Stolen Car Study Shows Thieves Now Have Better Taste

After an eternity of seeing the Honda Accord and Civic topping lists of America’s most-stolen cars, tastes have finally evolved. According to the Highway Loss Data Institute’s list of vehicles most likely to be stolen, Hemi-equipped Dodge Challengers and Chargers are now the ride of choice for automotive miscreants. Interestingly, bandits seem to prefer larger vehicles on the whole — with full-sized pickups and large-engined cars topping the charts.

However, there are a couple items that need to be sorted out before we progress. You’ll probably continue seeing Accords, Corollas, Civics, and F-Series pickups on subsequent most-stolen lists. Their volume alone makes them popular targets and any study going by sheer numbers is bound to include them. But the HLDI report quantifies automobiles by their relative risk using insurance data, suggesting its big-boy season for car thieves.

Isolating vehicles by the 2016-18 model years, the Highway Loss Data Institute said the Dodge Charger was the whip pilferers found most tempting. Song long as it was equipped a V8, the outlet said it had a claim frequency of 544 — over five times the 100-point average.

It was followed by Challenger SRT Hellcat (529) and Infiniti Q50 (525). But there’s a sizable dip in popularity after that, with the Infiniti QX80 (422) receiving a take rate four just times higher than the industry average. The rest of the at-risk pack shook down as follows:

GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab (393)

“The models most likely to be stolen tend to be powerful, pricey or pickups, but vehicle theft is also a crime of opportunity,” said HLDI Senior Vice President Matt Moore. “Better security features on all vehicles would be the best way to address the problem.”

Apparently, that did the trick for Cadillac’s Escalade. The study noted that the SUV previously dominated its rankings of vehicles popular with thieves, adding that General Motors implemented improved security features since 2015. Noteworthy additions were its glass breakage sensors, motion detectors and an inclination sensor that triggers an alarm if someone tries to take the wheels off, tow the vehicle or lift it onto a flatbed.

We think the HLDI is onto something about crimes of opportunity. Several of these are cars you wouldn’t be surprised to see sitting outside of someone’s garage or parked on the street in a bad neighborhood. I’m talking to you, Chrysler 300 and Nissan Maxima.

In fact, the study even mentions the low theft rate of Tesla vehicles and suggests it may have something to do with their being garaged overnight for charging purposes. But the Model S and X were only the second and third least likely to be stolen. Top honors actually went to the BMW 3 Series (netting an index score of just 4). The rest of the safe list was loaded with vehicles nobody would want to steal in the first place, with the only exceptions being the Honda Odyssey, BMW X5, and Mazda MX-5 Miata.

You may have a differing opinion, however, and are welcome to check out the study for yourself at the Highway Loss Data Institute’s website.

[Image: FCA]