In addition to having to recall millions of cars for malfunctioning airbags, Honda also recently received the dubious honor of being the most stolen car in the U.S. In addition, car thefts rose one percent in the first half of 2015, according to the FBI. While this seems like a minuscule percentage, the agency also says that prior to last year, car theft statistics had been on a steady decline.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau, a non-profit organization aimed at preventing vehicle theft and insurance fraud, predicted that this rate would rise to a whopping nine percent last year. This still remains to be seen, as the figures for the second half of 2015 are not yet available.
So what exactly would make a potential thief want to steal your car? Well, that depends on two factors.
First, just as in real estate, the idea of "location, location, location" plays a major role.
Those who live in Washington D.C. are at the highest risk, as they average 574 thefts for every 100,000 residents. Washington state, California, Nevada and New Mexico round out the top five states that experience the highest rate of stolen vehicles. On the flip side, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Virginia are the top five states where you are least likely to have your car stolen. Vermont sees a rate of only 40 thefts per 100,000 residents.
The other major factor is what kind of car you drive and, if you drive a Honda, you might want to take extra care next time you lock your car. The Accord and Civic were the most stolen vehicles in 2014, the most recent data available, with 51,290 and 43,936 thefts respectively.
The rest of the top ten includes the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Toyota Camry, Dodge Ram, Dodge Caravan, Nissan Altima, Acura Integra, and Nissan Maxima.