06-4137. Preliminary Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard

AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of 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) 2004 including theft rates for existing passenger motor vehicle lines manufactured in model year (MY) 2004. The preliminary theft data indicate that the vehicle theft rate for CY/MY 2004 vehicles (1.83 thefts per thousand vehicles) decreased by 0.54 percent from the theft rate for CY/MY 2003 vehicles (1.84 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 July 3, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments (identified by DOT Docket No. NHTSA-2006-24236) by any of the following methods:

• Web site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
• Fax: [phone].
• Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, Washington, DC 20590-001.
• Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and docket number or Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) for this rulemaking. For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public Participation heading of the Supplementary Information section of this document. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading under Regulatory Notices.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Deborah Mazyck, Office of International Vehicle, Fuel Economy and Consumer Standards, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Mazyck's telephone number is [phone]. Her fax number is [phone].

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 § 33104(b)(4) mandate, this document reports the preliminary theft data for CY 2004 the most recent calendar year for which data are available.

In calculating the 2004 theft rates, NHTSA followed the same procedures it used in calculating the MY 2003 theft rates. (For 2003 theft data calculations, see 69 FR 53354, September 1, 2004). 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 2004 theft rate for each vehicle line was calculated by dividing the number of reported thefts of MY 2004 vehicles of that line stolen during calendar year 2004, by the total number of vehicles in that line manufactured for MY 2004, as reported by manufacturers to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The preliminary 2004 theft data show a decrease in the vehicle theft rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 2003. The preliminary theft rate for MY 2004 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 2004 decreased to 1.83 thefts per thousand vehicles produced, a decrease of 0.54 percent from the rate of 1.84 thefts per thousand vehicles experienced by MY 2003 vehicles in CY 2003. For MY 2004 vehicles, out of a total of 231 vehicle lines, 22 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 22 vehicle lines with a theft rate higher than 3.5826, 20 are passenger car lines, one is a multipurpose passenger vehicle line, and one is a light-duty truck line.

The preliminary MY 2004 theft rate reduction is consistent with the general decreasing trend of theft rates over the past eleven years as indicated by Figure 1.

The agency believes that the theft rate reduction could be the result of several factors including the increased use of standard antitheft devices (i.e., immobilizers), vehicle partsmarking, increased and improved prosecution efforts by law enforcement organizations and increased public awareness measures that may have contributed to the overall reduction in vehicle thefts.

In Table I, NHTSA has tentatively ranked each of the MY 2004 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.

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

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

Preliminary Report of Theft Rates for Model Year 2004 Passenger Motor Vehicles Stolen in Calendar Year 2004

