Reading view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.

The Surprising Cars Thieves Can’t Resist And The Ones They Ignore

  • The Chevy Camaro ZL1 has the highest auto theft rate in the US.
  • ZL1s are 39 times more likely to be stolen, according to new data.
  • Acura’s TLX is 21 times more likely to get pinched than average.

Remember a couple of years back when Hyundai and Kia owners were scared to take their cars out of the garage due to the skyrocketing theft rates? Those owners sleep easier these days thanks to beefed up onboard security, and the insurance industry has a new least-favorite car. It’s the Camaro ZL1, which is a staggering 39 times more likely than the average car in the US to be stolen, according to a new study.

Related: How Hyundai And Kia Sparked America’s Largest Drop In Car Thefts In 40 Years

The supercharged Chevy muscle car tops the list of cars with the highest theft rates by a wide margin. It’s so bad it makes even the second-place Acura TLX – 21 times more likely to get stolen – seem as safe as houses in comparison.

And the ZL1 wasn’t the only Camaro on the list from the Highway Loss Data Institute. The regular Camaro placed third with a 13x theft rate, the study’s authors noting that models built after the arrival of a push-button starter in 2016 are particularly prone to disappearing.

Why Muscle Cars Attract Thieves

“Muscle cars have often topped this list, as thieves are attracted to vehicles with high horsepower,” said Matt Moore, chief insurance operations officer at HLDI. “That also helps explain why the more expensive, more powerful ZL1 is stolen so much more often than the standard Camaro.”

But if the hp count provided the motive, thieves’ ability to clone Camaro keys provided the means. GMC’s Sierra 2500 crew cab is the worst offending truck on the list (10x the average rate) and piles further shame on GM’s anti-theft tech, and after another appearance by an Acura TLX (2WD, 8x), it’s back to The General again for the GMC Sierra 3500 (7.4x) and Chevy Silverado 3500 (6.4x).

 The Surprising Cars Thieves Can’t Resist And The Ones They Ignore

GM’s Dominance In The Rankings

GM dominates the top 20, in fact, with nine vehicles on the board, including the Cadillac Escalade (20th place, 2.6x). Stellantis has five, but European premium brands do relatively well, BMW, Mercedes and Land Rover only meriting one black mark each for the X7, S-Class and Range Rover.

Individual Hyundai and Kia models don’t figure anywhere on the list of 20 now that the Korean automakers have added electronic immobilizers. The theft claims were 52 percent lower for cars with the upgrade, though around 40 percent of owners still haven’t had the fix and the brands’ vehicles are still five times more likely to get stolen than the average car.

No One Wants To Steal EVs

At the other end of the scale, Teslas dominated the list of 20 cars with the lowest claim frequencies, with the Model 3 coming out top due to a claim frequency 1/100th of the average. And they weren’t the only electrified vehicles in attendance. In total there were eight EVs on the table and four hybrids, proving that thieves prefer traditional ICE-powered cars.

VEHICLES WITH HIGHEST THEFT CLAIMS
#ModelClaim frequency
(100 = average)
1Chevrolet Camaro ZL13,949
2Acura TLX 4WD2,138
3Chevrolet Camaro1,287
4GMC Sierra 2500 crew cab 4WD1,023
5Acura TLX 2WD805
6GMC Sierra 3500 crew cab 4WD742
7Chevrolet Silverado 3500 crew cab 4WD662
8Dodge Durango 4WD592
9Land Rover Range Rover540
10Ram 1500 crew cab short-wheelbase 4WD524
11Chevrolet Silverado 2500 crew cab 4WD402
12Ram 3500 crew cab long-wheelbase 4WD387
13Honda CR-V hybrid340
14GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab 2WD324
15Dodge Durango 2WD300
16GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab 4WD292
17BMW X7277
18Mercedes-Benz S-Class267
19Jeep Gladiator crew cab264
SWIPE

IIHS/HLDI

VEHICLES WITH HIGHEST THEFT CLAIMS
#ModelClaim frequency
(100 = average)
1Tesla Model 3 4WD1
2Tesla Model Y 4WD2
3Tesla Model 3 2WD2
4Toyota RAV4 Prime5
5Tesla Model S5
6Volvo XC906
7Volvo XC40 4WD7
8Ford Mustang Mach-E8
9Volkswagen ID.49
10Subaru Crosstrek9
11Lexus NX 3509
12Ford Explorer10
13Infiniti QX6011
14Kia EV611
15BMW iX11
16Mini Cooper12
17Toyota Venza hybrid12
18Mercedes-Benz GLC12
19Volvo XC90 PHEV13
20Hyundai Elantra hybrid13
SWIPE

H/T to Road & Track

❌