No one ever rightly assumes that car thieves are the brightestbulbs in the box, but one starts to wonder about the collectiveintelligence when the 20-year-old Oldsmobile Cutlass — out ofproduction since 1999 and valued at no more than $1,000, accordingto Kelley Blue Book — starts showing up as the top car stolen insome states. (We're looking at you, Kentucky.) Given that a grandtheft auto conviction typically carries a stiff jail sentence and ahefty fine, is the risk really worth the reward? While criminalsmight be the only ones able to give a definitive answer, FrankScafidi, spokesperson for the National Insurance Crime Bureau(NICB), offered an opinion on the matter.
|“Why do people steal that vintage of vehicle? There are a coupleof theories,” said Scafidi. “Normally, they're easier to break intoor make off with an older vehicle than a new one. Then of course,with respect to the last five years of manufacturers, manycompanies are putting more auto theft prevention or anti-thefttechnology and devices into cars. They're not theft-proof, butthey're more of a deterrent than are earlier generations ofanti-theft devices.”
|Nationally, the top stolen car is the 1991 Honda Accord, but theNICB also compiled a list of the top 10 cars stolen in each state.To find out which ones are most at risk in your region, go tonicb.org and look up its “Hot Wheels” report. Don't be surprised ifyou find yourself speculating on their SAT scores, though.
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