Motor vehicle theft prevention standard: Passenger motor vehicle theft data (1998 CY),

[Federal Register: February 8, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 26)]

[Notices]

[Page 6250-6254]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr08fe00-128]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-99-6586; Notice 01]

RIN 2127-AH76

Preliminary Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard

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

ACTION: Publication of preliminary theft data; request for comments.

SUMMARY: This document requests comments on data about passenger motor vehicle thefts that occurred in calendar year (CY) 1998, including theft rates for existing passenger motor vehicle lines manufactured in model year (MY) 1998. The theft data preliminarily indicate that the vehicle theft rate for CY/MY 1998 vehicles (2.53 thefts per thousand vehicles) decreased by 17.05 percent from the theft rate for CY/MY 1997 vehicles (3.05 thefts per thousand vehicles).

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.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: All comments should refer to the docket number and notice number cited in the heading of this document and be submitted, preferably with two copies to: U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Docket hours are from 10:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

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) 366-0846. Her fax number is (202) 493-2290.

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 or 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 the Sec. 33104(b)(4) mandate, this document reports the preliminary theft data for CY 1998, the most recent calendar year for which data are available.

In calculating the 1998 theft rates, NHTSA followed the same procedures it used in calculating the MY 1997 theft rates. (For 1997 theft data calculations, see 64 FR 41183, July 29, 1999). As in all previous reports, NHTSA's data were based on information provided to the agency by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NCIC is a governmental 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.

The 1998 theft rate for each vehicle line was calculated by dividing the number of reported thefts of MY 1998 vehicles of that line stolen during calendar year 1998, by the total number of vehicles in that line manufactured for MY 1998, as reported by manufacturers to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The preliminary 1998 theft data show a decrease in the vehicle theft rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 1997. The preliminary theft rate for MY 1998 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 1998 decreased to 2.53 thefts per thousand vehicles produced, a decrease of 17.05 percent from the rate of 3.05 thefts per thousand vehicles experienced by MY 1997 vehicles in CY 1997. For MY 1998 vehicles, out of a total of 196 vehicle lines, 41 lines had a theft rate higher than 3.5826 per thousand vehicles, the

[[Page 6251]]

established median theft rate for MYs 1990/1991. (See 59 FR 12400, March 16, 1994). Of the 41 vehicle lines with a theft rate higher than 3.5826, 35 are passenger car lines, six are multipurpose passenger vehicle lines, and none are light-duty truck lines.

In Table I, NHTSA has tentatively ranked each of the MY 1998 vehicle lines in descending order of theft rate. Public comment is sought on the accuracy of the data, including the data for the production volumes of individual vehicle lines.

Comments must not exceed 15 pages in length (49 CFR Part 553.21). Attachments may be appended to these submissions without regard to the 15 page limit. This limitation is intended to encourage commenters to detail their primary arguments in a concise fashion.

If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address given above, and two copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been deleted should be submitted to Dockets. A request for confidentiality should be accompanied by a cover letter setting forth the information specified in the agency's confidential business information regulation. 49 CFR Part 512.

All comments received before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated above for this document will be considered, and will be available for examination in the docket at the above address both before and after that date. To the extent possible, comments filed after the closing date will also be considered. Comments on this document will be available for inspection in the docket. NHTSA will continue to file relevant information as it becomes available for inspection in the docket after the closing date, and it is recommended that interested persons continue to examine the docket for new material.

Those persons desiring to be notified upon receipt of their comments in the rules docket should enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the envelope with their comments. Upon receiving the comments, the docket supervisor will return the postcard by mail.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 33101, 33102 and 33104; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

Preliminary Report of Theft Rates of 1998 Model Year Passenger Motor Vehicles Stolen in Calendar Year 1998

1998 theft rate (per Manufacturer

Make/model (line)

Thefts 1998 Production 1,000 (Mfr's) 1998 vehicles produced)

1 Mitsubishi....................... Diamante......................

87

6,584 13.2139 2 Lamborghini...................... DB132/Diablo..................

