Car theft stats hit home for actor John Schneider and puppies

It was a sad day last week for the family of actor John Schneider, best known for his character Bo Duke in the "Dukes of Hazzard" TV series. Not only was his Cadillac Escalade stolen, but two puppies that he had brought home recently to his family for Christmas were also taken from a Los Angeles mall. John is hopeful that the puppies will be returned, but the Escalade was found with the seats and instrument panel torn out. Sadly, the Schneider family has become a statistic in what the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently reported as the most stolen car, the Cadillac Escalade.

The IIHS recently gave us figures on the vehicles that have been 2008’s top 10 steals. And that isn’t some euphemism for a showroom bargain, but cars that get stolen the most. The stats apply to 2005 to 2007 model cars from their first sales to May this year.

>>Visit our photo gallery: Top 10 Most Stolen Vehicles

Most stolen:

1. Cadillac Escalade ESV
2. Ford F-250 SuperCrew
3. Cadillac Escalade
4. Dodge Charger
5. Ford F-350 SuperCrew
6. Hummer H2 SUT
7. Dodge Magnum
8. Hummer H2
9. Dodge Durango and Honda S2000 convertible (tie)

On the other end of the klepto-spectrum, the least stolen car in this study is the all-wheel-drive version of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan (0.8 claims). Whether that’s down to really good locks or really staid looks is something the IIHS hasn’t gone into. But it’s nice to know it will still be there in the parking lot after an evening out, instead of in the back of a shipping container.

Least stolen:

1. Mercedes-Benz E-Class
2. Buick Rainier
3. Subaru Forester
4. Buick Terraza
5. Volkswagen New Beetle
6. Ford Focus
7. Volvo V70 station wagon
8. Toyota Prius
9. Saturn Relay
10. Ford Freestyle

-- Colin Ryan

Photo: General Motors

Comments

[David Sims]

Uh, Hello

Did you notice that these are pretty much all of the biggest gas guzzlers? Did it occur to anyone that "theft" occurred because people no longer wanted them. Hmm, now what model of honda could I buy with the insurance money?

[muD]

Most stolen should be retitled, Highest rates of insurance fraud and Least stolen should be retitled, Vehicles car thieves have too much self-respect to take.