Integra Most Stolen Car; Marauder No. 8!?!?
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Acura Integra is the favorite of car thieves, according to a report released Tuesday by a firm that tracks auto theft claims.
The report by CCC Information Services tracks theft claims for 2004 based on make and model year, and it found that one of every 200 registered 1999 Acura Integras was stolen last year, making it the most stolen model.
In addition, Integras from model years 1995 through 1998 took four of the other top 9 positions on the list. The 1994, 2000 and 2001 Integra models also make the top 20 list. The list ranks vehicles by the percentage of registered vehicles stolen, rather than by gross number of thefts.
"We cannot determine with absolute certainty the reason why thieves steal some vehicles over others, but we see trends in the data that provide interesting insight," said Carole Comstock, CCC's vice president of marketing and product management. "For instance, our data suggests some cars are stolen for the value of their parts, which may explain why we often see a 'clustering' effect with same make and model vehicles from sequential model years."
Comstock said a growing interest in street car racing could also be feeding the thieves demand for Integra. That reason for thefts could explain why the 2002 BMW M Roadster is the No. 2 car on the list, as well as why the 2004 Mercury Marauder comes in at No. 8.
The top 10 list is rounded out by the 1991 GMC V2500 at No. 4, the 2002 Audi S4 at No. 5 and the 1992 Mercedes-Benz 600 at No. 10.
The popularity of different Integra models with thieves made Acura the most stolen make of 2004, followed by Hummer, Land Rover, Daewoo and Honda.
The top three vehicle segments with the highest rate of theft rates in 2004 were the full size sport/utility Vehicles, such as the Cadillac Escalade; the upper midsize sedans, including the Integra; and the prestige luxury segment, such as Bentley and Mercedes Benz.
Top 25
1 1999 Acura Integra
2 2002 BMW M Roadster :confused:
3 1998 Acura Integra
4 1991 GMC V2500
5 2002 Audi S4
6 1996 Acura Integra
7 1995 Acura Integra
8 2004 Mercury Marauder :confused:
9 1997 Acura Integra
10 1992 Mercedes-Benz 600
11 2001 Acura Integra
12 1989 Chevrolet R25 :confused:
13 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood
14 1994 Acura Integra
15 1996 Lexus GS
16 2000 Acura Integra
17 1999 Mercedes-Benz CL
18 1996 Lexus SC
19 2004 Cadillac Escalade
20 1996 BMW 750
21 1998 Land Rover Range
22 1994 Audi Cabriolet
23 2001 BMW M Roadster
24 2003 Cadillac Escalade
25 2000 Honda Civic
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Not totally sure I believe these results, nor the "street racing" explanation for the Marauder. Then again, there was a Marauder at the SCCA event on Sunday... :clown:
S.
