The latest top 10 stolen car list.

Just what the title says. Here's the link:

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=434545

Are these ranked by gross numbers stolen? Or by greatest percentage stolen per the number of that model on the road?

Amazing how many of those cars are over 10 years old.. only one 200X car on the list.. a ram pickup

wow I have own'd some of them (cars not trucks)

mad_machine wrote: Amazing how many of those cars are over 10 years old.. only one 200X car on the list.. a ram pickup

No, there are 2. '07 Corolla.

HA Fu 95 civic Glad I bought a 96

ignorant wrote: HA Fu 95 civic Glad I bought a 96

Funny thing is--the pic in the article is a 96-97.

Good thing my beater is a modded 95 hatch.

Civics get stolen for parts. Acuras get stolen for their engines. Why the Camry is on the list is puzzling. My only guess is it's easy to steal and doesn't stand out for those late night drug runs.

Easiest car in the world to steal, I swear, is a Dodge Shadow/Acclaim/Voyager of the early 1990s. I can break into one of those and steal it in probably 60 seconds, and I'm not a car thief. The ignition switch is one of the easiest to break into, and gaining entry to the car...well, let's just say you don't need to break a window. I used to have several claims a year on those. I guess even thieves strive for something better now.

I see the 94 GM 1/2-ton is listed. I wonder if I should start locking my 88 now? I never would have considered it car-theft fodder.

gamby wrote: Funny thing is--the pic in the article is a 96-97.

That's the first thing I noticed too.

My DD is a 94 Civic. Is the average car thief going to know the difference between a 94 and a 95? I'm not concerned about it being stolen I just wonder why 92-94 Civics aren't on the list.

I'm surprised older Harley motorcycles aren't on that list. Very, very easy to hotwire. Course, they would have to include motorcycles for it to make the list.

I think the number of older cars probably reflect the cars that are "available" in some of the more run-down areas.

also, newer cars are harder to steal due to chipped keys and such. note I didn't say impossible, because on ephatch this month, 2 members have had their 02-05 civic Si stolen.

How to steal car with chipped key: Tow truck.

If they're only stealing it for parts, do they really care if they can start it later or not? Doubtful.

but how many petty thieves have tow trucks?

I understood that cars were stolen for two main reasons. The first is parts, lots of people nick Civics and Camrys and Accords and trucks because they are the best-selling cars out there. Lot's of other people need the parts for their cars and disreputable shops are supplying the demand.

The other reason is for joyrides, and some cars are easier to steal than other. The word on how to steal a model gets popular on the streets and then it starts to dissapear. The easy ones are getting older and older, but people still know how so if thery are out there they are going to get taken.

Wow, I finally own a car that's number one on a list somewhere. Picked it up as a DD shortly before this version of the list came out.

ddavidv wrote: Civics get stolen for parts. Acuras get stolen for their engines. Why the Camry is on the list is puzzling. My only guess is it's easy to steal and doesn't stand out for those late night drug runs. Easiest car in the world to steal, I swear, is a Dodge Shadow/Acclaim/Voyager of the early 1990s. I can break into one of those and steal it in probably 60 seconds, and I'm not a car thief. The ignition switch is one of the easiest to break into, and gaining entry to the car...well, let's just say you don't need to break a window. I used to have several claims a year on those. I guess even thieves strive for something better now.

Those camry's have been on the list for years. I have one and am not sure why, there must be some secret trick to stealing them because I still have mine and it dosen't seem that easy to get into. I agree with k-cars, I could get into a friends dodge in High School with a key from our Chrysler.

I don't even see that many 2nd gen camry's on the road anymore.

The local scandal rag had a listing of the most stolen cars in the local area. #1 on the list? The 1994 Honda Accord. Guess what the ball and chain drives? Yup. Good thing I have a security system. It won't stop a determined thief, but it will discourage the casual window buster.

The really hot thing to steal around here now is catalytic converters. The KIA dealer I used to work for got hit Sunday night for 17 of them. Usual method: battery operated Sawzall, late night, back of the parking lot.

Easy cars to steal: late '80's GM midsize (Lesabre, Delta 88, etc) are super easy- IF you know what you are doing. I swear the kids could start them faster with a pair of needlenose pliers than the owner could with the key. Chrysler used a similar design.

gamby wrote:

ignorant wrote: HA Fu 95 civic Glad I bought a 96

Funny thing is--the pic in the article is a 96-97. Good thing my beater is a modded 95 hatch.

the f150 pictured is a 2001-2004 model as well

Xceler8x wrote: I'm surprised older Harley motorcycles aren't on that list. Very, very easy to hotwire...

This reminds me of a Harley I saw at a car show recently. It was sitting in the street with the rest of the cars/bikes, with the keys in it! Maybe not intentional, but I doubt many people would be able to steel it. It was a very old model with a suicide shifter (hand operated on the left side of the bike) and a kick starter! You would have to be pretty familiar to ride it, and pretty hard core to start it.

88 Toyota Truck. Damn. My 86 must be a hot item also then. Better be more careful where I park it. They are probably stealing them for the motors. The timing chains are about shot by now.

aircooled, technically, a suicide clutch is a foot operated clutch with the holding spring removed, so it only disengages the clutch when you step on the clutch pedal, like on a car. These usualy are found with a "jockey shift" that has the shifter ratchet arm down on the transmission, so you step on the clutch with your left foot, reach down by your side with your left arm and shift, then let the clutch out. A foot clutch/tank shift as they came from the factory was different. With it, the clutch had a foot board kinda thing. You step on it and pivot it one way to disengate the clutch and it would stay there if you took your foot off. You step on it and pivot it the other way to engage the clutch. Shifting was via a lever bolted to the left (HD) gas tank. So, you disengaged the clutch, shifted at the tank, engaged the clutch. At a stop, you could leave it in gear with the clutch disengaged, then engage the clutch and go. With a suicide clutch, at a stop you have to either keep your left foot on the clutch and balance the bike on your right foot or leave the bike in neutral with both feet on the ground. You gotta be pretty hard core to run a suicide clutch/jockey shift. All these bikes came kickstart only. The first electric start bike wasn't until well after the hand clutch/foot shift came along. Seeing pictures of people racing foot clutch/tank shift bikes on the dirt are pretty amazing.

I once left my 1966 Land Rover in our shop with the keys in it. One of my coworkers had to move it. After half an hour, he admitted defeat - he couldn't get it running. That's probably the only thing it has in common with a Harley, other than oil leaks and the tendency to run on two cylinders once in a while.

Around here, it's fun to read the police blotter. Stolen cars are always something like a 1988 Buick. Nothing good ever gets stolen.

Jensenman wrote: The local scandal rag had a listing of the most stolen cars in the local area. #1 on the list? The 1994 Honda Accord. Guess what the ball and chain drives? Yup. Good thing I have a security system. It won't stop a determined thief, but it will discourage the casual window buster. The really hot thing to steal around here now is catalytic converters. The KIA dealer I used to work for got hit Sunday night for 17 of them. Usual method: battery operated Sawzall, late night, back of the parking lot. Easy cars to steal: late '80's GM midsize (Lesabre, Delta 88, etc) are super easy- IF you know what you are doing. I swear the kids could start them faster with a pair of needlenose pliers than the owner could with the key. Chrysler used a similar design.

Yea a lot of Hondas that have come in have gotten their cats jacked.

On another similar note, there is a dude on LS1tech.com encourage people to sell their cats to him at $60 a pop. Whatever they are doing with them they are making some bank if they are paying people $120 a set for those. Hey it paid for half of my headers.