Older Accords, Civics Most Popular with Thieves

The most frequently stolen vehicle in America last year was the 1994 Honda Accord midsize sedan, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

Rounding out the top five in NICB's 2011 "Hot Wheels" report are the 1998 Honda Civic compact, 2006 Ford F-Series fullsize pickup truck, Toyota Camry midsize sedan and 2000 Dodge Caravan minivan.

Those models are followed by the 1994 Acura Integra sporty compact coupe, 1999 Chevrolet Silverado and 2004 Dodge Ram fullsize pickups, 2002 Ford Explorer midsize SUV and 1994 Nissan Sentra compact car.

The Des Plaines, Ill.-based group is beginning to see an increase this year in thefts of newer models despite their more sophisticated anti-theft devices. NICB says criminals are obtaining replacements for keys that are encoded to match a specific vehicle's ignition system.

Preliminary Federal Bureau of Investigation data indicate that overall vehicle theft nationwide in 2011 fell 3% from 2010 to a 44-year low of about 713,600 units.