1994 Chevy pickup most-stolen vehicle last year

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

A new report from a national insurance group has identified the vehicle most targeted by thieves in Ohio last year: a 1994 full-size pickup truck.

It was the second-straight year that this Chevy truck headed the list from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The 2000 Dodge Caravan, which used to be at the top of the list, was second.

The rankings are dominated by old cars, which are easier to steal and don’t stand out, according to The Columbus Dispatch, which reported on the release of the survey Monday. The newest vehicle on the list is the 2004 Ford full-size pickup.

Nationally, the Honda Accord was the most-frequently stolen car last year, regardless of model year. That’s followed by the Honda Civic and two full-size pickup trucks from Ford and Chevrolet, according to the report.

Among 2013 models stolen in 2013, the Nissan Altima was first, followed by the Ford Fusion and Ford full-size pickup, the survey said.

In Ohio, the number of stolen cars has fallen by nearly half since 2006 and is the lowest since at least 1996, according to the state insurance group. The institute estimates that 18,888 cars were stolen last year in Ohio.

The FBI estimates that the number of cars stolen nationally totaled less than 700,000 in 2013 — the fewest number of stolen cars since 1967. In 1991, the peak year for vehicle thefts, nearly 1.7 million cars were stolen.

Despite the drop, car thefts cause losses of $4 billion a year nationally.

Sophisticated anti-theft protection systems have made newer cars hard to steal, experts say, likely leading thieves to move on to other types of crime.