1

104

9.6154 3 Saab............................. 9000..........................

12

1,335

8.9888 4 Honda............................ Acura Integra.................

314

36,253

8.6614 5 Mitsubishi....................... Mirage........................

357

41,904

8.5195 6 Toyota........................... Tercel........................

92

11,207

8.2092 7 Chrysler Corp.................... Dodge Stratus.................

750 107,276

6.9913 8 Mitsubishi....................... Montero Sport/Nativa \1\......

318

45,772

6.9475 9 General Motors................... Oldsmobile Achieva............

181

26,922

6.7231 10 General Motors................... GMC Safari Van................

161

24,451

6.5846 11 General Motors................... Buick Skylark.................

122

18,851

6.4718 12 Hyundai.......................... Sonata........................

101

16,406

6.1563 13 Suzuki........................... X-90..........................

3

500

6.0000 14 Chrysler Corp.................... Plymouth Breeze...............

393

66,612

5.8998 15 Mitsubishi....................... Galant........................

172

29,618

5.8073 16 Chrysler Corp.................... Plymouth Neon.................

499

87,055

5.7320 17 Chrysler Corp.................... Dodge Neon....................

725 130,154

5.5703 18 Mitsubishi....................... Eclipse.......................

307

56,294

5.4535 19 Nissan........................... Maxima........................

682 130,862

5.2116 20 Chrysler Corp.................... Sebring Convertible...........

251

50,812

4.9398 21 Ford Motor Co.................... Mercury Tracer................

177

35,850

4.9372 22 Hyundai.......................... Elantra.......................

169

35,792

4.7217 23 Suzuki........................... Swift.........................

15

3,265

4.5942 24 General Motors................... Pontiac Sunfire...............

409

90,469

4.5209 25 Mitsubishi....................... Montero.......................

38

8,506

4.4674 26 Suzuki........................... Esteem........................

67

15,222

4.4015 27 Chrysler Corp.................... Jeep Grand Cherokee...........

1,085 249,097

4.3557 28 BMW.............................. M3............................

50

11,537

4.3339 29 Toyota........................... Supra.........................

3

697

4.3042 30 Mazda............................ Millenia......................

82

19,908

4.1189 31 Toyota........................... Lexus GS......................

124

30,810

4.0247 32 Toyota........................... 4-Runner......................

489 121,745

4.0166 33 BMW.............................. 7.............................

73

18,179

4.0156 34 Ford Motor Co.................... Contour.......................

866 217,548

3.9807 35 Hyundai.......................... Accent........................

123

31,692

3.8811 36 General Motors................... Pontiac Grand AM..............

386 101,814

3.7912 37 Mitsubishi....................... 3000GT........................

18

4,753

3.7871 38 Nissan........................... Altima........................

602 159,224

3.7808 39 Chrysler Corp.................... Eagle Talon...................

16

4,317

3.7063 40 Audi............................. Cabriolet.....................

3

829

3.6188 41 Ford Motor Co.................... Mustang.......................

612 170,587

3.5876 42 Mercedes Benz.................... 140 (CL-Class & SL-Class).....

34

9,593

3.5443

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43 Suzuki........................... Sidekick......................

65

18,396

3.533 44 Nissan........................... Sentra/200SX..................

395 111,821

3.5324 45 Mazda............................ Protege.......................

201

57,165

3.5161 46 General Motors................... Chevrolet Blazer S10/T10......

759 216,854

3.5001 47 KIA Motors....................... Sephia........................

156

45,860

3.4017 48 General Motors................... Chevrolet Prizm...............

153

45,000

3.4000 49 General Motors................... Pontiac Firebird/Formula......

107

32,228

3.3201 50 General Motors................... Chevrolet Camaro..............

159

48,562

3.2742 51 Ford Motor Co.................... Mercury Mystique..............

