Hot Wheels

(AP)  A Toyota Camry was the most stolen vehicle model for the fifth-straight year on an annual list that monitors trends in auto theft.

Overall, vehicle thefts fell 2.7 percent last year, according to Chicago-based CCC Information Services Inc., an insurance industry tracker of trends in theft and vehicle damage.

Not surprisingly, the most stolen cars were the perennial sales leaders. Nineteen of the 25 most-stolen cars on the list were Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords or Civics of different years. The year and model most stolen was the 1991 Camry.

"We don't know for certain why a vehicle is stolen," said the company's president of sales and service Mary Jo Prigge. "The trend is they're all stolen for the value of their parts."

CCC determines its list of most stolen vehicles by analyzing total losses submitted to it by more than 350 property and casualty insurers in North America.

Last year's most stolen vehicle, the 1989 Camry, fell to second place and the 1990 model to third.

The 1994 Chevrolet C1500 4x2 pickup was the highest-ranking vehicle on the list that was not made by Toyota or Honda.

Of the top 25 most stolen vehicles, five are sport utility vehicles or pickup trucks - all from U.S. automakers. Prigge said a rise in thefts of trucks and SUVs mirrors their increasing popularity among new vehicle buyers.

Since 1997, thefts of so-called light trucks has increased seven percent from 25.7 percent to 32.6 percent. In 1997, only one truck was on the top 25 most stolen list, but there are four on the list for 2001.

By Ed Garsten