Most Stolen Vehicles

"They're popular, plain old family sedans," NICB spokesman Frank Scafidi says of the Taurus, the only American-made sedan on the "Hot Wheels" list. The 1999 Taurus is particularly popular with thieves in the District of Columbia, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Like most of the other vehicles on the list, the Taurus is far from exotic. But that could be part of the appeal for thieves looking to stay under the radar. The most peculiar ride targeted by thieves? "One year a snowmobile showed up on New Hampshire's state list of most stolen vehicles," Scafidi says.

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The 2002 Ford Explorer is a common sight on the roads — and on the "Hot Wheels" list. In Nebraska and North Carolina, it's the fifth most popular automobile among thieves. Domestic vehicles such as the Explorer were pilfered more than foreign ones last year for the first time since 2002; the 2010 list is dominated by three Fords — including the Explorer — two Dodges and a Chevrolet, while just four foreign-made cars make an appearance. The overall reasons for these thefts? "It's the same as it's always been," Scafidi says. "Either joyriding or the thieves need something. They need the tires and wheels and they leave the rest."

Watch Video:  2011 Ford Explorer

This is the rare luxury car — albeit a very old model — to make it onto the NICB list. "We call it beater luxury," Scafidi says. In fact, the age of the 1994 Integra makes it easier to steal. "They don't have protective bells and whistles like smart keys," Scafidi says. When it comes to newer cars, which are designed to protect against theft, the days of sneaking a coat hook in to unlock a door are over. "The linkage between the door lock and the door handle isn't there anymore," Scafidi says. But it sure is with the '94 Integra — the fourth most stolen vehicle in California.

Bing: Unusual Car Thefts

"This one stands out on the list as a big, 'Why?'" Scafidi says of the 2002 Dodge Caravan. Clearly joyriding isn't the motive for thieves; the Caravan, after all, is a minivan. And the vehicle isn't ubiquitous on the streets, which would naturally account for a high number of thefts. Yet thieves prowl the streets of Connecticut, Florida and Hawaii hoping to score a 2000 Caravan. It was the single most stolen vehicle of 2010 in Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. "Maybe if somebody can't figure out the bus schedule, they'll steal a minivan," Scafidi says.

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It's the second most stolen vehicle in Texas, which helps account for the 2004 Dodge Ram's position as the sixth hottest automobile in the country. It's unusual for a newer model to make the list, and that's because new vehicles tend to benefit from advances in anti-theft technology. Immobilizing devices such as kill switches and fuel cut-offs prevent theft. But newer Dodge Rams are still a favorite with thieves, likely due to their sheer popularity with consumers. The 2001 model was the No. 1 most stolen vehicle across New Mexico in 2010.

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One of the best-selling trucks in any given year, the Ford F-150 makes the most-stolen list by virtue of its numbers on the road. "There are more targets," Scafidi says. The 1997 model dominates the top five slots in states like Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Tennessee and West Virginia, for example, but the F-150 pickup isn't as sought after in California, where it doesn't even break into that state's top 10 list. According to Scafidi, if you do encounter an F-150 in California, "They're crawling around downtown Los Angeles intimidating Prius owners."

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In places like Texas and New Mexico, where trucks are used for their original purpose — farming and ranching — Chevy pickups are particularly vulnerable to being stolen. It tops many lists of most stolen vehicles in agricultural states, and the oldest models are among the most appealing to thieves. In Oklahoma, for instance, the 1992 Chevrolet Silverado — an 18-year-old vehicle — was the most stolen vehicle on the road in 2010. This is because parts are more expensive on older cars. "A lot of times these parts are sold on the black market for repairs," Scafidi says.

Watch Video:  2011 Chevrolet Silverado

The granddaddy of the "Hot Wheels" list, the 1991 Camry was 19 years old in 2010, yet thieves in Hawaii, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania couldn't get enough of it, putting it in the top three of those states' most stolen lists. Why? "They're sought after because they last a long time, and the longer they're on the road, the more likely they are to be in accidents," Scafidi says. Since parts are more expensive for older cars, thieves target and raid them. "If it's missing its tires and wheels, you can tell why it was stolen in the first place," Scafidi says.

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"They sell a lot from year to year and they last a long time," Scafidi says of the Honda Civic, a perennial favorite with thieves. "It's almost a backhanded compliment that these imports tend to be stolen." Indeed, the 1995 Civic is the second most stolen car in all of California — a state where, according to Scafidi, drug use and vehicle theft are often linked. "It's not unusual in the Central Valley of California for a meth addict to steal something off a car and convert it to meth," he says. "They take little things they can exchange for money."

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Nearly 52,000 Honda Accords were stolen in 2010, and more than 44,000 of those were models produced in the 1990s, such as the 1994 Accord. This is because in 2000 Honda began installing transponder key systems, which thwart thieves in a couple of ways: The keys are difficult to duplicate and the system immobilizes the car if the wrong key is used. But the '94 Accord doesn't benefit from this technology, and it was the most stolen vehicle in the U.S. in 2010 for the third year in a row — and the first or second hottest car in 15 states.

Bing Videos: Car Theft Prevention

Claire Martin has written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Outside magazine. She's the former deputy editor of Men's Journal and currently lives in Los Angeles, where she covers technology, travel and food.

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