[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 186 (Tuesday, September 24, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50069-50077]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24420]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. 96-016; Notice 02]
RIN 2127-AF57


Final Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Publication of final theft data.

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SUMMARY: This document publishes the final data on thefts of model year 
(MY) 1994 passenger motor vehicles that occurred in calendar year (CY) 
1994. The final 1994 theft data indicate an increase in the vehicle 
theft rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 1993. 
The final theft rate for MY 1994 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar 
year 1994 increased to 4.17 thefts per thousand vehicles produced. 
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. The data were calculated for 
informational purposes only.

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) 366-1740. 
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 and 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 this statutory 
mandate, NHTSA has published theft data annually since 1983/84. 
Continuing to fulfill the section 33104(b)(4) mandate, this document 
reports the final theft data for CY 1994, the most recent calendar year 
for which data are available.
    In calculating the 1994 theft rates, NHTSA followed the same 
procedures it used in calculating the MY 1993 theft rates. (For 1993 
theft data calculations, see 61 FR 1228, January 18, 1996). As in all 
previous reports, NHTSA's data were based on information provided to 
NHTSA by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation. The NCIC is a government 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.

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    The 1994 theft rate for each vehicle line was calculated by 
dividing the number of reported thefts of MY 1994 vehicles of that line 
stolen during calendar year 1994 by the total number of vehicles in 
that line manufactured for MY 1994, as reported to the Environmental 
Protection Agency.
    The final 1994 theft data show an increase in the vehicle theft 
rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 1993. The 
final theft rate for MY 1994 passenger vehicles stolen in CY 1994 
increased to 4.17 thefts per thousand vehicles produced, an increase of 
4.8 percent from the rate of 3.98 thefts per thousand vehicles 
experienced by MY 1993 vehicles in CY 1993. For MY 1994 vehicles, out 
of a total of 202 vehicle lines, 96 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 96 vehicle lines 
with a theft rate higher than 3.5826, 76 are passenger car lines, 17 
are multipurpose passenger vehicle lines, and 3 are light-duty truck 
lines.
    On Wednesday, March 13, 1996, NHTSA published the preliminary theft 
rates for CY 1994 passenger motor vehicles in the Federal Register (61 
FR 10424). The agency tentatively ranked each of the MY 1994 vehicle 
lines in descending order of theft rate. The public was requested to 
comment on the accuracy of the data and to provide final production 
figures for individual vehicle lines. In response to the March 1996 
notice, the agency received written comments from the Chrysler 
Corporation (Chrysler), Ford Motor Company (Ford), Volkswagen of 
America, Inc. (Volkswagen), American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (Honda), 
General Motors Corporation (GM), Jaguar Cars (Jaguar), Mercedes-Benz of 
North America, Inc. (Mercedes-Benz) and Toyota Motor Corporate Services 
of North America, Inc. (Toyota). In their comments, all eight 
manufacturers provided the agency with corrected production figures for 
their vehicle lines. (The written corrections are available at the 
docket number cited at the beginning of this notice.)
    The agency used all written comments to make the necessary 
adjustments to its data. As a result of the adjustments, the final 
theft rate and ranking of the vehicle lines changed from those 
published in the March 1996 notice.
    In its comments, Chrysler informed the agency that although the 
Jeep Cherokee and the Jeep Grand Cherokee are separate and distinct 
vehicles, they had been erroneously listed as one vehicle line entry.
    In response to Chrysler's comment, NHTSA is correcting the final 
theft data for several Chrysler models. As a result of these 
corrections, the Jeep Cherokee previously ranked No. 25 with a theft 
rate of 8.2980 is now ranked No. 128 with a theft rate of 2.7049; the 
Jeep Grand Cherokee, not previously ranked is now ranked at No. 23 with 
a theft rate of 8.7702. Changes to the remaining five Chrysler lines 
