Top 10 Stolen Classic Cars

California, Michigan and New York are the top three theft locations

The Editors / autoMedia.com

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (April 2003)—The Chevrolet Corvette was named the number one stolen collector vehicle in a recent study conducted by the Hagerty Protection Network (HPN) between July 1999 and December 2002. The report issued by Hagerty Insurance, the nation's largest insurer of collectible cars and motorcycles, indicates that vintage Chevrolets are the most stolen brand commanding close to 40 percent of collector cars stolen in the last three years.

The List

HPN named the following models to its Top 10 Stolen Collector Vehicles list:

1.) Chevrolet Corvette (1966-1982) 13.3 percent

2.) Ford Mustang (1964-1969) 6.5 percent

3.) Chevrolet Impala (1958-1967) 5.6 percent

4.) Chevrolet Camaro (1968, 1969) 4.7 percent

5.) Harley Davidson motorcycles (1941-1974) 4.4 percent

6.) Chevrolet Nova (1963-1972) 3.6 percent

7.) Chevrolet Chevelle (1966-1973) 2.7 percent

8.) Chevrolet Monte Carlo (1970-1978) 2.4 percent

9.) Cadillac DeVille (1955-1965) 2.1 percent, Chevrolet Pickups (1950-1971) 2.1 percent, Mercedes 450 (1975-1979) 2.1 percent

10.) Ford Thunderbird (1955-1963) 1.7 percent, Lincoln Continental (1964-1977) 1.7 percent

Broken down by marque, Chevrolet tops the list by a wide margin at 39.3 percent of all Hagerty-insured stolen vehicles, followed by Ford (14.8 percent), Mercedes (4.7 percent), Cadillac (4.4 percent), Harley Davidson (4.4 percent), Pontiac (3.6 percent), Jaguar (2.4 percent), Plymouth (2.4 percent), Porsche (2.4 percent), Dodge (2.1 percent) and Lincoln (2.1 percent).

"By examining these numbers, it's clear that Chevrolet and Ford easily account for half of our insured collector vehicles stolen since July 1999," says McKeel Hagerty, president of Hagerty Insurance. "Our data also indicates that California (20.1 percent), Michigan (15.4 percent) and New York (10.9 percent) are the top three states in which collector vehicles are most likely to be stolen."

Risk Factors

"In addition, risk factors are in place for a significant increase in collector car theft over the next five years. This is due to the fact that classic vehicles are easier to steal than their modern counterparts, younger generations are stealing them more often for damage-inducing joy rides, and an increase in demand for their parts," says Hagerty. "With the generational collector shift from classic autos of the 1930s and 1940s to the cars from the 1950s, 1960s, and even 1970s, we are also seeing an increase in these 'more drivable' cars on the open roads."

Parking lots are by far the most dangerous place to leave a collector car, with nearly 43 percent of Hagerty-insured collector vehicles reported stolen from various types of parking facilities. Keeping your collector car at home is safer, but not entirely safe, with 18.3 percent taken from driveways and 10.9 percent stolen from garages.

To better protect your collector car, Hagerty suggests that owners adopt the "layered approach" to vehicle protection proposed by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB)—in short, the more layers of protection you provide your vehicle, the more difficult it is to steal. Professional thieves can steal any car given enough time, but you should make them work hard to get yours.

Start with the simplest layer of common sense. We often forget that an unlocked vehicle with a key in its ignition is an open invitation.