It’s not just old Honda Civic sedans. Based on the data, thieves seem to have a lust for stealing full-sized pickup trucks as well. In particular, that goes for late-model Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks from the turn of the millennium, as well as the abundant Ford F-Series pickup truck. Go figure that the GMC Sierra line of pickups made the top 10 as well.
Photo by Chevrolet
Once every 34-seconds a vehicle was stolen in 2021 according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The study found a million vehicles were stolen last year in the United States alone, an increase of 8 percent over 2020. Of those vehicles stolen, full-size pickup trucks dominated the top-ten portion of the list. In first place was the Chevy Silverado (1500, 2500 and so forth) with the 2004 model year being the most sought after.
A grand total of 48,206 Chevy trucks were stolen while the Ford F-150, who came in a close second, saw 47,999 thefts. GMC full-size pickup trucks also made it on to the list, having 15,599 thefts in total, putting them at sixth overall. Of the F-150 thefts, the 2006 model year was the most targeted. The study attributes the desire among thieves for older models to their lack of security measures.
These older vehicles are a far cry from the cyber security fortresses that we see today in the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Ford F-150 trucks, it should be said.
Be that as it may, Ford has been a seeming pioneer in the department of vehicle security as of late, having partnered with ADT to develop a new theft deterrent (Canopy) for pick-up trucks that will become available to various manufacturers down the road.
Until then, the NICB advocates some simple safety measures to ensure no one makes off with your vehicle such as; rolling up your windows, making sure to actually lock your doors, keeping valuables out of sight, and never leaving your car running and unattended.