195

59,826

3.2595 52 Isuzu............................ Rodeo.........................

223

68,558

3.2527 53 Chrysler Corp.................... Cirrus........................

121

37,295

3.2444 54 Porsche.......................... 911...........................

8

2,474

3.2336 55 General Motors................... Chevrolet Metro...............

104

32,499

3.2001 56 Chrysler Corp.................... Dodge Avenger.................

85

26,634

3.1914 57 General Motors................... Chevrolet Cavalier............

844 270,401

3.1213 58 Ford Motor Co.................... Mercury Sable.................

282

91,297

3.0888 59 Ford Motor Co.................... Lincoln Town Car..............

253

82,965

3.0495 60 Toyota........................... Corolla.......................

690 228,197

3.0237 61 Mercedes Benz.................... 129 (SL-Class)................

25

8,315

3.0066 62 Ford Motor Co.................... Lincoln Mark VIII.............

43

14,357

2.9951 63 General Motors................... Chevrolet Corvette............

86

28,732

2.9932 64 Chrysler Corp.................... Jeep Cherokee.................

439 148,207

2.9621 65 Nissan........................... Infiniti I30..................

92

31,060

2.9620 66 Ford Motor Co.................... Escort........................

995 336,729

2.9549 67 General Motors................... Cadillac Deville..............

305 104,209

2.9268 68 General Motors................... Chevrolet Malibu..............

669 231,143

2.8943 69 General Motors................... GMC Jimmy S-15................

204

71,583

2.8498 70 Ford Motor Co.................... Taurus........................

943 332,243

2.8383 71 Toyota........................... Tacoma Pickup Truck...........

484 170,992

2.8305 72 Honda............................ Prelude.......................

45

15,973

2.8173 73 Jaguar........................... XJ8...........................

32

11,374

2.8134 74 Mazda............................ 626...........................

246

87,448

2.8131 75 General Motors................... Oldsmobile Bravada............

77

27,790

2.7708 76 Chrysler Corp.................... Sebring Coupe.................

93

35,035

2.6545 77 Hyundai.......................... Tiburon.......................

17

6,444

2.6381 78 Chrysler Corp.................... Dodge Intrepid................

182

70,283

2.5895 79 Nissan........................... Infiniti QX4..................

44

17,109

2.5717 80 Honda............................ Passport......................

63

25,435

2.4769 81 General Motors................... Chevrolet Lumina/Monte Carlo..

616 255,423

2.4117 82 General Motors................... Chevrolet Tracker.............

50

20,999

2.3811 83 Nissan........................... Pathfinder....................

186

81,428

2.2842 84 Honda............................ Civic.........................

838 368,876

2.2718 85 General Motors................... Pontiac Bonneville............

146

65,539

2.2277 86 Volkswagen....................... Golf/GTI......................

40

17,971

2.2258 87 Mercedes Benz.................... 208 (CLK-Class)...............

11

5,103

2.1556 88 Chrysler Corp.................... Jeep WRangler.................

185

90,341

2.0478 89 BMW.............................. 3.............................

76

38,098

1.9949 90 Volkswagen....................... Jetta.........................

149

74,701

1.9946 91 Chrysler Corp.................... Stratus \2\...................

1

505

1.9802 92 BMW.............................. 5.............................

70

35,631

1.9646 93 Ford Motor Co.................... F-150 Pickup Truck............

805 409,940

1.9637 94 Jaguar........................... XJR...........................

3

1,534

1.9557 95 Toyota........................... Camry.........................

790 404,850

1.9513 96 Ford Motor Co.................... Windstar Van..................

646 333,746

1.9356 97 Chrysler Corp.................... Neon \2\......................

1

518

1.9305 98 Kia Motors....................... Sportage......................

51

26,455

1.9278 99 Volvo............................ S70/V70.......................

167

87,069

1.9180 100 Chrysler Corp.................... Plymouth Voyager/Grand........

