I once owned a pink laptop, it too was theft resistant. And wildly cheaper on ebay than the same model in grey. How long is a 'joyride' in a Prius going to last?
If antidote means a distinct body styling with a potentially fatal booby trap to chop shop workers, then yes, it is. The security measures of the keyless system likely have part to play in getting thieves to move on to easier targets, but such systems are on other cars. Outside areas where they are common site, the styling makes it easy to spot. So police would notice them when one is reported stolen. Most mechanics in a chop shop might be worried about electricution, and refuse to work on them. So stolen cars might just get dumped back on the street. Recovered does not mean pieces aren't missing.
...well our '84 Camry was stolen near NYC after 5 years, and we had an '02 Corolla lost in B'more. Being a wagon/Caravan lover, we have not owned too many Toyota sedans but they were the only ones that got stolen on us, except the Prius (so far - and it's a hatchback). When we lost the Camry I believe it was the No. 1 most stolen car, so Prius is definite step in the right direction.
I know, now with the SOS which most cars have that or a similar option the car has a built in Lojack so the Police contacts Toyota and Toyota can give the exact location of the car. That is why the recovery is so high. SOS is free the first 3 years and a nominal fee thereafter. I heard that if you don't subscribe to SOS and your car is stolen Toyota can still turn it on and locate the car for Police.
15" rims, check. Possible electrical execution, check. Many distinct parts unusable to other parts, check. Now what I want more of is police cars (like in San Diego) that has the front bumper camera that will scan/read license plan if the car was stolen or bad driver/owner. Downtown Long Beach has 2 squad cars and made car thieves nervous to drive a stolen car in the area.
I've had three cars stolen. Each time I got to talk to the police and car thefts. They say what drives theft is the demand for parts. I asked why they'd take an old Ford pickup and not a newer BMW? The answer was that BMW owners don't get their cars fixed at a place that uses stolen auto parts. It could be that there is little demand for stolen Prius parts. Yes some cars are taken for a joy ride. But by far most are taken so they can be stripped of seats, windshield, transmissions and even body sheet metal
I wonder how many of these thefts were due to inadvertently leaving the car unattended in ready mode? BTDT* And later found because the thieves couldn't restart the car, ran out of fuel, etc. *The left on part, not the stolen part.
Demand for parts. The cars are reliable, specialized, mostly serviced at dealers and the older used market is still at low volume.
As the Prius sells better the need for used parts will go and unfortunately so will theft. Per volume sold I wonder what the thief rate is. Prius has some pretty pricey components. I bet not many Lexu LFAs have been stolen in the USA.
