With all of the electronics added to cars you’d think that cars would be much harder to steal. (Did you ever try to get a key programmed for a vehicle? )

The number of stolen vehicles is going down but there’s still more than 1 million vehicles stolen in the US each year according to the latest stats from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (ncib.com).

Here is the list of the top 10 stolen vehicles. Btw – notice that your Porsche or BMW looks like it’s pretty safe…

1995 Honda Civic
1991 Honda Accord
1989 Toyota Camry
1997 Ford F-150 Pickup
2005 Dodge Ram Pickup
1994 Chevrolet C/K 1500 Pickup
1994 Nissan Sentra
1994 Dodge Caravan
1994 Saturn SL
1990 Acura Integra

You try to save some money by getting a cheap used car that’s easy on gas and look where it gets you. There’s a good chance that your car will be chopped and sent to other countries. I’m not exactly sure what they do with your fuzzy dice or St. Christopher’s statue.

With the poor economy, one number that is going up is “owner give-ups”. That is the official term for the nitwits that file false vehicle theft reports after the owner burns, drowns or composts it. If you’re thinking about trying this, you might want to come up with another plan. The police aren’t going to be real understanding. They’ve seen all of these games already and they’re better at it than you!

Just saying…

I got custody of the 2003 Toyota Sequoia in the divorce and I was very happy about it. My daughter called it the “Moose” cuz we could put 37 kids and a VW in the back of it. I reluctantly sold it a few weeks ago. It was a sad day in our family.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard about the recall for 2003 Sequoia’s. It was a minor driving issue, but got lots of press because of Toyota’s other recent recalls. I drove that truck up and down the mountain to 7 Springs hundreds of times and never had a problem. There was a time that I never thought that I’d own (let alone defend) a Japanese vehicle, but that was one great Moose.

I replaced it with a GMC Denali and I have to say that I kinda like the GMC. It has lots of gadgets and it’s a beast. But, it’s no Moose!

What’s your feeling about the Toyota recalls and how they have handled them? Shout back and let me know.