If you're going to take on the risks of stealing a car, you should make sure that the reward is worthwhile. I'm not sure that the Sebring fits that bill.
The Sebring is a good-looking convertible, and the open roof does provide easy access for thieves. Nonetheless, with so many other hot cars on the market, you'd think that crooks would pass this one up.
There must be a booming black market for mid-sized sedans. I suppose the reasoning among thieves is as follows: What sells well in the legitimate market will eventually need cheap replacement parts on the black market.
Still, I can't see many Dodge owners moving in the kind of social circles that would give them access to hot car parts.
For every car that makes a thief's eyes light up, there's one that he'll completely ignore. While it's difficult to establish the reasons why thefts didn't occur, it is safe to say that Buick owners can sleep a little better than most: the LeSabre, Park Avenue and Rendezvous 4WD were three of the five vehicles that proved to be the least attractive to thieves throughout 2004. Fleshing out this list were the 2003 Ford Taurus and the 2002 Saturn LW.
So what separates the desirable carjacks from the casually dismissed? The top two cars on the most-stolen list, the Maxima and the Escalade, are there for one reason: fashion. Escalades are popular with celebrities and sports stars, making them something of a status symbol.
While the Maxima isn't popular in and of itself, its lights are hot on the accessories market. In fact, to curb the recent rash of stolen Maximas, Nissan has offered owners free brackets that make the headlights harder to steal.
Car thefts rates on the whole are down, but the costs of crime are up. The main reason for this is that cars today cost more money. Since chop shops tend to drive car theft, it's clear that vehicles that feature a wider range of high-end options, like the Escalade, as well as cars that come standard with more desirable parts, like the Maxima, will usually get swiped first.
The list of the most stolen cars changes with the times. For several years running, SUVs were well represented among the top five. Premium sports cars and luxury cars seldom finish high on the list, but that probably has more to do with their scarcity and their owners' efforts to look after them than lack of interest among thieves.
According to experts, the next trend to look out for will be increased theft among older models of cars. The reason for this is straightforward enough: older cars typically have fewer and less sophisticated security devices installed.
The newest generation of antitheft devices greatly reduces auto theft. On average, cars equipped with antimobilization devices will suffer half as many thefts as those that are not. Still, cars that attract thieves because of certain desirable parts remain just as prone to vanish — even with anti-mobilization features.
We can't protect our car absolutely, but there are choices that we can make to ensure that they're less likely to be stolen. By knowing what models and options top the most stolen list, we can choose vehicles that are less attractive to crooks.
By taking common sense steps to protect our cars, we can signal to would-be thieves that it isn't an easy target. And by knowing about trends in auto theft, we can make better decisions about which antitheft features to invest in.