Car thieves only need a ground-down Honda key to help gain access to most other Honda cars. In Kitsap County, Wash., 50 Honda vehicles have been stolen since June, and a dozen since Oct. 25.
"Every time we have a new stolen (car), I ask if it's a '90s model Honda," Port Orchard police commander Geoffrey Marti told the Kitsap Sun. Twenty Hondas have been stolen from Port Orchard this year.
The 1994 Honda Accord was the No. 1. stolen car on the National Crime Insurance Bureau stolen cars list released in August, and topped the LoJack stolen vehicles survey released in April.
Of the 52,000 Honda Accords stolen in 2010, more than 44,000 were 1990s models. Less than 6,000 were made in the 2000s.
When the pieces are broken out, the parts are worth more than the cars. The fuel line for a 1994 Honda goes for about $375, the air conditioner compressor sells for around $350, and an antilock brake part sells for around $450. Just those three parts $1,175. Comparatively, Kelley Blue Book says an excellent condition four-door 1994 Honda Accord is valued at around $1,900.
But Hondas aren't the only popular cars out there. The 1991 Toyota Camry also tops the list of most-stolen cars, and six of the top stolen cars come from domestic brands.
As this Denver story points out, sometimes thieves are brazenly putting cars on flatbed trucks and driving away with them.
