Thieves Like Sport Utility Vehicles, Too

The growing popularity of sport utility vehicles apparently extends to crooks.

The two 1993-95 model vehicles with the highest theft losses are the Toyota Land Cruiser and the Mitsubishi Montero, the Highway Loss Data Institute reported Friday.

It’s the second year sports utility vehicles have led the list, taking over from high-priced sports cars that had previously been most popular with thieves, said Institute Vice President Kim Hazelbaker.

The loss ratings are a combination of frequency of a vehicle being stolen and the cost to insurance companies to pay the claims, Hazelbaker explained, with the average rating 100.

On that scale the Land Cruiser rated 2,340 and the Montero 1,894.

At the other end of the scale the Chevrolet Lumina had the lowest theft losses rating, 11.

The frequency of thefts has declined over the years, but the losses to insurance companies have increased, Hazelbaker said.

That is because there has been a drop in joyriders, usually teens who take a car to drive around, sometimes doing a little damage or taking the stereo before abandoning it.

Now the trend is toward vehicles being taken in their entirety, Hazelbaker said, “and in fact being exported, unfortunately.”

Sport utility vehicles “are very popular vehicles to export to destinations in Latin America, South America, all over the globe,” he said.

After the Land Cruiser and Montero, the top 10 were Mercedes S-Class, 1,533; Acura Legend 2-door, 1,347; BMW 300i convertible, 1,051; Mercedes SL convertible, 972; Acura Legend 4-door, 665; Lexus GS 300, 620; Nissan 300ZX, 597, and BMW 300i 2-door, 555.

The 10 cars with the lowest loss rate were the Lumina, the Saab 900 4-door, 15; Buick Skylark 4-door, 15; Buick Park Avenue 4-door, 17; Saturn SW station wagon, 19; Buick LeSabre 4-door, 19; Subaru Impreza 4-door, 19; Buick Regal 4-door, 20; Ford Aerostar, 21; Ford E-150 Club Wagon, 22.