Celica Supras Boast Special Air Pump : Toyota Seats a Hot Item Among Thieves

People who own Toyota Celica Supras are finding them hard to hang onto, and at the bottom of it all is a fascination with the expensive sports car’s magnificent seats, police say.

Thieves attracted to the $17,000 model frequently steal the car and make off with the seats--leaving the rest behind, State Police Lt. Col. Peter Agnes, head of the statewide auto theft strike force, said.

Bob McCorry, of Automotive Protection Services in Cambridge, said that the Supra seats--which cost $3,600 a pair to replace--cradle riders in comfort and instantly upgrade a cheaper Toyota when fitted.

“What they did was sell the Celica, and then the Celica with the Supra package, and then the Supra,” he said. “The guy who has the regular Celica without the package--the package is attractive.

‘Steal ‘Em and Strip ‘Em’

“So they steal ‘em and strip ‘em and sell the seats and wheels.”

Peter Valle, of the parts department at the Toyota of Boston dealership, said that the seat is a bulbous, adjustable construction of fabric, steel and pneumatic devices that “does just about anything.”

“The seat has a pump, a special air pump that makes it go up and down, back and forth; it’s adjustable. The head rest goes back, forward and to the side,” Valle said.

Art Garner, a spokesman for Toyota Motor Sales USA, said he was unaware that the Supra seats were so desirable to thieves. He said the problem may be limited to the Boston area.

The Supra was the second most frequently stolen car in the country in 1983-84, exceeded only by the Buick Riviera, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in its roundup of car theft figures.

Boston Called Theft Capital

The figures also cite Boston as the car theft capital of the nation, but state officials believe Massachusetts is no longer tops in the number of car thefts per 100,000 people. Confirmation won’t be available until the FBI’s crime reports are issued in late summer.

Agnes said the number of Massachusetts auto thefts in 1984 was 44,750, a drop of 1,222 from 1983. In Boston, car thefts were down 828 from 1983’s 17,219.

Meanwhile, insurance adjuster Daniel Fonte said that the lure of the Supra’s seats seems similar to the attraction noted a few years ago for Blaupunkt car radios.

“The seats are similar to the Blaupunkt radio,” he said. “Put one of those in a car in Boston and it’s guaranteed to be stolen.”

Fonte said he has been told that a typical sale of stolen Supra seats brings in $200 to $300.

Tires Also Popular

Agnes said that other car parts popular with thieves are tires and cast-metal wheels.

“We’ve had in the hundreds cars recovered with the tires missing,” he said.

But almost any part is subject to theft, he said. “It’s what they’re trying to replace on the cars they’re trying to fix up.”

Agnes heads a coordinated move to cut down on auto thefts across the state using computers and undercover officers. He said that the team has recovered 1,047 cars worth $7 million and made 283 arrests since November 1983.

“It’s dangerous; we are operating in a high-crime area,” Agnes said, adding that his officers have been “involved in two shoot-outs. One person was killed and one police officer was shot.”