299 156,440

1.9113 101 Toyota........................... Lexus ES......................

96

50,585

1.8978 102 Chrysler Corp.................... Dodge Caravan/Grand...........

538 288,662

1.8638 103 General Motors................... Cadillac Eldorado.............

33

17,950

1.8384 104 General Motors................... Oldsmobile Intrigue...........

180

99,035

1.8175 105 Honda............................ Acura TL......................

33

18,337

1.7996 106 Toyota........................... Lexus SC......................

5

2,801

1.7851 107 Isuzu............................ Trooper.......................

33

18,657

1.7688 108 Isuzu............................ Oasis Van.....................

3

1,702

1.7626 109 Ford Motor Co.................... Mercury Grand Marquis.........

154

87,762

1.7547

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110 Ford Motor Co.................... Explorer......................

773 446,467

1.7314 111 General Motors................... Cadillac Seville..............

47

27,650

1.6998 112 Chrysler Corp.................... Dodge Dakota Pickup Truck.....

245 144,215

1.6989 113 Mercedes Benz.................... 210 (E-Class).................

72

42,466

1.6955 114 Volvo............................ C70...........................

4

2,394

1.6708 115 Toyota........................... T100 Pickup Truck.............

18

10,783

1.6693 116 General Motors................... Cadillac Catera...............

46

27,571

1.6684 117 Mazda............................ MPV...........................

25

15,037

1.6626 118 General Motors................... Oldsmobile Cutlass............

86

52,679

1.6325 119 General Motors................... Oldsmobile Aurora.............

39

23,955

1.6281 120 Isuzu............................ Hombre Pickup Truck...........

32

20,289

1.5772 121 General Motors................... Buick Century.................

198 128,899

1.5361 122 Ford Motor Co.................... Ranger Pickup Truck...........

451 297,551

1.5157 123 Ford Motor Co.................... Mercury Mountaineer...........

77

51,022

1.5092 124 General Motors................... Pontiac Grand Prix............

188 127,838

1.4706 125 Mazda............................ B Series Pickup Truck.........

70

48,270

1.4502 126 Toyota........................... RAV4..........................

93

64,298

1.4464 127 General Motors................... Buick Regal...................

101

70,556

1.4315 128 Honda............................ Acura CL......................

36

25,471

1.4134 129 General Motors................... Chevrolet S-10 Pickup Truck...

348 248,330

1.4014 130 Isuzu............................ Amigo.........................

13

9,374

1.3868 131 Jaguar........................... XK8...........................

8

5,792

1.3812 132 Porsche.......................... Boxster Convertible...........

10

7,253

1.3787 133 Mercedes Benz.................... 202 (C-Class).................

45

34,100

1.3196 134 General Motors................... GMC Sonoma Pickup Truck.......

77

59,359

1.2972 135 General Motors................... Buick Park Avenue.............

80

62,015

1.2900 136 General Motors................... Pontiac Trans Sport Van.......

70

54,839

1.2765 137 Nissan........................... Frontier Pickup Truck.........

111

89,266

1.2435 138 General Motors................... Saturn SC.....................

42

34,035

1.2340 139 General Motors................... Buick Riviera.................

13

10,601

1.2263 140 Volkswagen....................... Cabrio........................

15

12,252

1.2243 141 Honda............................ Accord........................

490 403,085

1.2156 142 BMW.............................. Z3............................

20

16,482

1.2134 143 Toyota........................... Lexus LS......................

27

22,840

1.1821 144 Subaru........................... Impreza.......................

23

19,550

1.1765 145 Chrysler Corp.................... Concorde......................

52

46,543

1.1172 146 Mercedes Benz.................... 163 (ML-Class)................

44

39,493

1.1141 147 Honda............................ Acura SLX.....................

2

1,800

1.1111 148 Mercedes Benz.................... 170 (SLK-Class)...............

14

12,658

1.1060 149 General Motors................... Oldsmobile 88/Regency.........

