Japanese Auto Brand Produces The Most Stolen Car In America
According to statistics, it has been found that car thieves steal 20-year-old Hondas more than any other car in the United States.
More times than not, if you were to ask someone what they thought the most popular car brand to steal is, they would probably say a high-end name like a BMW or Audi. This is because those brands are more expensive and more desirable than a run-of-the-mill car like a Camry that you see multiple times on any given road.
According to the 2016 Hot Wheels Report from The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NBIC), however, the 1997 Honda Accord and the 1998 Honda Civic were the most stolen cars in the nation last year. These two models, alone, contribute to 42 percent of all top 10 thefts in the country in 2016. The report named the Honda Accord as the America’s most popular car for thieves to steal, with 50,427 vehicles taken. The Honda Civic came right behind it with 49,547 base model vehicles stolen. Trucks followed suit with the Ford F-Series placing in third with 32,721 units stolen and the Chevrolet Silverado hitting fourth place with 31,238. Ironically enough (as touched upon above), the Toyota Camry placed in fifth on the report with 16,732 cars stolen.
Moving down the listing, you will see the Nissan Altima in sixth place with 12,221 stolen cars. The Dodge Ram is in seventh place with 12,128 owners reporting their trucks stolen. In eighth place is the Toyota Corolla with 11,989 stolen vehicles, followed by the Chevy Impala with 9,749 missing units. Jeep ties the list up in tenth place with 9,245 Cherokees and Grand Cherokees falling into the hands of thieves last year.
Thieves are sticking with older models from two decades ago because the newer cars are too hard to steal.
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Rather than Honda being the most stolen auto brand in the country, it was the 1998 Civics and 1997 Accords that thieves were after. Only 493 of the 2016 Accords were reported stolen last year. This leads us to believe that the Japanese automaker’s new smart key technology is discouraging thieves.
NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle said in a statement:
"“Anti-theft systems in newer model cars and trucks are excellent, but they don’t work if you don’t use them. Far too many thefts occur because the vehicle is left unlocked and the key or fob is inside. Taking the time to lock it up every time you leave it can save a whole lot of headache and expense in the long run.”"
Despite the aforementioned statistics, the number of car thefts are actually significantly lower than their all-time high back in 1992. Even so, a lot of the times vehicles are stolen simply due to the carelessness of owners, i.e. leaving the keys or fobs in the vehicles, or their doors/windows open. Make sure you are aware of surroundings when leaving your car and double check the door handles. Don’t encourage thieves by any means! A lot of the times it is not up to us and we cannot control it; however, we can do our part in securing our cars. This also means not leaving flashy electronics (even chargers) out in the open or bags on the seats where they are visible through the windows. Taking these little steps can save you headaches down the line!
Next: Honda Civic Type R: First US-Bound Car Up For Auction
You can see the entire Hot Wheels report explained in the video below. [See the national report here, the state report here, an infographic here and video here.]
Download the complete list of 2016’s top 25 most stolen vehicles from this spreadsheet.