	Manufacturer	Make/model (line)	Thefts 2004	Production (Mfr's) 2004	2004 theft rate (per 1,000 vehicles produced)
1	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	DODGE INTREPID	662	67,289	9.8382
2	TOYOTA	TUNDRA PICKUP	135	14,913	9.0525
3	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	DODGE STRATUS	1,047	140,248	7.4653
4	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	CHRYSLER SEBRING	525	90,897	5.7758
5	HONDA	ACURA NSX	1	198	5.0505
6	GENERAL MOTORS	OLDSMOBILE ALERO	346	69,534	4.9760
7	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET MALIBU CLASSIC	464	98,025	4.7335
8	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	CHRYSLER CONCORDE	108	22,879	4.7205
9	MITSUBISHI	DIAMANTE	19	4,135	4.5949
10	SUBARU	IMPREZA	177	38,806	4.5612
11	MITSUBISHI	MONTERO SPORT	24	5,414	4.4330
12	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO	268	62,391	4.2955
13	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	DODGE NEON	498	117,601	4.2347
14	MITSUBISHI	ECLIPSE	74	17,682	4.1850
15	NISSAN	SENTRA	504	122,208	4.1241
16	FORD MOTOR CO.	FORD MUSTANG	541	135,734	3.9857
17	NISSAN	INFINITI Q45	4	1,006	3.9761
18	KIA	RIO	145	37,599	3.8565
19	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	CHRYSLER SEBRING CONVERTIBLE	248	64,442	3.8484
20	MITSUBISHI	GALANT	165	42,902	3.8460
21	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC GRAND AM	639	171,925	3.7167
22	HYUNDAI	ACCENT	155	42,863	3.6162
23	MITSUBISHI	LANCER	140	42,776	3.2729
24	MITSUBISHI	ENDEAVOR	177	56,030	3.1590
25	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC SUNFIRE	114	36,176	3.1513
26	NISSAN	ALTIMA	273	88,348	3.0901
27	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET CAVALIER	658	215,275	3.0566
28	TOYOTA	SCION XB	73	25,098	2.9086
29	KIA	OPTIMA	186	66,397	2.8013
30	FORD MOTOR CO	FORD FOCUS	302	109,050	2.7694
31	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET IMPALA	743	269,733	2.7546
32	SUZUKI	VERONA	44	16,478	2.6702
33	BMW	7	43	16,245	2.6470
34	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC SEVILLE	16	6,222	2.5715
35	ISUZU	RODEO	43	16,863	2.5500
36	NISSAN	MAXIMA	301	119,146	2.5263
37	TOYOTA	CELICA	21	8,483	2.4755
38	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	CHRYSLER PT CRUISER	255	104,558	2.4388
39	BMW	M3	21	8,632	2.4328
40	KIA	AMANTI	46	19,363	2.3757
41	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC AZTEK	49	20,854	2.3497
42	FORD MOTOR CO	FORD TAURUS	477	203,126	2.3483
43	MAZDA	6	176	75,843	2.3206
44	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET BLAZER S10/T10	116	50,855	2.2810
45	SUZUKI	FORENZA	57	25,032	2.2771
46	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC GRAND PRIX	408	179,556	2.2723
47	FORD MOTOR CO	LINCOLN TOWN CAR	125	55,227	2.2634
48	FORD MOTOR CO	LINCOLN LS	66	29,344	2.2492
49	SUZUKI	AERIO	37	16,459	2.2480
50	MITSUBISHI	OUTLANDER	50	22,336	2.2385
51	TOYOTA	COROLLA	602	272,301	2.2108
52	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET CORVETTE	74	33,501	2.2089
53	KIA	SPECTRA	96	44,322	2.1660
54	NISSAN	350Z	87	40,255	2.1612
55	TOYOTA	LEXUS GS	21	9,756	2.1525
56	FORD MOTOR CO	MERCURY SABLE	90	42,236	2.1309
57	TOYOTA	LEXUS IS	24	11,308	2.1224
58	FERRARI	360	2	950	2.1053
59	MERCEDES-BENZ	170 (SLK-CLASS)	8	3,836	2.0855
60	DAIMLER-CHRYSLER	CHRYSLER PACIFICA	192	98,340	1.9524
61	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE	617	317,381	1.9440
62	HONDA	ACURA RSX	39	20,280	1.9231
63	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	DODGE DAKOTA PICKUP	62	32,355	1.9162
64	FORD MOTOR CO	FORD CROWN VICTORIA	63	32,977	1.9104
65	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	DODGE CARAVAN/GRAND CARAVAN	162	84,965	1.9067
66	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC BONNEVILLE	40	21,163	1.8901
67	HYUNDAI	ELANTRA	196	103,787	1.8885
68	BMW	6	11	5,870	1.8739
