Cadillac Escalade, Ford F-250, Chrysler 300 Liked by Thieves

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The Cadillac Escalade is more than 6 times as likely as the average vehicle to be targeted by thieves and has overall theft losses more than 10 times as big, according to an analysis released today of insurance claims for 2008-10 vehicles by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).

Pickup trucks are another favorite among thieves, and the Ford F-250 crew cab 4-wheel-drive comes in second to the Escalade for the most theft claims, with other models ranking high on the list. Overall, pickups have much higher theft losses than passenger cars and SUVs ($24 per insured vehicle year versus $9 and $12, respectively); though from 2007 to 2009 pickup losses fell substantially.

The most targeted car, excluding luxury and sports cars, is the Chrysler 300. That’s followed by models known for their powerful engines, including the Chrysler 300 Hemi, the Dodge Charger Hemi, and the Nissan Maxima.

HLDI said the decrease in pickup thefts may be because ignition immobilizers, which prevent vehicles from being hot-wired, recently have become more common in pickups. The technology became widespread in cars and SUVs earlier in the last decade.

Immobilizers can’t prevent all types of theft, and even Escalades have them as standard equipment. Moreover, the devices don’t affect theft of property from a vehicle, which also is reflected in the rankings.

The Escalade for years has the dubious distinction of topping HLDI’s list of vehicles with the most theft claims, and four versions of the luxury SUV appear at the top this time. The Escalade EXT, which has a pickup bed, is ranked worst, with more than 14 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years, or more than 8 times the average. (An insured vehicle year is 1 vehicle insured for 1 year, 2 for 6 months)

“We are currently implementing four new pieces of ‘armor’ on Escalade intended to reduce vehicle thefts, particularly those called push away,” said Bill Biondo, GM’s global lead, vehicle theft prevention in response to the HLDI data. “We are committed to beating the thieves and expect these new theft deterrent systems to greatly reduce the Escalade’s rate of theft and lower its position on HLDI’s list.”

New for 2012, the Escalade has a more robust steering column lock system that makes it nearly “impossible” to maneuver the Escalade onto a flatbed tow vehicle; an optional inclination sensor that sets off an alarm when the system senses a change of the angle of the vehicle, such that would occur with towing, flatbedding or jacking up the vehicle; an optional shock sensor intended to reduce content theft and push away theft by sounding the alarm when the vehicle is “shocked” such as breaking the glass; and a new wheel lock system – also optional – is available.

The list of vehicles with the lowest claim frequencies is topped by the Audi A6 4-wheel-drive sedan and the Mercury Mariner, a small now extinct SUV form the dead Mercury brand. Each has a claim frequency of 0.5 per 1,000 insured vehicle years. The Audi has a much higher average loss per claim, so its overall average theft loss ($8) is much higher than that of the Mariner ($1).

HLDI said its theft numbers differ from reports by other organizations because they are based on the number of insured vehicles on the road. In contrast, information published by the National Insurance Crime Bureau simply lists the most frequently stolen vehicles. As a result, the list usually reflects the most commonly driven vehicles, not how likely a vehicle is to be targeted.

HLDI’s data come from insurers representing about 80% of the market for privately insured vehicles. The data don’t include information on thefts of vehicles that aren’t insured or are insured by non-reporting companies. They also don’t distinguish among thefts of entire vehicles, vehicle parts, and vehicle contents.