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Car Thieves Like the Fast, Furious and Blinged Out

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

August 2, 2006

Car Thefts • Car Thieves Like the Fast, Furious and Blinged Out • DaimlerChrysler Products Top NHTSA Most-Stolen List • Acura Integra Is 2004' Most-Stolen Car • Escalade, Maxima Top 2002-03 Theft List

Car thieves are little bothered by soaring gasoline prices as they continue to steal hot, high-priced little sports cars along with blinged-out gas-guzzling SUVs.

The 2001 BMW M Roadster is at the top of the most stolen list. One of every 200 on the road was stolen last year, according to the CCC Information Services Inc. of Chicago, an industry group that tracks theft and vehicle damage.

The vehicle with the highest theft percentage is deemed the year’s most stolen vehicle.

In raw numbers, the GM Hummer takes most-stolen-make honors, followed by Acura, Land Rover, Honda and Suzuki, according to CCC.

Perhaps most surprising is that in spite of escalating fuel costs, the full-size sport utility vehicle segment, including the Cadillac Escalade and Land Rover, remained the most stolen vehicle segment. Maybe crooks don't keep the cars long enough to gas them up?

Fast and furious little cars that can be sold for parts by street racers dominated the most-stolen list along with some high-priced cars.

Proving that thieves do like fast cars and powerful engines, 6 of the top 10 most-stolen specific models were versions of the Acura Integra. The Integra engine can easily be swapped into a lighter Honda Civic, making the Honda an agile and quick little street racer.

Here is the list of the car-thieves' top 25:

1. 2001 BMW M Roadster
2. 1998 Acura Integra
3. 2004 Mercury Marauder
4. 1999 Acura Integra
5. 1995 Acura Integra
6. 2002 Audi S4
7. 1996 Acura Integra
8. 1997 Acura Integra
9. 2001 Acura Ingegra
10. 2000 Jaguar XJR
11. 1994 Acura Integra
12. 2005 Suzuki Aerio
13. 2004 Suzuki Aerio
14. 1998 Land Rover Range Rover
15. 1998 Jaguar XJR
16. 2003 Mercury Marauder
17. 2000 Acura Integra
18. 2002 Cadillac Escalade
19. 2000 Audi A8
20. 2000 Audi S4
21. 1993 Mercedes-Benz 600
22. 1995 Land Rover Range Rover
23. 2005 Cadillac Escalade
24. 2000 Honda Civic
25. 2001 Audi S4

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