The Editor Speaks: Honda Civics
There is a spate of car theft here. It seems hardly a weekend goes by when we learn of another car theft or thefts.
The stealing seems to be in pairs. Just this weekend we received a report from the RCIPS of two more cars gone missing. And once again they are Honda Civics.
If I lose my car keys I am at a loss how to open my car door, except by breaking a window and then what do I do? I don’t have a key to drive it.
So how do these car thieves get past the sophisticated security that cars have installed today?
Where do the cars go that have been stolen? These islands are small.
Some get found. Others do not.
Why Honda Civics?
They are the number one choice for the car thieves.
Is there a black market here for Honda Civic car parts?
Only the thieves themselves or the police can answer these questions.
Neither are coming forward to explain.
The National Crime Information Center shows 49,547 1997 Honda Civic cars stolen, including 7,578 1998 models. However top of their list was 50,427 1997 Honda Accords.
The reason given by Consumer Affairs is:
Car thieves prefer older vintage cars because they aren’t selling them intact. They’re taking them to “chop shops” and reducing them to parts. Since there are so many older Honda Accords and Civics on the road, they find a lucrative market for spare parts.
The NCIC experts say older cars are also easier to steal because they pre-date the use of “smart keys.” Since Honda adopted smart keys and other anti-theft technology, the number of stolen Hondas has declined sharply.
For example, among the most-stolen 2016 models, Honda is far down the list, with only 493 stolen 2016 Accords last year. The Toyota Camry tops that list, with 1,113 stolen 2016 cars, followed by the Nissan Altima, at 1,063 and the Toyota Corolla, at 982.
The article continues:
“… car thieves are using technology themselves to make off with high-tech vehicles.
Using an electronic device called a “relay attack” unit, thieves are able to open doors, start a vehicle, and drive it away, even without the original fob.
Testing the device on 35 models, NICB was able to open 19 of the vehicles and start and drive away 18 of them.
And what is the year of the stolen Civics here? Neither was 1997.
It was 1996 and 1998.
Too close for any comfort if you own a Honda Civic.
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