The CCC report found that one out of every two hundred registered 1999 Integras was stolen during 2004. The 2002 BMW M Roadster and the 1998 Acura Integra were second and third on the list, respectively.

CCC changed the method of determining the most stolen vehicles for last year's study, basing the report on the theft rate rather than the number of thefts, which had skewed the report toward the most popular models. CCC is a technology provider to the automotive claims and repair industry.

CCC does not include vehicles stolen for joyrides or otherwise recovered and returned to their owners, but only vehicles stolen and deemed a total loss, or never recovered. A vehicle is considered a total loss when the cost to repair it approaches or exceeds the value of the vehicle.

"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."

"The data also points to a high proportion of stolen cars that are built for speed such as the BMW M Roadster, Audi S4 and Mercury Marauder, which all appear on the top 25 most stolen vehicles list in 2004," said Comstock.

National Insurance Crime Bureau
The popular 2000 Honda Civic was the top pick among thieves during the 2003 calendar year, according to the "Hot Wheels" report released in February 2005 by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). "In 2003, 1,260,471 motor vehicles were reported stolen at an estimated value of over $8 billion. With recovery rates hovering near the 65 percent mark, that leaves a tremendous number of vehicles that are either cut up for parts, exported to other countries, or reappear as clones, the latest trend in an ever-expanding list of fraud schemes," said Robert M. Bryant, president and CEO of the NICB.
The most recent NICB report listed the 1989 Toyota Camry as the second most stolen vehicle, followed by the 1991 Honda Accord.
The Escalade EXT and Nissan Maxima, which is second on the HLDI list, have theft claim rates seven to eight times higher than the average for all cars. "This is the second year in a row that an Escalade is among the vehicles most likely to have a theft claim," said Kim Hazelbaker, HLDI senior vice president. "Both the Escalade pickup and SUV also top the list of vehicles with the most expensive theft claims, indicating they are top targets for thieves."

One of the likely reasons for the Escalade's popularity among thieves is the propensity for owners to outfit the big Cadillacs with expensive wheel packages, some costing as much as $10,000. Where wheels are popular on the Escalade, the Nissan Maxima's theft rate climbed dramatically in 2002 when the company made expensive high-intensity discharge headlights part of the car's standard equipment.

Thieves Follow Market Trends
Thieves still prefer cars over SUVs or pickups—although large SUVs are becoming more common on the lists. In two separate studies, one from CCC and the other from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), at least seven of the ten most commonly stolen vehicles in the United States are cars, with the Acura Integra, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic and Honda Accord prominent on the lists. However both studies show an increase in SUV theft.

The SUVs with the highest theft rates, according to the CCC 2004 stolen vehicle report, are the 2004 Cadillac Escalade and the 1998 Land Rover Range Rover.

The most commonly stolen truck, according to the NICB report, is the Chevrolet Silverado (C/K) full-size pickup—fourth on the NICB list for calendar 2003.

According to Bryant, "Vehicle thieves follow market trends and target the most popular vehicles because they provide the best market for stolen vehicle parts and illegal export to other countries."

The CCC reports the ten most stolen vehicles for 2004 are as follows:
[list=1]
[]1999 Acura Integra
[]2002 BMW M Roadster
[]1998 Acura Integra
[]1991 GMC V2500
[]2002 Audi S4
[]1996 Acura Integra
[]1995 Acura Integra
[]2004 Mercury Marauder
[]1997 Acura Integra
[]1992 Mercedes-Benz 600
[/list]The study is based on total loss claims received from more than 350 property and casualty insurers in North America and compares the number of vehicles stolen and not recovered against vehicle registration volume information provided by R.L. Polk & Co., to determine the rate of theft.

The NICB top ten list—the number in parentheses is the model year most stolen:
[list=1]
[]Honda Civic (2000)
[]Toyota Camry (1989)
[]Honda Accord (1991)
[]Chevrolet C/K 1500 (1994)
[]Dodge Caravan (1994)
[]Ford F-150 (1997)
[]Toyota Pickup (1986)
[]Acura Integra (1995)
[]Nissan Sentra (1987)
[]Oldsmobile Cutlass (1986)
[/list]The HLDI lists the five most stolen vehicles for the 2001-2003 model years as follows:
[list=1]
[]Cadillac Escalade EXT
[]Nissan Maxima
[]Cadillac Escalade
[]Dodge Stratus/Chrysler Sebring
[*]Dodge Intrepid
[/list]http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?contentid=2891&src=LP%20used