Escalade and Maxima top IIHS theft lists

In the U.S., the most stolen among new passenger vehicles are the 2002/3 Cadillac Escalade and the 2002/3 Nissan Maxima, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HDLI), an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).The IIHS says the Escalade, a luxury pick-up, and the Maxima, a mid-size sedan, have theft rates 7-8 times higher than the average. The study included 2001-2003 model years.”This is the second year in a row that an Escalade is among the vehicles most likely to have a theft claim,” explains Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute (HDLI). “Both the Escalade pickup and SUV also top the list of vehicles with the most expensive theft claims, indicating they are top targets for thieves.”Ironically, the Escalade comes with an anti-theft immobilizer, although the model is not approved in Canada and other countries as meeting anti-theft standards.A big part of the attraction with the Escalade and Maxima are their parts Escalade’s are sometimes equipped with custom wheels which can be worth US$10,000 or more, and the Maxima’s high-intensity discharge lights are also coveted. Other top theft target vehicles include the Dodge Stratus, Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Intrepid.On the other end of the spectrum, the Buick LeSabre and Buick Park Avenue were the least frequently stolen of new vehicles, followed by the Ford Taurus, Buick Rendezvous and Saturn LW.