I found this list through probably Instapundit, and became intrigued. This list is by sheer numbers reported, so low production autos aren’t on the list. I would love to see a per capita list on stolen cars (what percentage of the cars made are reported stolen), just to see where Rolls Royce and Mercedes would show up. That is one of the problems with this list by the numbers. Just because they made millions of a specific model increases the chances of it being on the list. I remember a few years ago when various years of Olds Cutlass held 4 or 5 spots in the top ten.
There are two reasons a car is reported stolen. First is when somebody takes the car who is not allowed to. This breaks down further into two kinds of thefts; desirable cars (crimes of passion) and available cars (crimes of opportunity). The other kind of theft is actually fraud; something is broke on the car that is expensive to repair. The car is reported stolen, found later (with the transmission now trashed), and the car is either repaired or replaced.
The Top Ten:
10- 2002 Ford Explorer
9- 1999 Ford Taurus
8- 1994 Acura Integra
7- 1996 Jeep Cherokee
6- 2000 Dodge Caravan
5- 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup
4- 1997 Ford 150 Pickup
3- 1989 Toyota Camry
2- 1995 Honda Civic
1- 1994 Honda Accord
I don’t know about you, but I am fairly sure NOBODY ever stole a Dodge Caravan in a crime of passion. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. I would say 95% of those thefts are Opportunity or Fraud.
It is also interesting (to me anyway) that the top 2 are ‘tuner’ specials. I wonder what the percentage of these cars stolen were stock versus modified? And too, there are millions of these cars around. Even if a smaller percentage of the available Hondas are actually stolen, because there are so many of them the actual number stolen is high.
Okay friends; now a test:
Which of these cars are Crimes of Passion do you think? Name at least one, but you can name 10 if you like.
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