When it comes to car thefts, the Honda Accord and Civic have long been favorites of hoodlums and ne'er-do-wells from coast to coast. But seems when it comes to SUVs, the domestic brands are still the favorites, with the Ford Escape and Chevrolet Tahoe taking the dubious distinction of being the most-stolen SUVs in America.
Looking at the statistical period from January 2008 through the end of June 2012, the National Insurance Crime Bureau tallied the most-stolen vehicles, the states and metropolitan areas with the highest number of thefts, as well as the recovery percentage for various models. On a statewide level, the top three states for SUV thefts were California, with 3003 for the statistical period, followed by Texas with 1826, and Florida with 1784. New York state was close behind in fourth place with 1754 thefts.
Breaking it down to metropolitan areas, the New York City metro area, which includes parts of northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, was tops at 2438 stolen, followed by the Los Angeles metropolitan area, which includes Long Beach and Santa Ana (Orange County) areas, with 1229 thefts. Although Texas was second for most thefts on a statewide basis, only one Texas metropolitan area ranked in the top 10 for thefts, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with only 336 thefts.
And although the Escape was the most-stolen model, it did not make it on the "most unrecovered" list, which was topped by the Jeep Wrangler, which ranked first with 28.6 percent of stolen models being unrecovered. Second-most-unrecovered vehicle was again the Chevrolet Tahoe, of which 18.6 percent remained unrecovered.
SUV Thefts by Model, Nationwide, 1/1/2008-6/30/2012
Ford Escape: 1014
Chevrolet Tahoe: 856
Toyota RAV4: 801
Ford Edge: 739
Dodge Journey: 721
Honda CR-V: 643
Jeep Wrangler: 643
Jeep Grand Cherokee: 641
Nissan Rogue: 547
Nissan Murano: 473
SUV Thefts by State, 1/1/2008-6/30/2012
California; 3003
Texas: 1826
Florida: 1784
New York: 1754
Michigan: 1367
New Jersey: 995
Illinois: 991
Georgia: 778
Pennsylvania: 639
Maryland: 510
SUV Thefts by Metropolitan Area, 1/1/2008-6/30/2012
New York City/Northern NJ/PA: 2438
Los Angeles/Long Beach/Santa Ana, CA: 1229
Detroit/Warren/Livonia, MI: 1215
Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano Beach, FL: 910
Chicago/Joliet/Naperville, IL/IN/WI: 762
Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Marietta, GA: 635
Washington D.C./Arlington/Alexandria, VA/MD/WV: 535
Philadelphia/Camden/Wilmington, PA/NJ/DE/MD: 509
San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont, CA: 410
Dallas/Ft. Worth/Arlington, TX: 336
Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau