Tiburon tops IBC “most stolen vehicles” list for fourth year

For the fourth year in a row, the two-door Hyundai Tiburon has been listed as the “most stolen car in Canada” by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). But this could be the last year, as the vehicle maker have taken strides to make the Tiburon a less friendly target for auto thieves. “The 2001 Tiburon did not have an IBC approved theft deterrent system, and Hyundai did not build any 2002 Tiburons”, says Henning Norup, vice president of information, research and analysis at IBC. “Hyundai recognised that their products were being targeted by thieves, and responded by including a standard IBC approved immobilizer in the Tiburon base and SE models when they redesigned the car for 2003.”The statistics are based on 2001 and 2002 models, with the rest of the top five most stolen list including the two-door Acura Integra, the two-door Hyundai Accent, the four-door Subaru Impreza WRX, and the Ford F350 Super Duty truck.The Subaru Impreza also took top spot for highest claims costs per vehicle of all 2001-2002 models. It was followed by the two-door Acura Integra, the Ford F350 Super Duty, the four-door BMW 525i/530i/540i, and the four-door BMW X5.The information is part of the IBC’s annual “How Cars Measure Up” publication, which rates vehicles by various insurance-related factors. “This information can be extremely useful to consumers before they actually buy a car, says Norup. “The brochure is designed to help consumers understand how theft, collision and other claim costs affect insurance premiums.”The IBC also wants to encourage car makers to build vehicles more resistant to claims, including theft. Specifically, car makers are being asked to install immobilizers to reduce the chance of theft, a problem which costs insurers and their clients $600 million annually. At the moment, 11 car makers install immobilizers, with 60% of 2003 new vehicles so equipped. Overall, about 10% of cars on the road today have systems that comply with the IBC standard.