Pickup truck drivers beware.
Your vehicle may be on thieves’ list of favorite targets.
Research released by the Highway Data Loss Institute, based on insurance theft claims during the period 2010 to 2012. The research showed pickups were the first five vehicles on the list of those most often targeted by thieves – whether that’s to steal the truck or its contents.
The most targeted truck of all is the Ford F-250 pickup, a heavy-duty version of the top-selling F-150, according to the institute. Besides the F-250, the top five comprises the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab and Avalanche 1500, the GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab and the Ford F-350 crew cab. All five pickups are categorized as large or very large trucks, and both Fords are four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Another pickup, the GMC Sierra 1500 extended cab also finished eighth on the list.
Rounding out the institute’s list of Top 10 vehicles targeted by thieves are four SUVs – Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Suburban 1500, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe.
“This list gives consumers an indication of the relative risk of their vehicle being stolen,” said Matt Moore, vice president of the institute, told The New York Times. The Highway Loss Data Institute is an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and both are financed by the insurance industry.
The Cadillac Escalade, which used to be the most vulnerable vehicle, but now it has fallen on the institute’s list, most likely because of the car’s increased security features and because sales have fallen for that type of vehicle according to Opposing Views online. “In general, theft rates are declining, mainly due to the spread of ignition immobilizers that prevent cars from being ‘hot wired.’” The reason for a rise in stolen pickups may be because fewer pickups than cars or SUVs have ignition immobilizers.
“Many pickup claims result from the theft of equipment from the truck bed, and that may be the case with some of the F-250 claims. HLDI’s data don’t distinguish theft of vehicle contents or components from theft of a whole vehicle,” said Ron Hall, Ford Truck & Commercial Vehicle spokesman.
The bottom ten targets, according to the HDLI, are (in order) the Dodge Journey midsize crossover SUV, Volkswagen Tiguan compact crossover, Audi A4 luxury sedan, Acura RDX luxury crossover, Toyota Matrix compact wagon, Lexus HS 250 luxury hybrid sedan, the Honda CR-V and Hyundai Tucson compact crossover SUVs, the Toyota Sienna minivan and Jeep Compass compact crossover.
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Written by:
James Mayfield is the Director of Content at Santander Consumer USA and has been creating content on financial topics for more than 10 years. In addition to writing for the Santander, RoadLoans and Chrysler Capital blog sites, his work has…
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