Gojirra99

CHICAGO--July 19, 2005--According to CCC Information Services Inc.'s 2004 most stolen vehicle report, one of every 200 registered 1999 Acura Integra's was stolen last year, making it 2004's most stolen vehicle. The 2002 BMW M Roadster and the 1998 Acura Integra ranked as the second and third most stolen vehicles respectively.


A technology provider to the automotive claims and collision repair industry, CCC processes more than 1 million automotive claims-related transactions each day, resulting in an extensive database of vehicle information. The company identifies the most-stolen vehicles by analyzing total loss claims it receives from more than 350 property and casualty insurers in North America. CCC then compares its stolen-vehicle data against vehicle registration volume information provided by R. L. Polk & Co. to determine the rate of theft as a percentage of registered vehicles. The vehicle with the highest theft percentage is deemed the year's most stolen 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."

'Clustering' most frequently occurs with upper midsize cars, such as the Acura Integra and Honda Accord. The 2004 most stolen vehicle list provides an example of this phenomenon. Acura Integras with consecutive model years (1994-2001) account for eight of the top 25 spots. "Some manufacturers retain the same part-type from model year to model year, so a part from a 1995 model may fit a car manufactured three years later," added Comstock.

As for thieves' 'need for speed', Comstock said "There is a growing interest in street car racing and participants seem to gravitate toward the Acura Integra as their vehicle of choice. Other vehicles, including the Mercury Marauder and BMW M Roadster, while not as likely to be used in street car racing, have been manufactured with speed in mind."

Other trends observed in 2004 demonstrate the correlation between consumer preferences and increasing gas prices with vehicle thefts. The growing number of thefts of the Fullsize Utility vehicle segment, including the Cadillac Escalade and Land Rover, is consistent with the rise in popularity of these vehicles. Additionally, the Heavy Duty Station Wagon vehicle segment, which includes those vehicles known for their gas guzzling, has dropped off of the top 10 most stolen vehicle segments list, while the more efficiently fueled Basic Economy vehicle segment has moved up on that list.

Information on Make, Age and Segment of vehicle

-- Vehicles made in 1997 were the most susceptible to theft, followed by model years 1996, 1999, 1995 and 1998.

-- The high number of stolen Integras made Acura the most stolen make of 2004, followed by Hummer, Land Rover, Daewoo and Honda.

-- The top three vehicle segments with the highest rate of theft for 2004 were the Fullsize Utility (e.g., Cadillac Escalade), Upper Midsize (e.g. Acura Integra) and the Prestige Luxury (e.g. Bentley Continental and Mercedes Benz).

The most stolen vehicle report is based on total losses identified as stolen and not recovered. CCC does not include temporary auto-related thefts such as "joy-rides" or the theft of car items such as stereos.

Vehicles from model year 2005 were not included on this report.

About CCC

CCC Information Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CCC Information Services Group , headquartered in Chicago, IL, is a leading supplier of advanced software, communications systems, Internet and wireless-enabled technology solutions to the automotive claims and collision repair industries. Its technology-based products and services optimize efficiency throughout the entire claims management supply chain and facilitate communication among approximately 21,000 collision repair facilities, 350 insurance companies, and a range of industry participants. For more information about CCC Information Services Inc., visit our Web site at www.cccis.com; or contact Michelle Hellyar of CCC Information Services at 312-229-2830 or John Harris of CCC Information Services at 312-229-2693.

Most Stolen Vehicles of 2004
Source: CCC Information Services Inc.

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1 1999 Acura Integra
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2 2002 BMW M Roadster
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3 1998 Acura Integra
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4 1991 GMC V2500
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5 2002 Audi S4
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6 1996 Acura Integra
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7 1995 Acura Integra
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8 2004 Mercury Marauder
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9 1997 Acura Integra
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10 1992 Mercedes-Benz 600
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11 2001 Acura Integra
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12 1989 Chevrolet R25
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13 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood
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14 1994 Acura Integra
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15 1996 Lexus GS
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16 2000 Acura Integra
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17 1999 Mercedes-Benz CL
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18 1996 Lexus SC
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19 2004 Cadillac Escalade
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20 1996 BMW 750
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21 1998 Land Rover Range
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22 1994 Audi Cabriolet
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23 2001 BMW M Roadster
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24 2003 Cadillac Escalade
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25 2000 Honda Civic
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source : theautochannel

mmarshall

I would agree that when RATE of theft ( in other words, X-number of every 100 registered vehicles) is taken into account, the Integra and Escalade would rank up there. But if you look at total NUMBER of stolen vehicles, period, the Camry and Accord have led the list for many years. Their popularity as stolen cars corresponds with their popularity as new cars and the demand by unscrupulous repair shops for stolen parts.

Full-size, expensive SUV's are beoming popular with thieves because of growing demand for stolen ones in Latin America, with its poor roads, by people who could otherwise not afford them as new vehicles.

soarer1023

speaking of stolen cars, yesterday there were 2 days got stolen around the same time at my work place. and the funny thing is, the police station was right across the street from my work place. how did they put that off??

gsfour

Yeah! My 2000 Integra is not the #1 stolen Integra. .......

np20412

Yep, the study showed that 1 in every 200 registered 1999 Acura Integras was reported stolen thats a lot!

STIG

wow how many times do i see Acura Integra in that list? my friend integra was stolen in SF and recoverd in oakland but the car was stripped.

i own an Acura RSX and may be next year we will probably start seeing RSX making that list.

foofighter

and the Audi S4 makes it to the top 5 list. Sad because there were 4 of them that got stolen this past weekend at the east coast's biggest VW Audi car shows in New Jersey.

That car is loved by car thieves in NJ

Canyonero

Aren't modern cars more difficult to steal since most are equiped with engine immobilizers?

whoster

not if yuo've got a flatbed truck and a winch.

b1ackhawk

Sucks for me, ive got an SC and a teg, im a target