Interestingly, the '94 Accord was the most stolen car last year, according to the Insurance Info Institute. The 2nd is also a Honda, the '95 Civic. I wonder why such old models? Any ideas?
OP TEN MOST FREQUENTLY STOLEN PASSENGER VEHICLES, 2009
Rank Year/make/model 1 1994 Honda Accord 2 1995 Honda Civic 3 1991 Toyota Camry 4 1997 Ford F-150 Pickup 5 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup 6 2000 Dodge Caravan 7 1994 Chevrolet Pickup (Full size) 8 1994 Acura Integra 9 2002 Ford Explorer 10 2009 Toyota Corolla Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau.
I had a 1992 Prelude, in Texas, which I gave to my second son, to move to Hollywood. He did bit parts on several films and TV shows. The car was stolen, but found shortly, with the engine missing. He was told that "ricers" burn out their engines, and there are gangs in LA, that steal cars, on spec, for the engines. He made the wise decision to leave LA. He also bought a Mercedes. It seems the "ricers" do not know what to do with a Mercedes engine.
Before they put RF chips in keys, my old Civic key would work in other cars. I'd sometimes open a same model year, same color car in the parking lot before I realized it wasnt mine. A worn down key seemed to be a master key.
Joe Rossi wrote in news:id0upv$bv$ snipped-for-privacy@news.albasani.net:
no,it's because the motors and engine control electronics are easily swapped and hacked for more performance.
**also no anti-theft immobilizer system.(programmed keys)**,makes them an easy steal.
I know because I used to have a 1994 Integra GS-R,stolen in 2007. It took them less than a minute to break in despite the alarm with "ignition disable" and push start it and drive it off. "Gone in 60 Seconds" was pretty accurate.I didn't even have time to fire off a shot. It was found 3 days later,stripped and burned,a total loss They take the high performance B18C3 motor and it's ECU,and maybe any other parts they can use or sell.
the only useful anti-theft method is a hidden fuel cutoff switch,which I had the parts for,but didn't have time to install them. I had already re- routed the hood release cable inside the engine compartment and made a shield for the hood latch itself. theives like to use a wire to pull the hood release latch from under the bumper,or tear open the left wheelwell and cut the release cable to release the hood latch;then they quickly lift the hood and cut any alarm wire before it can sound long enough to be recognized;that happened to a girl I knew.
Joe Rossi wrote in news:id0upv$bv$ snipped-for-privacy@news.albasani.net:
The older ones are easier to steal because they tend not to have immobilizers. And the vehicles on this list were mostly best-sellers, so there are lots of them around to steal.
The newer Explorer and Corolla are probably on the list simply due to the sheer size of their sales numbers. The Dodge Ram? I can't explain that one.
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