were: the Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan previously ranked No. 54 with a 
theft rate of 5.3457 is now ranked No. 56 with a theft rate of 5.4156; 
the Chrysler New Yorker/LHS previously ranked No. 82 with a theft rate 
of 3.9560 is now ranked No. 70 with a theft rate of 4.6498; the Dodge 
Stealth previously ranked No. 138 with a theft rate of 2.1916 is now 
ranked No. 63 with a theft rate of 4.8435; the Eagle Summit previously 
ranked No. 171 with a theft rate of 1.2972 is now ranked No. 117 with a 
theft rate of 3.0293; and the Plymouth Colt/Colt Vista previously 
ranked No. 189 with a theft rate of 0.6053 is now ranked No. 160 with a 
theft rate of 1.7118.
    Ford informed the agency that the E150 Van, a multi-purpose 
passenger vehicle, was not subject to coverage under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 
331, Theft Prevention, because the gross vehicle weight rating exceeded 
the statutory limitation of 6,000 pounds.
    In response to Ford's comment, NHTSA is making the necessary 
corrections to the final theft data. As a result of the adjustments, 
the Ford E150 Van, previously ranked No. 186, was removed. 
Additionally, Ford informed the agency that the production volume for 
the F150 Pickup Trucks included vehicles with a gross vehicle weight 
rating both greater and less than 6,000 pounds. Ford provided the 
production volumes for those F150 Pickup Trucks that had a gross 
vehicle weight rating of 6,000 pounds or less. As a result of the 
adjustment, the Ford F150 Pickup Truck, previously ranked No. 190 with 
a theft rate of 0.5421 is now ranked No. 130 with a theft rate of 
2.6009. Changes to the remaining two Ford car lines were: the Ford 
Taurus previously ranked No. 107 with a theft rate of 3.1594 is now 
ranked No. 123 with a theft rate of 2.7996; the Ford Explorer 
previously ranked No. 139 with a theft rate of 2.1805 is now ranked No. 
148 with a theft rate of 2.0459.
    Additionally, Volkswagen commented that the VW Cabriolet should be 
changed to Audi Cabriolet and the VW Jetta should be changed to the VW 
Jetta III. The final theft data were modified to reflect these changes. 
Changes to the remaining nine Volkswagen lines were: the Volkswagen 
Corrado previously ranked No. 10 with a theft rate of 15.0000 is ranked 
No. 12 with a theft rate of 15.1515; the Audi Cabriolet previously 
ranked No. 80 with a theft rate of 4.0193 is now ranked No. 85 with a 
theft rate of 3.9714; the Volkswagen Passat previously ranked No. 111 
with a theft rate of 3.0990 remains at the same rank with a theft rate 
of 3.0840; the Volkswagen Jetta III previously ranked No. 136 with a 
theft rate of 2.4360 is now ranked No. 141 with a theft rate of 2.4344; 
the Audi S4 previously ranked No. 141 with a theft rate of 2.1598 is 
now ranked No. 144 with a theft rate of 2.1231; the Volkswagen Golf 
III/GTI previously ranked No. 160 with a theft rate of 1.5330 is now 
ranked No. 165 with a theft rate of 1.5329; the Audi 100 previously 
ranked No. 161 with a theft rate of 1.4922 is now ranked No. 166 with a 
theft rate of 1.4929; the Audi 90 previously ranked No. 167 with a 
theft rate of 1.3592 is now ranked No. 172 with a theft rate of 1.3518; 
and the Volkswagen Eurovan previously ranked No. 201 with a theft rate 
of 0.0000 is ranked the same with a theft rate of 0.0000.
    For the Honda car lines, the Acura NSX previously ranked No. 14 
with a theft rate of 13.2353 is now ranked at No. 10 with a theft rate 
of 17.4081; the Acura Legend previously ranked No. 37 with a theft rate 
of 6.5616 is now ranked at No. 22 with a theft rate of 9.6944; the 
Acura Integra previously ranked No. 77 with a theft rate of 4.0985 is 
now ranked at No. 96 with a theft rate of 3.5894; the Acura Vigor 
previously ranked at No. 84 with a theft rate of 3.9103 is now ranked 
at No. 42 with a theft rate of 6.3344; the Civic previously ranked No. 
86 with a theft rate of 3.8020 is now ranked No. 78 with a theft rate 
of 4.3100; the Prelude previously ranked No. 98 with a theft rate of 
3.5473 is now ranked No. 30 with a theft rate of 8.0417; and the Accord 
previously ranked No. 116 with a theft rate of 3.0415 is now ranked No. 
103 with a theft rate of 3.3529.
    For the General Motors car lines, the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera 
previously ranked No. 27 with a theft rate of 8.1655 is now ranked No. 
29 with a theft rate of 8.1574; the Buick Century previously ranked No. 
42 with a theft rate of 6.1243 is now ranked No. 48 with a theft rate 
of 5.9451; the GMC Jimmy S-15 previously ranked No. 49 with a theft 
rate of 5.6309 is now ranked No. 52 with a theft rate of 5.6889; the 
Oldsmobile Achieva previously ranked No. 52 with a theft rate of 5.4347 
is now ranked No. 54 with a theft rate of 5.6046; the Chevrolet Blazer 
S10 previously ranked

