LOS ANGELES, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The 1997 Honda Accord, 1998 Honda Civic and the 2006 Ford Pickup are the three most stolen cars in the United States, ABC 7 reported Thursday.
The report quoted statistics from the annual Hot Wheels report issued by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), a non-profit membership organization created by the insurance industry to address insurance-related crimes.
The NICB works closely with law enforcement agencies.
Experts at the NICB believed the older versions of Honda, Accord and Civic, were stolen so frequently because they were pre-"smart key" production models.
Since the introduction of smart keys and other anti-theft technologies, Honda thefts had fallen precipitously, compared to 1997 Honda Accord which were stolen 50,427 times in 2016, there were only 493 thefts of 2016 Accord model.
However, negligence and complacence can offset the advances in security technology.
"Anti-theft systems in newer model cars and trucks are excellent, but they don't work if you don't use them," said NICB President and CEO Joe Wehrle. "Far too many thefts occur because the vehicle is left unlocked and the key or fob is inside."
