as the overall most stolen vehicle and the Chevy Silverado as the country’s most stolen truck.
Here check out the full list for yourself:
1. Honda Accord
2. Honda Civic
3. Toyota Camry
4. Toyota Corolla
5. Chevy Silverado
6. Acura Integra
7. Cadillac Escalade
8. Ford F350
9. Nissan Altima
10. Chevy Tahoe
Surprised? Well, you probably shouldn’t be.
This actually marks the 5th year in a row that the Honda Accord has topped the list. But why do so many thieves want to steal the average Honda Accord? Patrick Clancey, the vice president of law enforcement for the LowJack Corporation, says the reason is simple;
“Year after year, the Honda Accord continues to be a top seller at car dealerships throughout the United States for a variety of reasons, including their reliability. That means year after year there are more Accords on the road, getting into car accidents or needing parts for repair.”
“All of these factors result in an increased demand for parts to service Accords, which makes stealing this make and model a very lucrative business for the professional thief.”
Total Numbers
Each year, on average, approximately 8,000 Hondas are stolen and more than a million vehicles in total!
Surprised again? Well, you shouldn’t be.
Initially, these might seem like some hard numbers to believe. But that doesn’t mean it’s not true. In fact, every year with more and more cars lining the roads, people falling victim to theft is becoming increasingly routine.
In the recently released book Stealing Cars by John Hopkins professors John A. Heitmann and Rebecca H. Morales, it was approximated that a vehicle is actually stolen every 33 seconds here in the United States. In fact, if you were stretch out the annual car thefts bumper to bumper, the line of vehicles would go from New York City to Phoenix, Arizona.
As far as the reasoning behind car thefts, Heitmann and Morales write, “Auto theft has rarely been an isolated illegal activity. During the 1920s it was intimately tied to Prohibition, in the 1930s to bank robberies, and in more recent times to gangs and drugs, and perhaps terrorism.”
If there’s one thing we can all learn from this report, it’s that we should never underestimate the criminal underbelly of society. Oh yeah, and make sure you have some good insurance!
4Wheel Online Blog - Automotive News 