Preliminary Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-98-4683; Notice 01]

RIN 2127-AH35

Preliminary Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),

Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Publication of preliminary theft data; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This document requests comments on data about passenger motor

vehicle thefts that occurred in calendar year (CY) 1997, including

theft rates for existing passenger motor vehicle lines manufactured in

model year (MY) 1997. The theft data preliminarily indicate that the

vehicle theft rate for CY/MY 1997 vehicles (3.11 thefts per thousand

vehicles) decreased by 5.2 percent from the theft rate for CY/MY 1996

vehicles (3.28 thefts per thousand vehicles).

Publication of these data fulfills NHTSA's statutory obligation to

periodically obtain accurate and timely theft data, and publish the

information for review and comment.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 19, 1999.

ADDRESSES: All comments should refer to the docket number and notice

number cited in the heading of this document and be submitted,

preferably with two copies to: U.S. Department of Transportation,

Dockets, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.

Docket hours are from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rosalind Proctor, Office of

Planning and Consumer Programs, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Proctor's telephone number is (202) 366-0846.

Her fax number is (202) 493-2739.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA administers a program for reducing

motor vehicle theft. The central feature of this program is the Federal

Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard, 49 CFR part 541. The standard

specifies performance requirements for inscribing or affixing vehicle

identification numbers (VINs) onto certain major original equipment and

replacement parts of high-theft lines of passenger motor vehicles.

The agency is required by 49 U.S.C. 33104(b)(4) to periodically

obtain, from the most reliable source, accurate and timely theft data,

and publish the data for review and comment. To fulfill the section

33104(b)(4) mandate, this document reports the preliminary theft data

for CY 1997, the most recent calendar year for which data are

available.

In calculating the 1997 theft rates, NHTSA followed the same

procedures it used in calculating the MY 1996 theft rates. (For 1996

theft data calculations, see 63 FR 36478, July 6, 1998). As in all

previous reports, NHTSA's data were based on information provided to

the agency by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NCIC is a governmental system that

receives vehicle theft information from nearly 23,000 criminal justice

agencies and other law enforcement authorities throughout the United

States. The NCIC data also include reported thefts of self-insured and

uninsured vehicles, not all of which are reported to other data

sources.

The 1997 theft rate for each vehicle line was calculated by

dividing the number of reported thefts of MY 1997 vehicles of that line

stolen during calendar year 1997, by the total number of vehicles in

that line manufactured for MY 1997, as reported by manufacturers to the

Environmental Protection Agency.

The preliminary 1997 theft data show a decrease in the vehicle

theft rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 1996.

The preliminary theft rate for MY 1997 passenger vehicles stolen in

calendar year 1997 decreased to 3.11 thefts per thousand vehicles

produced, a decrease of 5.2 percent from the rate of 3.28 thefts per

thousand vehicles experienced by MY 1996 vehicles in CY 1996. For MY

1997 vehicles, out of a total of 203 vehicle lines, 71 lines had a

theft rate higher than 3.5826 per thousand vehicles, the established

median theft rate for MYs 1990/1991. (See 59 FR 12400, March 16, 1994).

Of the 71 vehicle lines with a theft rate higher than 3.5826, 61 are

passenger car lines, nine are multipurpose passenger vehicle lines, and

one is a light-duty truck line.

In Table I, NHTSA has tentatively ranked each of the MY 1997

vehicle lines in descending order of theft rate. Public comment is

sought on the accuracy of the data, including the data for the

production volumes of individual vehicle lines.

Comments must not exceed 15 pages in length (49 CFR 553.21).

Attachments may be appended to these submissions without regard to the

15 page limit. This limitation is intended to encourage

[[Page 7946]]

commenters to detail their primary arguments in a concise fashion.

If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim

of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including

purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to

the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address given above, and two

copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been

deleted should be submitted to Dockets. A request for confidentiality

should be accompanied by a cover letter setting forth the information

specified in the agency's confidential business information regulation.

49 CFR part 512.

All comments received before the close of business on the comment

closing date indicated above for this document will be considered, and

will be available for examination in the docket at the above address

both before and after that date. To the extent possible, comments filed

after the closing date will also be considered. Comments on this

document will be available for inspection in the docket. NHTSA will

continue to file relevant information as it becomes available for

inspection in the docket after the closing date, and it is recommended

that interested persons continue to examine the docket for new

material.

Those persons desiring to be notified upon receipt of their

comments in the rules docket should enclose a self-addressed, stamped

postcard in the envelope with their comments. Upon receiving the

comments, the docket supervisor will return the postcard by mail.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 33101, 33102 and 33104; delegation of

authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

Preliminary Report of Theft Rates of 1997 Model Year Passenger Motor Vehicles Stolen in Calendar Year 1997

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1997 (per

Production 1,000 vehicles

Manufacturer Make/model (line) Thefts 1997 (Mfr's) 1997 produced)

theft rate

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1 SUZUKI........................... SWIFT................... 16 1,724 9.2807

2 HONDA............................ ACURA INTEGRA........... 277 30,046 9.2192

3 CHRYSLER CORP.................... PLYMOUTH NEON........... 749 82,880 9.0372

4 MITSUBISHI....................... MIRAGE.................. 497 58,218 8.5369

5 CHRYSLER CORP.................... DODGE NEON.............. 926 115,456 8.0204

6 TOYOTA........................... SUPRA................... 13 1,629 7.9804

7 HYUNDAI.......................... TIBURON................. 37 4,758 7.7764

8 SUZUKI........................... ESTEEM.................. 55 7,116 7.7291

9 MITSUBISHI....................... MONTERO SPORT........... 202 26,592 7.5963

10 BMW.............................. 8....................... 6 791 7.5853

11 TOYOTA........................... LEXUS SC................ 41 5,570 7.3609

12 CHRYSLER CORP.................... DODGE STRATUS........... 711 97,227 7.3128

13 NISSAN........................... MAXIMA.................. 949 131,602 7.2111

14 CHRYSLER CORP.................... STRATUS \1\............. 3 429 6.9930

15 MITSUBISHI....................... MONTERO................. 82 12,249 6.6944

16 CHRYSLER CORP.................... INTREPID \1\............ 4 616 6.4935

17 NISSAN........................... STANZA ALTIMA........... 1,157 179,501 6.4456

18 CHRYSLER CORP.................... PLYMOUTH BREEZE......... 423 70,699 5.9831

19 MITSUBISHI....................... 3000GT.................. 38 6,399 5.9384

20 GENERAL MOTORS................... GEO METRO............... 374 64,933 5.7598

21 MITSUBISHI....................... ECLIPSE................. 439 77,556 5.6604

22 MITSUBISHI....................... GALANT.................. 282 50,259 5.6109

23 TOYOTA........................... TERCEL.................. 277 49,527 5.5929

24 CHRYSLER CORP.................... NEW YORKER/LHS.......... 203 36,622 5.5431

25 FORD MOTOR CO.................... MERCURY MYSTIQUE........ 126 23,321 5.4029

26 FORD MOTOR CO.................... MERCURY TRACER.......... 354 65,867 5.3745

27 SUBARU........................... SVX..................... 2 384 5.2083

28 MERCEDES BENZ.................... 140 (S-CLASS)........... 85 16,348 5.1994

29 CHRYSLER CORP.................... DODGE INTREPID.......... 775 151,603 5.1120

30 MERCEDES BENZ.................... 129 (SL-CLASS).......... 36 7,172 5.0195

31 CHRYSLER CORP.................... SEBRING CONVERTIBLE..... 280 56,004 4.9996

32 HYUNDAI.......................... SONATA.................. 90 18,035 4.9903

33 HONDA............................ ACURA SLX............... 5 1,003 4.9850

34 SUZUKI........................... SIDEKICK................ 110 22,312 4.9301

35 T0YOTA........................... COROLLA................. 1,091 222,055 4.9132

36 GENERAL MOTORS................... CHEVROLET CAMARO........ 270 55,037 4.9058

37 FORD MOTOR CO.................... MUSTANG................. 490 100,259 4.8873

38 HYUNDAI.......................... ACCENT.................. 174 37,755 4.6087

39 NISSAN........................... PATHFINDER.............. 382 83,550 4.5721

40 GENERAL MOTORS................... GEO PRIZM............... 285 62,800 4.5382

41 BMW.............................. M3...................... 35 7,976 4.3882

42 CHRYSLER CORP.................... CIRRUS.................. 121 28,008 4.3202

43 CHRYSLER CORP.................... JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE..... 1,122 259,946 4.3163

44 GENERAL MOTORS................... PONTIAC FIREBIRD/FORMULA 133 30,819 4.3155

45 FORD MOTOR CO.................... ASPIRE.................. 161 37,398 4.3050

46 ASTON MARTIN..................... DB7..................... 1 234 4.2735

47 ISUZU............................ HOMBRE PICKUP TRUCK..... 52 12,177 4.2703

48 HONDA............................ ACCORD.................. 1,604 375,973 4.2663

49 CHRYSLER CORP.................... SEBRING COUPE........... 140 33,163 4.2216

50 SUZUKI........................... X-90.................... 9 2,182 4.1247

[[Page 7947]]

51 NISSAN........................... 240SX................... 15 3,655 4.1040

52 FORD MOTOR CO.................... CONTOUR................. 327 79,945 4.0903

53 NISSAN........................... SENTRA/200SX............ 628 154,689 4.0598

54 GENERAL MOTORS................... OLDSMOBILE ACHIEVA...... 201 49,879 4.0298

55 CHRYSLER CORP.................... NEON 1.................. 3 751 3.9947

56 TOYOTA........................... 4-RUNNER................ 512 128,659 3.9795

57 HYUNDAI.......................... ELANTRA................. 178 44,936 3.9612

58 GENERAL MOTORS................... PONTIAC GRAND AM........ 834 211,009 3.9524

59 FORD MOTOR CO.................... ESCORT.................. 1,264 323,413 3.9083

60 MAZDA............................ 626/MX-6................ 320 82,223 3.8919

61 GENERAL MOTORS................... GMC JIMMY S-15.......... 284 73,493 3.8643

62 HONDA............................ DEL SOL................. 25 6,719 3.7208

63 FORD MOTOR CO.................... PROBE................... 62 16,823 3.6854

64 MERCEDES BENZ.................... 202 (C-CLASS)........... 44 11,949 3.6823

65 GENERAL MOTORS................... BUICK SKYLARK........... 212 57,716 3.6732

66 CHRYSLER CORP.................... EAGLE TALON............. 36 9,827 3.6634

67 ISUZU............................ RODEO................... 190 52,937 3.5892

68 CHRYSLER CORP.................... EAGLE VISION............ 21 5,888 3.5666

69 GENERAL MOTORS................... CHEVROLET CORVETTE...... 32 9,072 3.5273

70 MAZDA............................ MILLENIA................ 58 17,130 3.3859

71 MITSUBISHI....................... DIAMANTE................ 95 28,208 3.3678

72 NISSAN........................... INFINITI I30............ 92 27,606 3.3326

73 FORD MOTOR CO.................... TAURUS.................. 1,322 398,720 3.3156

74 NISSAN........................... INFINITI QX4............ 54 16,558 3.2613

75 ISUZU............................ TROOPER................. 34 10,616 3.2027

76 FORD MOTOR CO.................... LINCOLN TOWN CAR........ 328 104,969 3.1247

77 CHRYSLER CORP.................... DODGE AVENGER........... 101 32,698 3.0889

78 GENERAL MOTORS................... CHEVROLET CAVALIER...... 969 316,265 3.0639

79 TOYOTA........................... TACOMA PICKUP TRUCK..... 333 109,056 3.0535

80 CHRYSLER CORP.................... JEEP WRANGLER........... 382 125,276 3.0493

81 KIA.............................. SEPHIA.................. 130 42,709 3.0439

82 FORD MOTOR CO.................... MERCURY SABLE........... 340 114,227 2.9765

83 MAZDA............................ MX-5 MIATA.............. 55 18,536 2.9672

84 GENERAL MOTORS................... CHEVROLET BLAZER S10/T10 624 212,327 2.9389

85 FORD MOTOR CO.................... LINCOLN MARK VIII....... 48 16,339 2.9378

86 HONDA............................ PRELUDE................. 48 16,584 2.8944

87 GENERAL MOTORS................... PONTIAC SUNFIRE......... 305 105,493 2.8912

88 GENERAL MOTORS................... CADILLAC DEVILLE........ 274 95,151 2.8796

89 VOLVO............................ 960..................... 52 18,140 2.8666

90 PORSCHE.......................... 911..................... 18 6,289 2.8621

91 HONDA............................ PASSPORT................ 62 21,693 2.8581

92 HONDA............................ CIVIC................... 933 335,167 2.7837

93 MAZDA............................ PROTEGE................. 159 57,153 2.7820

94 FORD MOTOR CO.................... EXPLORER................ 1,105 398,992 2.7695

95 FORD MOTOR CO.................... WINDSTAR VAN............ 98 36,315 2.6986

96 JAGUAR........................... XJ6..................... 21 7,899 2.6586

97 VOLKSWAGEN....................... GOLF/GTI................ 59 22,684 2.6010

98 ACURA............................ TL...................... 55 21,441 2.5652

99 TOYOTA........................... CAMRY................... 935 365,752 2.5564

100 GENERAL MOTORS................... PONTIAC BONNEVILLE...... 186 74,182 2.5073

101 TOYOTA........................... PASEO................... 8 3,194 2.5047

102 TOYOTA........................... PREVIA VAN.............. 12 4,840 2.4793

103 CHRYSLER CORP.................... PLYMOUTH PROWLER........ 1 404 2.4752

104 BMW.............................. 7....................... 43 17,788 2.4174

105 FORD MOTOR CO.................... THUNDERBIRD............. 178 73,812 2.4115

106 GENERAL MOTORS................... OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS 127 53,434 2.3768

SUPREME.

107 TOYOTA........................... LEXUS ES................ 138 59,344 2.3254

108 GENERAL MOTORS................... CHEVROLET LUMINA/MONTE 696 304,270 2.2874

CARLO.

109 MERCEDES BENZ.................... 210 (E-CLASS)........... 114 50,101 2.2754

110 VOLKSWAGEN....................... PASSAT.................. 26 11,437 2.2733

111 VOLKSWAGEN....................... JETTA................... 208 91,809 2.2656

112 NISSAN........................... PICKUP TRUCK............ 286 130,665 2.1888

113 BMW.............................. 3....................... 93 42,643 2.1809

114 HONDA............................ ACURA CL................ 98 44,955 2.1800

115 CHRYSLER CORP.................... PLYMOUTH VOYAGER........ 325 149,874 2.1685

116 GENERAL MOTORS................... GMC SAFARI VAN.......... 68 31,673 2.1469

117 GENERAL MOTORS................... CHEVROLET ASTRO VAN..... 213 100,116 2.1275

118 NISSAN........................... INFINITI J30............ 23 10,817 2.1263

[[Page 7948]]

119 TOYOTA........................... LEXUS LS................ 38 17,900 2.1229

120 GENERAL MOTORS................... GMC SONOMA PICKUP TRUCK. 82 38,759 2.1156

121 JAGUAR........................... XJR..................... 1 473 2.1142

122 TOYOTA........................... RAV4.................... 154 73,321 2.1004

123 BMW.............................. 5....................... 86 41,665 2.0641

124 TOYOTA........................... T100 PICKUP TRUCK....... 62 30,389 2.0402

125 TOYOTA........................... CELICA.................. 26 12,901 2.0153

126 GENERAL MOTORS................... GEO TRACKER............. 49 24,400 2.0082

127 GENERAL MOTORS................... OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA...... 54 27,722 1.9479

128 CHRYSLER CORP.................... CONCORDE................ 99 51,119 1.9367

129 CHRYSLER CORP.................... DODGE CARAVAN........... 559 290,007 1.9275

130 GENERAL MOTORS................... PONTIAC GRAND PRIX...... 275 144,767 1.8996

131 KIA.............................. SPORTAGE................ 44 23,500 1.8723

132 JAGUAR........................... XK8..................... 15 8,242 1.8199

133 TOYOTA........................... AVALON.................. 132 73,991 1.7840

134 GENERAL MOTORS................... CADILLAC ELDORADO....... 34 19,307 1.7610

135 GENERAL MOTORS................... BUICK RIVIERA........... 31 18,175 1.7056

136 VOLVO............................ 850..................... 72 42,596 1.6903

137 SAAB............................. 9000.................... 9 5,449 1.6517

138 PORSCHE.......................... BOXSTER CONVERTIBLE..... 9 5,459 1.6487

139 BMW.............................. Z3...................... 34 20,636 1.6476

140 CHRYSLER CORP.................... JEEP CHEROKEE........... 141 86,303 1.6338

141 FORD MOTOR CO.................... RANGER PICKUP TRUCK..... 478 296,746 1.6108

142 VOLKSWAGEN....................... CABRIO.................. 15 9,473 1.5834

143 GENERAL MOTORS................... CHEVROLET S-10 PICKUP 298 190,835 1.5616

TRUCK.

144 AUDI............................. A6...................... 12 7,736 1.5512

145 CHRYSLER CORP.................... DODGE DAKOTA PICKUP 195 128,661 1.5156

TRUCK.

146 FORD MOTOR CO.................... AEROSTAR VAN............ 78 53,721 1.4519

147 NISSAN........................... INFINITI Q45............ 18 12,398 1.4518

148 MAZDA............................ MPV..................... 19 13,302 1.4284

149 FORD MOTOR CO.................... MERCURY COUGAR.......... 50 35,273 1.4175

150 MAZDA............................ B SERIES PICKUP TRUCK... 50 35,496 1.4086

151 NISSAN........................... QUEST................... 73 52,071 1.4019

152 GENERAL MOTORS................... CADILLAC SEVILLE........ 52 37,187 1.3983

153 GENERAL MOTORS................... CHEVROLET MALIBU........ 136 100,661 1.3511

154 FORD MOTOR CO.................... LINCOLN CONTINENTAL..... 43 32,204 1.3352

155 CHRYSLER CORP.................... TOWN & COUNTRY MPV...... 103 78,662 1.3094

156 GENERAL MOTORS................... CADILLAC CATERA......... 34 26,109 1.3022

157 SUBARU........................... IMPREZA................. 34 26,817 1.2679

158 GENERAL MOTORS................... SATURN SC............... 84 66,456 1.2640

159 GENERAL MOTORS................... SATURN SL............... 251 199,018 1.2612

160 VOLKSWAGEN....................... EUROVAN................. 2 1,602 1.2484

161 SUBARU........................... LEGACY.................. 115 92,310 1.2458

162 FORD MOTOR CO.................... MERCURY VILLAGER MPV.... 64 61,417 1.0421

163 GENERAL MOTORS................... OLDSMOBILE EIGHTY-EIGHT. 68 65,879 1.0322

164 GENERAL MOTORS................... OLDSMOBILE AURORA....... 26 25,579 1.0165

165 GENERAL MOTORS................... PONTIAC TRANS SPORT VAN. 47 47,627 0.9868

166 AUDI............................. A4...................... 16 16,400 0.9756

167 FORD MOTOR CO.................... MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS... 124 127,973 0.9690

168 SAAB............................. 900..................... 22 23,152 0.9502

169 HONDA............................ ACURA RL................ 15 16,377 0.9159

170 FORD MOTOR CO.................... CROWN VICTORIA.......... 107 123,814 0.8642

171 AUDI............................. A8...................... 2 2,377 0.8414

172 GENERAL MOTORS................... SATURN SW............... 20 27,129 0.7372

173 GENERAL MOTORS................... BUICK LESABRE........... 155 211,904 0.7315

174 GENERAL MOTORS................... OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS...... 13 18,112 0.7178

175 HONDA............................ ODYSSEY................. 14 22,243 0.6294

176 ISUZU............................ OASIS................... 1 1,602 0.6242

177 HONDA............................ CR-V.................... 44 73,948 0.5950

178 GENERAL MOTORS................... OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE 12 20,927 0.5734

VAN.

179 GENERAL MOTORS................... CHEVROLET VENTURE VAN... 38 71,649 0.5304

180 GENERAL MOTORS................... BUICK CENTURY........... 27 53,706 0.5027

181 GENERAL MOTORS................... BUICK PARK AVENUE....... 28 59,549 0.4702

182 GENERAL MOTORS................... BUICK REGAL............. 7 21,828 0.3207

183 AUDI............................. CABRIOLET............... 0 1,201 0.0000

184 CHRYSLER CORP.................... DODGE VIPER............. 0 1,537 0.0000

185 FERRARI.......................... F355.................... 0 622 0.0000

186 FERRARI.......................... 456..................... 0 70 0.0000

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187 FERRARI.......................... 550..................... 0 94 0.0000

188 GENERAL MOTORS................... BUICK FUNERAL COACH/ 0 546 0.0000

HEARSE.

189 GENERAL MOTORS................... CADILLAC LIMOUSINE...... 0 445 0.0000

190 GENERAL MOTORS................... SATURN EV1.............. 0 2,000 0.0000

191 HONDA............................ ACURA NSX............... 0 322 0.0000

192 JAGUAR........................... VANDEN PLAS............. 0 2,536 0.0000

193 LAMBORGHINI...................... DB132/DIABLO............ 0 74 0.0000

194 LOTUS............................ ESPRIT.................. 0 121 0.0000

195 ROLLS-ROYCE...................... BENTLEY AZURE........... 0 81 0.0000

196 ROLLS--ROYCE..................... BENTLEY BROOKLANDS...... 0 135 0.0000

197 ROLLS--ROYCE..................... BENTLEY CONTINENTAL T... 0 40 0.0000

198 ROLLS-ROYCE...................... BENTLEY TURBO R......... 0 54 0.0000

199ROLLS-ROYCE........................ SILVER DAWN............. 0 21 0.0000

200 ROLLS-ROYCE...................... SILVER SPUR............. 0 113 0.0000

201 ROLLS-ROYCE...................... PARK WARD LIMOUSINE..... 0 1 0.0000

202 TOYOTA........................... LEXUS GS................ 0 187 0.0000

203 VECTOR AUTO...................... AVTECH SC/M12........... 0 4 0.0000

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\1\ These vehicles were manufactured for sale only in U.S. territories under the Chrysler name plate.

Issued on: February 10, 1999.

L. Robert Shelton,

Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 99-3671 Filed 2-16-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910-59-P