Study: Escalade most targeted for vehicle theft

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Cadillac Escalade EXT, a $53,000 chrome-trimmed luxury pickup with leather bucket seats, a seven-speaker stereo system with satellite radio and a global tracking system, is the vehicle most targeted by thieves, a study by the insurance industry found.
It's the second year in a row that an Escalade has been at the top of the list, released today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Nissan Maxima, a midsize sedan, moved to the second most likely to be stolen among newer vehicles after the company began installing expensive, high-intensity headlights as standard equipment in 2002, the institute said.
The institute calculated which newer vehicles are most likely to be stolen by looking at theft claims per 1,000 insured vehicles from model years 2001 to 2003. Ranked least likely to be stolen were the Buick LeSabre, Buick Park Avenue and Ford Taurus station wagon.