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No. 58 with a theft rate of 5.1235 is now ranked No. 60 with a theft 
rate of 5.1788; the Chevrolet Lumina APV previously ranked No. 59 with 
a theft rate of 4.9263 is now ranked No. 62 with a theft rate of 
4.9221; the Chevrolet Beretta previously ranked No. 60 with a theft 
rate of 4.9088 is now ranked No. 64 with a theft rate of 4.8454; the 
Pontiac Sunbird previously ranked No. 61 with a theft rate of 4.9008 is 
now ranked No. 63 with a theft rate of 4.8734; the Chevrolet Corsica 
previously ranked No. 62 with a theft rate of 4.8311 is now ranked No. 
65 with a theft rate of 4.8250; the Chevrolet Corvette previously 
ranked No. 67 with a theft rate of 4.5884 is now ranked No. 72 with a 
theft rate of 4.5888; the Oldsmobile Silhouette APV previously ranked 
No. 68 with a theft rate of 4.5576 is now ranked No. 72 with a theft 
rate of 4.5452; the Pontiac Trans Sport APV previously ranked No. 72 
with a theft rate of 4.3223 is now ranked No. 77 with a theft rate of 
4.3157; the Cadillac Fleetwood previously ranked No. 73 with a theft 
rate of 4.2030 is now ranked No. 81 with a theft rate of 4.1964; the 
Buick Skylark previously ranked No. 75 with a theft rate of 4.1134 is 
now ranked No. 79 with a theft rate of 4.2455.
    The Oldsmobile Bravada previously ranked No. 81 with a theft rate 
of 3.9931 is now ranked No. 82 with a theft rate of 4.0722; the Pontiac 
Grand Am previously ranked No. 91 with a theft rate of 3.6766 is now 
ranked No. 89 with a theft rate of 3.7682; the Chevrolet Sportvan G-10 
previously ranked No. 92 with a theft rate of 3.6597 is now ranked No. 
107 with a theft rate of 3.2284; the Chevrolet Cavalier previously 
ranked No. 94 with a theft rate of 3.6418 is now ranked No. 94 with a 
theft rate of 3.6661; the Chevrolet Camaro previously ranked No. 100 
with a theft rate of 3.5375 remains the same with a theft rate of 
3.5312; the Chevrolet Lumina previously ranked No. 110 with a theft 
rate of 3.1059 is now ranked No. 113 with a theft rate of 3.0717; the 
Pontiac Firebird previously ranked No. 113 with a theft rate of 3.0927 
is now ranked No. 112 with a theft rate of 3.0756; the Chevrolet Astro 
previously ranked No. 127 with a theft rate of 2.5825 is now ranked No. 
131 with a theft rate of 2.5767; the GMC Safari previously ranked No. 
130 with a theft rate of 2.5578 is now ranked No. 134 with a theft rate 
of 2.5575.
    The Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser previously ranked No. 131 with a 
theft rate of 2.5000 is now ranked No. 135 with a theft rate of 2.5335; 
the Chevrolet S-10 Pickup previously ranked No. 137 with a theft rate 
of 2.3347 is now ranked No. 142 with a theft rate of 2.3338; the 
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme previously ranked No. 143 with a theft rate 
of 2.1075 is now ranked No. 146 with a theft rate of 2.0981; the 
Cadillac Deville/Sixty Special previously ranked No. 148 with a theft 
rate of 1.9816 is now ranked No. 152 with a theft rate of 1.9807; the 
Pontiac Bonneville previously ranked No. 150 with a theft rate of 
1.9212 is now ranked No. 155 with a theft rate of 1.9159; the Pontiac 
Grand Prix previously ranked No. 154 with a theft rate of 1.7507 is now 
ranked No. 159 with a theft rate of 1.7375; the Cadillac Eldorado 
previously ranked No. 165 with a theft rate of 1.3797 is now ranked No. 
170 with a theft rate of 1.3799; the Cadillac Seville previously ranked 
No. 166 with a theft rate of 1.3665 is now ranked No. 171 with a theft 
rate of 1.3635; the GMC Sonoma previously ranked No. 175 with a theft 
rate of 1.2011 is now ranked No. 154 with a theft rate of 1.9506; the 
GMC Sierra 1500 Pickup previously ranked No. 176 with a theft rate of 
1.1588 is now ranked No. 179 with a theft rate of 1.1553; the 
Oldsmobile 98/Touring previously ranked No. 177 with a theft rate of 
