I finally got in touch with the National Insurance Crime Bureau
analyst who crunched the stolen car numbers that I posted a week or so
ago. He admitted that they were absolute numbers - not percentages -
and agreed that the cars most often stolen are also the biggest
sellers.
However, with that as a backdrop, he did say that they're looking for
a better way to do it next year. They're trying to get numbers from
all the state DMVs showing the total number of cars registered by make
and model. Then they hope to compare those on a percentage basis to
the equivalent make and model theft numbers. If they're successful,
that should give us a much more accurate indication.
He was quite cordial about it and thanked me for both my interest and
my input. He also gave me a little more information using the
"absolute" numbers that they have now: American vehicles are more
attractive to thieves in cities such as Chicago and Detroit while
pickups are more frequently stolen in Houston and Phoenix. In Los
Angeles, thieves target Japanese models. Take that for whatever you
think it's worth.
John (Old Fartz & TLS #37) Lieberman
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