69

64,116

1.0762 150 Toyota........................... Avalon........................

80

76,189

1.0500 151 Subaru........................... Legacy........................

95

90,721

1.0472 152 General Motors................... Chevrolet Venture Van.........

93

93,027

0.9997 153 General Motors................... Saturn SL.....................

146 147,604

0.9891 154 Honda............................ Acura RL......................

14

14,182

0.9872 155 Nissan........................... Quest.........................

26

26,388

0.9853 156 Ford Motor Co.................... Lincoln Continental...........

38

38,671

0.9826 157 Chrysler Corp.................... Dodge Viper...................

1

1,067

0.9372 158 Volvo............................ S90/V90.......................

12

12,825

0.9357 159 Volkswagen....................... Passat........................

24

25,869

0.9278 160 Nissan........................... 240SX.........................

2

2,178

0.9183 161 Nissan........................... Infiniti Q45..................

7

7,795

0.8980 162 Toyota........................... Celica........................

3

3,343

0.8974 163 Audi............................. A4............................

21

24,225

0.8669 164 Chrysler Corp.................... Town and Country MPV..........

52

62,976

0.8257 165 General Motors................... Buick Lesabre.................

111 143,354

0.7743 166 Honda............................ CR-V..........................

74

96,828

0.7642 167 Jaguar........................... Vanden Plas...................

4

5,284

0.7570 168 Ford Motor Co.................... Mercury Villager MPV..........

28

37,471

0.7472 169 Toyota........................... Sienna Van....................

48

73,777

0.6506 170 Subaru........................... Forester......................

28

43,490

0.6438 171 Audi............................. A6............................

10

16,938

0.5904 172 Volkswagen....................... New Beetle....................

22

38,999

0.5641 173 Honda............................ Odyssey Van...................

8

14,633

0.5467 174 Ford Motor Co.................... Crown Victoria................

43

85,305

0.5041 175 General Motors................... Oldsmobile Silhouette Van.....

17

35,827

0.4745 176 General Motors................... Saturn SW.....................

8

18,322

0.4366

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177 Saab............................. 900...........................

5

12,003

0.4166 178 General Motors................... Chevrolet Astro Van...........

34

83,317

0.4081 179 Aston Martin..................... DB7...........................

0

213

0.0000 180 Audi............................. A8............................

0

1,978

0.0000 181 Chrysler Corp.................... Intrepid \2\..................

0

171

0.0000 182 Fiat............................. Ferrari.......................

456

25

0.0000 183 Fiat............................. Ferrari 550...................

0

149

0.0000 184 Fiat............................. Ferrari F355..................

0

511

0.0000 185 General Motors................... Buick Funeral Coach...........

0

1,061

0.0000 186 General Motors................... Cadillac Limousine............

0

1,134

0.0000 187 Honda............................ Acura NSX.....................

0

254

0.0000 188 Lotus............................ Esprit........................

0

54

0.0000 189 Rolls-Royce...................... Bentley Azure.................

0

99

0.0000 190 Rolls-Royce...................... Bentley Brooklands............

0

39

0.0000 191 Rolls-Royce...................... Bentley Continental R.........

0

24

0.0000 192 Rolls-Royce...................... Bentley Continental T.........

0

20

0.0000 193 Rolls-Royce...................... Bentley Turbo R/RT............

0

25

0.0000 194 Rolls-Royce...................... Silver Spur Park Ward.........

0

12

0.0000 195 Rolls-Royce...................... Silver Spur...................

0

30

0.0000 196 Vector Auto...................... Avtech SC/M12.................

0

5

0.0000

\1\ Nativa is the name applied to Montero Sport vehicles that are manufactured for sale only in Puerto Rico. \2\ These vehicles were manufactured for sale only in U.S. territories under the Chrysler name plate.

Issued on: February 2, 2000. Stephen R. Kratzke, Acting Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 00-2723Filed2-7-00; 8:45 am]

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