Nov 11 2008
Most Stolen Car in Recent Years is the Acura Integra
Of the top 25 most stolen cars according to CCC Information Systems, a company that tracks theft and vehicle damage for the auto insurance industry, there is one car that makes the list six times. The study shows the Acura Integra model years from 1998 - 2001 as the most stolen and least recovered car of the twenty-five. This list was compiled from 350 property and casualty insurers in North America.
The reason the Acura is seen so frequently on the list is due to the swapability of many of the parts, and the engines themselves into other cars. The Acuras are being stolen, then the serial numbers ground off the engines. These popular double-overhead cam engines are then put into Hondas.
The reason? According to the Los Angeles Police Dept., it’s street racing. Illegal street racers run their cars hard until parts fail, then steal Acuras for the replacement parts. Acuras are easy to steal, and it is a cheaper way to repair their car compared to buying and installing a replacement engine. Street racing has become increasingly popular in metropolitan coastal cities in recent years. The trends towards certain makes and models being most-stolen has a direct correlation to the rise in popularity of car models used for street racing.
In addition, in Los Angeles, there is also a large market for older model Toyotas and Hondas because those makes tend to be more reliable and stay on the road longer than most, therefore are more desirable.
BMW’s 2001 M-series Roadster tops the list even though there were only 5,000 registered in the US at the time of the report’s release. This make and model made the list due to its popularity with car thieves. There was one stolen for every 200 on the road.
Surprisingly, large SUVs, mostly high-end luxury models also made the list despite high gas consumption, mostly due to the fact that these cars hold their value. The Cadillac Escalade, for example placed 23rd. It’s wheels and tires alone can be worth $10,000.on the street, while small cars that can be chopped up and sold for parts were the majority of cars stolen. Many of the older model SUVs did not have a computer chip anti-theft device installed at the factory which accounts for their popularity with thieves. Even a mid-1990’s model SUV can be worth in the tens of thousands on the underground markets.
The top 10 most stolen vehicles, least recovered list for 2006 according NICSB (the National Insurance Crime Bureau), was headed by 1995 Honda Civic.The 1990 Acura Integra placed 10th.
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November 14th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
que interesante! keep it up, V– these are great!