1994 Honda Accord was most stolen car for fourth year in a row
The car stolen most often in the U.S. last year — for the fourth year in a row — was the 1994 Honda Accord, according to the annual Hot Wheels report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Next, thieves liked to go for the 1998 Honda Civic, according to the report from the nonprofit group that focuses on theft and insurance fraud prevention. Honda vehicles have been the two most popular autos for thieves since 2005.
The third-most-stolen car was a full-size 2006 Ford pickup. The 1991 Toyota Camry came in fourth.
It marked the first time in at least a decade that the Camry wasn’t among the top three.
Rounding out the top 10 for 2011, in order, were the 2000 Dodge Caravan, the 1994 Acura Integra, the 1999 Chevrolet pickup, the 2004 Dodge pickup, the 2002 Ford Explorer and the 1994 Nissan Sentra.
Hot Wheels collects data about vehicles reported stolen to law enforcement, regardless of insurance status. Based on early figures, thefts in 2011 fell 3.3% from the 737,142 cars purloined in 2010, hitting the lowest point since 1967.
But crooks may also be getting more tech-savvy. The theft of late-model vehicles was on the rise, even though those cars “are theoretically harder to steal due to sophisticated key code technology,” NICB Chief Executive Joe Wehrle said in a statement.
Thieves generally take a holiday on Christmas — it was the day with the fewest vehicle thefts of the year. New Year’s Day, however, had the most. Memorial Day, Halloween and Labor Day were also rife with incidents.
Turning to California, the car stolen most often in the state was also the 1994 Honda Accord, followed by the 1998 Honda Civic and 1991 Toyota Camry.
Fourth was the 1994 Acura Integra, followed by the 2004 Chevrolet pickup, 2006 Ford pickup, 1994 Nissan Sentra, 2010 Toyota Corolla, 1997 Nissan Altima and 1988 Toyota pickup.
