According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a vehicle is stolen every 44 seconds in the United States. That's an improvement over 2005, when the time clock showed every 25.5 seconds. Still, that means that nearly one million vehicles are stolen each year, costing us billions of dollars.
The report of the NCIB shows that 2011 continued the trend of declining national vehicle thefts for the eighth consecutive year, with a 3.3 percent reduction from the 737,142 thefts recorded in 2010. Arizona is no longer the state with the most vehicle thefts, as was the case in 2001. In 2007 the Phoenix metro area was ranked as the city with the 8th highest rate of vehicle thefts on a per capita basis. In 2010 that number decreased dramatically to a rank of 56th with 13,566 stolen vehicles. In 2011 Greater Phoenix dropped to 60th in the nation, with 13,132 thefts. That's quite a positive trend, but it doesn't mean that we can be less than diligent about preventing our vehicles from being stolen. Using theft deterring devices may also have a lowering effect on your auto insurance rates.
In 2011 the top 10 most stolen vehicles were evenly split, with five foreign brands and five U.S. automakers. The vehicles most often stolen in the nation in 2011 were:
- 1994 Honda Accord (same as 2010)
- 1998 Honda Civic
- 2006 Ford Pickup (Full Size)
- 1991 Toyota Camry
- 2000 Dodge Caravan
- 1994 Acura Integra
- 1999 Chevrolet Pickup (Full Size)
- 2004 Dodge Pickup (Full Size)
- 2002 Ford Explorer
- 1994 Nissan Sentra
In 2011, the vehicles most often stolen in Arizona were:
- 1994 Honda Accord (same as 2010)
- 2005 Chevrolet Pick-Up (Full Size)
- 1995 Honda Civic
- 2004 Ford Pickup (Full Size)
- 2005 Dodge Pickup (Full Size)
- 1994 Nissan Sentra
- 1991 Toyota Camry
- 1997 Nissan Altima (actually tied for 7th)
- 1996 Nissan Maxima
- 2000 Chevrolet Pickup (Small Size)
