Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Car thieves avoiding Toyota Prius
autoblog.com ^ | Zach Bowman

Posted on 11/23/2012 6:54:43 AM PST by KeyLargo

Car thieves avoiding Toyota Prius

By Zach Bowman RSS feed

Posted Nov 21st 2012 4:30PM

The National Insurance Crime Bureau has taken a closer look at how often car thieves target the Toyota Prius. As it turns out, the most popular hybrid on US roads has a very low theft rate, and when it does get stolen, law enforcement are quick to return the machine to its rightful owners. All told, 2008-2012 Prius models saw a theft rate of one in 606 vehicles compared to one in 78 for all models on the road from the same model year period. Just 2,439 Prius hybrids were stolen in the US between September 4, 2000 and June 30, 2012.

Not surprisingly, California holds the dubious honor of taking the lion's share of those thefts, with 1,062. Florida took second place with 127, followed by New York, Washington and Texas. Toyota has sold 1.2 million Prius models in the US, which means the vehicle constitutes more than half of all hybrid vehicles on the road today. You can take a look at the full NICB press release below for more information.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: cars; environment; greenweenies; prius
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-27 next last
What a piece of crap. Even the thieves don't want to touch them. LOL.


1 posted on 11/23/2012 6:54:50 AM PST by KeyLargo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo
Oh boy. Nothing like advertising you're a moron. If that car was in front of me, I'd be tempted to smash into it.
2 posted on 11/23/2012 7:04:09 AM PST by liberalh8ter (If Barack has a memory like a steel trap, why can't he remember what the Constitution says?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

Since most thieves are takers, therefore Liberals, this is the ultimate indictment of the Liberal mindset.. When offered their own personal preferences, they want to tell you what to do, but exclude themselves.. yep!


3 posted on 11/23/2012 7:04:23 AM PST by carlo3b (Less Government, more Fiber..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

How did you get that picture of Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s car?


4 posted on 11/23/2012 7:05:32 AM PST by dfwgator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

Who wants a getaway car that flashes “Replace Battery” at you before you get out of the parking lot?


5 posted on 11/23/2012 7:07:38 AM PST by Hardraade (http://junipersec.wordpress.com (I will fear no muslim))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Hardraade

I would have thought they would be stolen for the batteries. They are worth a lot. But then there may not be much of a black market for them.


6 posted on 11/23/2012 7:12:45 AM PST by RadiationRomeo (Step into my mind and glimpse the madness that is me)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: liberalh8ter

7 posted on 11/23/2012 7:29:55 AM PST by KeyLargo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

Great picture! I read somewhere that people who plaster their vehicles with bumper stickers are much more likely to get into arguments and outright violence.


8 posted on 11/23/2012 7:42:39 AM PST by miss marmelstein
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo
Car thieves avoiding Toyota Prius

Even in our dumbed down society, car thieves are not that stupid.

Thief who has just stolen a Prius to the 911 operator, "Uh, Hi. I just stole a Prius, drove a couple of miles and realized this car is a POS. Just wanted to let you know I'm leaving it at the corner of Main and Elm. Bye."

This also explains the quick recovery by officials.

9 posted on 11/23/2012 8:05:19 AM PST by upchuck (America's at an awkward stage. Too late to work within the system, too early to shoot the bastards.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

There’s a sticker that says, “Who is Bush kidding? A budget deficit IS a tax increase.” . I’ll bet there is a different sticker plastered over that one now!


10 posted on 11/23/2012 8:35:02 AM PST by Boiling point (Socialism; Ideas so good they have to be mandatory.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

I hate their commercial. Such mamsy pamsy prattle and annoying humming.


11 posted on 11/23/2012 8:37:20 AM PST by bgill (We've passed the point of no return. Welcome to Al Amerika.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

When a burglar breaks into a home, he is far more likely to raid the jewelry box than the litter box.


12 posted on 11/23/2012 8:40:34 AM PST by Joe 6-pack (Que me amat, amet et canem meum)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: RadiationRomeo
But then there may not be much of a black market for them.

It appears they are lasting much longer than forecast. Likely because the software controls the charge level of the battery pack in a manner that is beneficial.

The Prius actually has some superb engineering, I'm always surprised that it gets trashed so much on FR. As far as I know the Baraqqis had nothing to do with the Prius and it isn't built by the UAW.

13 posted on 11/23/2012 8:44:57 AM PST by nascarnation (Baraq's economic policy: trickle up poverty)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

I would think the batteries could be salvaged and used at home.
Matter of fact if things really went tits up I would snag an electric car just I could hook it up at home including a way to spin the tires say by wind power so the car generates power in dynamic brake mode.


14 posted on 11/23/2012 8:58:22 AM PST by Eye of Unk (A Civil Cold War in America is here, its already been declared.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo
Prius is not stolen much because it has no ignition lock, and you cannot hotwire the car. To use the car you need to have a keyfob. A thief can carjack you or steal the keyfob, of course - or he has to rent a flatbed truck and drag the car, with locked front wheels, onto it. Then it is only good for spare parts.

Some computer scientists came up with a way to attack encryption that the keyfob uses. However it remains just a theoretical possibility, since any thief who is smart enough to use this very complex technology wouldn't be stealing cars. Also the thief would have to intercept a brief radio communication between the keyfob and the car when you unlock it. This makes it useless for theft of a random car that the thief encountered in a parking lot.

15 posted on 11/23/2012 8:58:47 AM PST by Greysard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

They don’t steal them as much because they might be thinking they’re just oversized golf carts.


16 posted on 11/23/2012 9:22:18 AM PST by driftless2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Greysard
any thief who is smart enough to use this very complex technology wouldn't be stealing cars.

Right - he'd be selling the tech to car thieves...

17 posted on 11/23/2012 9:27:57 AM PST by Moltke ("I am Dr. Sonderborg," he said, "and I don't want any nonsense.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: upchuck
The biggest reason Priuses aren't being stolen is that its a Prius.

If you're going to get caught for auto theft, might as well get caught for something desirable. I would think a thief would be embarassed by his fellow jail members.

"You stole a WHAT?"

18 posted on 11/23/2012 10:03:29 AM PST by boop ("I need another Cutty Sark"-LBJ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: KeyLargo

lol.. now that is a slam. not even worth stealing.


19 posted on 11/23/2012 10:08:19 AM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nascarnation

I agree. Several of my relatives and I drive foreign brands (although some models are built in the US) because of our disdain for the UAW. One of my libertarian cousins drives a Prius-V, which is very nice and can haul all her fly-fishing gear around Idaho; her original Prius had a battery that was still going strong when she sold the car.


20 posted on 11/23/2012 10:31:40 AM PST by 12Gauge687
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-27 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson