Muscle cars continue to be a magnet for thieves. According to a new report from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, late-model varieties of the Chevrolet Camaro attract sticky fingers, with the ZL1 variant being the most coveted.
Focusing on model years 2022 to 2024, the research showed that the Camaro and Camaro ZL1 ranked third and first, respectively, in insurance claims for whole-vehicle theft. The Acura TLX split the difference. Overall, though, the top 20 skewed toward large trucks and SUVs, vehicles that tend to be high-powered and higher priced. The General Motors portfolio took up nearly half the slots, with nine. Stellantis came in second overall with five vehicles earning a most-stolen distinction.
How about the least likely vehicle to be stolen? Electric vehicles and hybrids. Twelve electrified vehicles showed up in the bottom 20. Tesla was the winner, taking up four of the five spots for the least-stolen car crown.
You can say public opinion makes these vehicles undesirable, but keep in mind that EVs and PHEVs tend to be garage-parked or are near a building, usually for charging purposes. High-visibility areas bring unwanted high exposure to lowlife criminals. In the announcement, Matt Moore, chief insurance operations officer at HLDI and sister agency, IIHS, said:
“Muscle cars have often topped this list, as thieves are attracted to vehicles with high horsepower. That also helps explain why the more expensive, more powerful ZL1 is stolen so much more often than the standard Camaro.
We expect powerful and high-value vehicles to be targeted, and these models check both those boxes. But it stood out to us that Camaros that were nearly 10 years old had such high claim frequencies.”
Ooh, plot twist! So, even older Camaro models are being swiped? Muscles are hot, sure, but the relative ease with which they are stolen made them extra appealing. In this case, a glitch reportedly allows the Camaro’s key fob to be easily copied, granting thieves a way into the driver’s seat — no glass breaking required. According to GM Authority:
A big reason Camaro theft is so common is that its key fobs became infamously hackable. Carjackers used smartphone-sized key cloning devices available on Amazon to detect and copy the Kelyess Entry and Kelyess Ignition functions of nearby Camaro key fobs. Because of its high horsepower and dollar value, the Camaro ZL1 was the most desirable variant to steal.
The enthusiast site reports that a class action lawsuit by Camaro owners was filed in California last year. The model years listed are 2010 to 2023, the very ones likely to be stolen. But the muscle car crew is not alone. Just last month, a new class action lawsuit was filed in Texas. Claiming the same key fob security issues, the vehicles listed in that suit run the gamut of GM trucks and SUVs, from the Chevy Tahoe to the Cadillac Escalade.
GM Authority shared news that a software update addressing the key fob issue was released in March for 2020-24 Camaro vehicles. The dealer-installed update requires no additional parts and is said to take less than an hour. In a statement sent to the outlet, GM said:
“This body control module software enhancement involves an important security update for certain model year 2020 to 2024 Chevrolet Camaros. GM counters vehicle theft methods as they evolve. We regularly work with law enforcement agencies to identify emerging tactics that may affect our products and make updates as needed to defend against them.”
If this sounds familiar, Hyundai and Kia faced similar circumstances (albeit in a lower-tech way) following the notorious pandemic-era “Kia Challenge.” In viral social media posts, the cars were being stolen via anything the shape and size of a USB stick. It was so easy, blatant, and rampant that the South Korean automaker was briefly deemed uninsurable in some states. Available software updates did make the vehicles more difficult to steal, but only if you, you know, actually updated your car in the first place. The HLDI noted:
A similar campaign has worked well for Hyundai and Kia, which saw some of their models unexpectedly break into the top 20 most-stolen vehicles in 2021, another recent report shows.
HLDI has been tracking the campaign’s impact since it began in February 2023. The latest analysis shows that the frequency of theft claims of all kinds was 46% lower for eligible Hyundai and Kia vehicles that received the upgrade than for those that didn’t. Whole-vehicle theft claims were 52% less frequent for vehicles with the upgrade.
But theft of Hyundai and Kia vehicles still remains high for model years 2011 to 2022, added the HLDI. The current rate is “at nearly 10 and 11 claims per 1,000 insured vehicles” for the South Korean duo versus fewer than two claims per 1,000 when all manufacturers are factored in. As of December, the HLDI reports that only about 40% of eligible Hyundai and Kia vehicles were updated. Said Moore:
“This intervention showed dramatic results right off the bat, offering owners some peace of mind. Owners who still haven’t gotten the software upgrade should do so immediately, as it’s the best way to protect their vehicle.”
For this report, the HLDI identifies whole-vehicle thefts “by comparing the dollar amounts of theft claims with what insurers pay for the same vehicles when they’re totaled in a crash.” The reason is that theft claims don’t always specify whether the vehicle was stolen entirely or just components, like a catalytic converter.
The good news in all of this is that car theft is down overall. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports that just 850,708 vehicles were stolen last year. Okay, yeah, that’s still a lot of cars being grabbed. But it’s nevertheless a significant drop from the 1,020,729 that went missing in 2023, which the agency said was a “historical peak.”
So that’s something the Hyundai and GM owners can cheer about. Unless you own an Elantra. Despite the car stealing slowdown, for the second year in a row, the Elantra remains the most stolen vehicle, period.
Top graphic image: Chevrolet
The post Why The Chevy Camaro ZL1 Is The Most-Stolen Late-Model Car appeared first on The Autopian.