1.1241 is now ranked No. 181 with a theft rate of 1.1240; the Buick 
LeSabre previously ranked No. 178 with a theft rate of 0.9919 is now 
ranked No. 182 with a theft rate of 0.9907; the Saturn SW previously 
ranked No.180 with a theft rate of 0.8529 is now ranked No. 184 with a 
theft rate of 0.8528; the Buick Roadmaster previously ranked No. 183 
with a theft rate of 0.8007 is now ranked No. 187 with a theft rate of 
0.7977; the Buick Park Avenue previously ranked No. 184 with a theft 
rate of 0.7844 is now ranked No. 188 with a theft rate of 0.7834; the 
GMC Rally Sportvan previously ranked No. 194 with a theft rate of 
0.0000, is ranked the same with a theft rate of 0.0000.
    For the Jaguar car lines, the Jaguar XJ12 previously ranked No. 112 
with a theft rate of 3.0988 is now ranked No. 4 with a theft rate of 
21.3499; the Jaguar XJ6 previously ranked No. 185 with a theft rate of 
0.6887 is now ranked No. 190 with a theft rate of 0.1000.
    For the Mercedes car lines, the Mercedes 124 (E-Class) previously 
ranked No. 105 with a theft rate of 3.2374 is now ranked No. 106 with a 
theft rate of 3.2461; the Mercedes 140 (S-Class) ranked No. 63 with a 
theft rate of 4.7941 is now ranked No. 67 with a theft rate of 4.7953; 
and the Mercedes 202 (C-Class) previously ranked No. 164 with a theft 
rate of 1.3810 is now ranked No. 169 with a theft rate of 1.3811.
    For the Toyota lines, the Toyota Supra previously ranked at No. 15 
with a theft rate of 12.1469 is now ranked No. 16 with a theft rate of 
12.1572; the Toyota 4Runner previously ranked No. 24 with a theft rate 
of 8.4075 remains the same with a theft rate of 8.2183; the Toyota 
Lexus SC previously ranked No. 31 with a theft rate of 7.4199 is now 
ranked No. 34 with a theft rate of 7.4024; the Toyota Lexus LS 
previously ranked No. 44 with a theft rate of 6.0444 is now ranked No. 
43 with a theft rate of 6.3209; the Toyota Lexus GS previously ranked 
No. 46 with a theft rate of 5.9690 is now ranked No. 50 with a theft 
rate of 5.9235; the Toyota Corolla/Corolla Sport previously ranked No. 
74 with a theft rate of 4.1679 is now ranked No. 80 with a theft rate 
of 4.2323; the Toyota Paseo previously ranked No. 76 with a theft rate 
of 4.1026 is now ranked No. 88 with a theft rate of 3.8308; the Toyota 
Tercel previously ranked at No. 83 with a theft rate of 3.9130 is now 
ranked No. 87 with a theft rate of 3.8550; the Toyota Camry previously 
ranked No. 85 with a theft rate of 3.8689 is now ranked No. 86 with a 
theft rate of 3.9175; the Toyota Celica previously ranked No. 96 with a 
theft rate of 3.5574 is now ranked No. 98 with a theft rate of 3.5548; 
the Toyota Pickup truck previously ranked No. 101 with a theft rate of 
3.5219 is now ranked No. 121 with a theft rate of 2.9328; the Toyota 
Previa previously ranked No. 103 with a theft rate of 3.3808 is now 
ranked No. 104 with a theft rate of 3.3429; the Toyota Lexus ES 
previously ranked No. 140 with a theft rate of 2.1716 is now ranked No. 
143 with a theft rate of 2.1702; the Toyota MR2 previously ranked No. 
157 with a theft rate of 1.6129 is now ranked No. 161 with a theft rate 
of 1.6207; and the Toyota T100 Pickup previously ranked No. 159 with a 
theft rate of 1.5789 is now ranked No. 165 with a theft rate of 1.5719.
    The following list represents NHTSA's final calculation of theft 
rates for all 1994 passenger motor vehicle lines. This list is intended 
to inform the public of calendar year 1994 motor vehicle thefts of 
model year 1994 vehicles and does not have any affect on the 
obligations of regulated parties under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 331, Theft 
Prevention.

BILLING CODE 4910-59-P

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    Issued on: September 18, 1996.
L. Robert Shelton,
Acting Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 96-24420 Filed 9-23-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-C