Honda Civic Tops Most Stolen Car

If you drive a 1995 Honda Civic — look out! For the second year in a row, the 1995 Honda Civic tops the list of most stolen vehicles in America. The annual “hot wheels” report says the top targets last year were the ‘95 civic, the 91 honda accord, the 89 toyota camry and the 97 ford f-150 pickup.
“You see a lot of them on the road,” said the 59-year-old Harrison woman, who is trying to sell her 1997 model. “I’m not really sure why it would be stolen unless they were stealing it for the parts.”

Topping Tennessee’s list, according to the crime bureau, is the 1994 Chevrolet Full Size C/K1500 Pickup, while in neighboring Georgia the 1996 Honda Accord is stolen most frequently. The Chevy C/K 1500 is No. 2 in Georgia. Nationwide, the 1995 Honda Civic is stolen most often, followed by the 1991 Honda Accord, said the bureau, located in Des Plaines, Ill.

For 2007, the most stolen car in the nation were:
1. 1995 Honda Civic
2. 1991 Honda Accord
3. 1989 Toyota Camry
4. 1997 Ford F-150 Series Pickup
5. 1994 Chevrolet C/K 1500 Pickup
6. 1994 Acura Integra
7. 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup
8. 1994 Nissan Sentra
9. 1988 Toyota Pickup
10. 2007 Toyota Corolla

Why would thieves target cars that are so old? There are a few reasons. One factor is that they are popular, and they’ve got longevity. There are a lot of them out there, making them an easy mark that blends into traffic when a thief is trying to get away with them.
But most of all, for the enterprising thief, these cars can make a killing on the secondhand-parts circuit. According to the NICB, these models provide the best prices on spare parts because many of the designs stayed the same for several years so the parts are interchangeable over several years’ models.

Older and less-expensive vehicles are stolen more easily because they aren’t equipped with advanced anti-theft protection devices, said Frank Scafidi, a spokesman for the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
“Every year or every generation of vehicles, there’s usually more and more theft-prevention equipment or anti-theft devices that come from the factory,” he said.
Perrin Carr, 28, of Chattanooga, used to own a 1997 Ford Ranger, whose 1998 version is No. 10 on this year’s Hot Wheels list. He attributes the high number of Ford Rangers on the road for why they’re frequently stolen, as well as the indestructible nature of their parts.