Once a beacon for thieves, the Cadillac Escalade is no longer the most stolen vehicle in the country and is actually outranked by five other vehicles.

The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) has just released its annual top-ten lists of the most stolen vehicles from the 2010 to 2012 model years, and sitting at the top is the Ford F-250. This is the first year since 2003 that some version of the Escalade hasn't topped the list.

You may be wondering at this point why a commercial vehicle like a Ford F-250 is the most popular among thieves. As The Car Connection points out, it's confusing to the HLDI as well.

Since the HLDI bases its findings on the number of claims made to insurers, without distinguishing between thefts of property from vehicles and the theft of vehicles themselves, it’s possible the institute may also be counting items stolen from truck beds. That might explain why there are so many pickups on the list. The Ford F-250 had about seven claims for every 1,000 insured examples.

Overall, the HLDI says theft rates are on the decline, though the institute doesn’t say by how much. It says the reason for the decline in thefts is thanks largely to the spread of engine immobilizers, which were standard in 89 percent of vehicles sold last year. Pickups are less likely to have the feature than cars, which may also help explain their higher theft rates. 

At the other end of the spectrum, the Dodge Journey was the least stolen vehicle, according to the HLDI.

The ten most stolen vehicles from the 2010-2012 model years:

1) Ford F-250 crew
2) Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew
3) Chevrolet Avalanche 1500
4) GMC Sierra 1500 crew
5) Ford F-350 crew 4WD
6) Cadillac Escalade 4WD
7) Chevrolet Suburban 1500
8) GMC Sierra 1500 extended cab
9) GMC Yukon
10) Chevrolet Tahoe

The ten least stolen vehicles from the 2010-2012 model years:

1) Dodge Journey 4WD
2) Volkswagen Tiguan 4WD
3) Audi A4
4) Acura RDX
5) Toyota Matrix
6) Lexus HS 250
7) Honda CR-V
8) Hyundai Tucson 4WD
9) Toyota Sienna 4WD
10) Jeep Compass 4WD

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