Chrome, Horsepower and Hemis: Cadillac Escalade tops most ripped-off list

Just when it seems as if all we are hearing about are Chevrolet Volts and Nissan Leafs (Leaves?), turns out thieves still love their performance cars and monstrous SUVs and trucks.

The Cadillac Escalade remains the most stolen car in the United States, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute. The 'Sclade was followed by the Ford F250 pickup, the Infiniti G37, the Hemi Dodge Charger (not the V6 though!) and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

The least stolen? About as you'd guess: Volvo's S80 sedan had the lowest average loss, followed by cars that thieves seemingly find dull, including the Saturn Vue, the Nissan Murano and the Honda Pilot.

Kim Hazelbaker, the institute's senior vice president, said fuel sippers aren't on the hot list. She said crooks want chrome, horsepower and Hemis.

The institute's report looks at three years of theft data with model years 2007 to 2009 covered by the latest. Rankings are by average claim paid per 1,000 vehicles insured.

The Escalade has been the most ripped-off vehicle for six of the past seven reports.

Cadillac told USA Today that it's working to make the Escalade more theft-resistant with an engine immobilizer and a steering-wheel lock with a computer chip in the key fob. For 2011, the Escalade is getting laminated glass in the side windows that is tougher to smash.

Meanwhile, Volvo told the newspaper that the S80 is worth stealing; it's just that Volvo has made it hard to do so by including a key fob that can have only one of millions of codes needed to fire it up.

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