Toyota, Honda Top Most-stolen Vehicle List
D E T R O I T, March 20 -- The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord dominateanother list of most-popular vehicles nationwide, but it's not alist you will see touted in advertisements or commercials.
The two models hold 17 of the top 25 spots in a ranking ofvehicles most stolen in the United States last year, according toCCC Information Services Inc., an insurance industry tracker oftrends in theft and other vehicle damage.
The 1989 Camry led the way for the fourth year in a row,followed by 1990, 1991 and 1988 versions. Honda's 1994, 1996, 1990and 1995 Accords placed fifth, sixth, eighth and 10th,respectively.
Overall, five Camry models and a dozen of the Accords placedamong the top 25 in Chicago-based CCC's yearly list, to be releasedtoday. Last year's list had 19 Camrys and Accords.
Trucks, SUVs Also Popular
Reflecting a growing appetite for pickup trucks among thieves,the 1994 Chevrolet C1500 4x2 pickup truck placed seventh — up fourspots — while the 1997 Ford F-150 4x2 pickup came in ninth. In lastyear's listing, the F-150 model placed fifth as the only vehicle inthe top 10 — foreign or domestic — that wasn't a Camry or Accord.
Also of note: 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4 sport utility vehicleplacing 20th, marking the first time an SUV made the list in fouryears, CCC spokeswoman Jeanene O'Brien said.
Absent from the list for the first time in at least four yearsis the Chevrolet Caprice, perhaps reflecting declining consumerappeal for domestic mid- and large-sized domestic sedans, O'Briensaid.
Still, cases of major vehicle theft dropped 8.5 percent in 2000,following a 15 percent decline the year before, CCC said its datashowed.
Reliability Is Key
Observers say Camrys and Accords remain popular among thievesbecause there's a great demand for their spare parts, they havebeen top-sellers for years and can be driven for hundreds ofthousands of miles.
Those two models also tend to change little each year — makingmore parts interchangeable between model years — and hold theirvalue better than competitors, meaning fewer ended up in junkyardsand more still were on the road.
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