Yankee Thieves Shun Saturn, Love Escalade

The 2002-2003 Cadillac Escalade EXT truck has dubious honour of having the highest theft rate of any vehicle in the U.S., according to The Wall Street Journal.
Citing figures from the Highway Loss Data Institute, the newspaper says the EXT and its amazon sister, the 2002-2003 Escalade SUV, average about 20 theft claims per 1,000 units, which is seven times the overall average for U.S. passenger vehicles.
The Escalade isn’t always stolen for the vehicle itself. Frequently, says the Journal, thieves are after the truck’s leather seats, DVD player or plus-size custom wheels. There were even cases where the trucks were left standing minus the mega-buck wheels.
The 2002-2003 Nissan Maxima ranks second to the Escalade EXT and ahead of the Escalade SUV, according to the institute’s statistics. The 2001-2003 Dodge Stratus/Chrysler Sebring ranks fourth, and the 2001-2003 Dodge Intrepid rates fifth.
The least appealing vehicles to auto thieves are the Saturn L series, Ford Taurus and three Buick models: the LeSabre and Park Avenue sedans and Rendezvous SUV, according to the analysis.