69	JAGUAR	XJR	4	2,179	1.8357
70	GENERAL MOTORS	GMC CANYON PICKUP	39	21,402	1.8223
71	MAZDA	RX-8	64	35,147	1.8209
72	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK RENDEZVOUS	123	68,043	1.8077
73	JAGUAR	XKR	1	557	1.7953
74	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	JEEP LIBERTY	305	173,128	1.7617
75	FORD MOTOR CO	FORD EXPLORER	515	294,622	1.7480
76	VOLKSWAGEN	PHAETON	4	2,326	1.7197
77	MERCEDES-BENZ	129 (SL-CLASS)	20	11,928	1.6767
78	NISSAN	INFINITI FX35	44	26,531	1.6584
79	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	CHRYSLER 300M	34	20,836	1.6318
80	TOYOTA	TACOMA PICKUP	259	159,348	1.6254
81	VOLKSWAGEN	R32	8	5,017	1.5946
82	NISSAN	INFINITI G35	139	87,780	1.5835
83	HYUNDAI	TIBURON	33	20,977	1.5732
84	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET TRACKER	24	15,276	1.5711
85	HYUNDAI	SONATA	158	101,774	1.5525
86	MERCEDES-BENZ	208 (CLK-CLASS)	31	20,013	1.5490
87	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK CENTURY	84	54,706	1.5355
88	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC DEVILLE	111	73,274	1.5149
89	FORD MOTOR CO	FORD THUNDERBIRD	19	12,577	1.5107
90	TOYOTA	MATRIX	91	60,311	1.5088
91	VOLVO	S40	34	22,616	1.5034
92	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER	308	209,348	1.4712
93	HONDA	S2000	11	7,511	1.4645
94	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	DODGE VIPER	3	2,065	1.4528
95	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	JEEP WRANGLER	132	91,631	1.4406
96	LAMBORGHINI	GALLARDO	1	697	1.4347
97	TOYOTA	CAMRY/SOLARA	532	373,268	1.4252
98	TOYOTA	LEXUS SC	14	9,905	1.4134
99	MAZDA	MX-5 MIATA	12	8,620	1.3921
100	GENERAL MOTORS	GMC ENVOY	114	83,013	1.3733
101	MAZDA	3	104	75,915	1.3700
102	JAGUAR	XJ8	15	11,048	1.3577
103	GENERAL MOTORS	GMC SAFARI VAN	6	4,428	1.3550
104	VOLVO	V40	4	2,963	1.3500
105	HONDA	CIVIC	390	289,347	1.3479
106	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET ASTRO VAN	28	20,892	1.3402
107	JAGUAR	S-TYPE	10	7,469	1.3389
108	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET AVEO	92	68,741	1.3384
109	KIA	SORENTO	63	47,404	1.3290
110	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET MALIBU	127	96,605	1.3146
111	FORD MOTOR CO	FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC	79	60,166	1.3130
112	NISSAN	FRONTIER PICKUP	100	77,079	1.2974
113	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK PARK AVENUE	22	16,985	1.2953
114	SUZUKI	VITARA/GRAND VITARA	44	34,227	1.2855
115	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	CHRYSLER CROSSFIRE	22	17,345	1.2684
116	AUDI	A4/A4 QUATTRO/S4/S4 AVANT	59	46,660	1.2645
117	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK REGAL	24	18,983	1.2643
118	FORD MOTOR CO	FORD ESCAPE	133	106,309	1.2511
119	MERCEDES-BENZ	203 (C-CLASS)	64	51,630	1.2396
120	TOYOTA	SCION XA	18	14,753	1.2201
121	NISSAN	INFINITI QX56	15	12,296	1.2199
122	JAGUAR	X-TYPE	30	24,693	1.2149
123	VOLVO	S60	50	41,804	1.1961
124	ISUZU	AXIOM	4	3,347	1.1951
125	HONDA	ACCORD	448	376,680	1.1893
126	NISSAN	INFINITI M45	2	1,687	1.1855
127	VOLKSWAGEN	JETTA	109	92,979	1.1723
128	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET COLORADO	109	93,411	1.1669
129	FORD MOTOR CO	MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS	104	89,130	1.1668
130	GENERAL MOTORS	SATURN ION	141	121,109	1.1642
131	MAZDA	MPV VAN	26	22,346	1.1635
132	VOLVO	S80	23	19,802	1.1615
133	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC MONTANA VAN	35	30,277	1.1560
134	HYUNDAI	XG300	27	24,262	1.1129
135	TOYOTA	4RUNNER	135	122,034	1.1062
136	MERCEDES-BENZ	220 (S-CLASS)	18	16,416	1.0965
137	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC GTO	13	12,044	1.0794
138	HONDA	ACURA TSX	50	46,494	1.0754
139	ISUZU	ASCENDER	8	7,455	1.0731
140	NISSAN	XTERRA	90	84,478	1.0654
141	PORSCHE	911	10	9,546	1.0476
142	AUDI	A8	8	7,654	1.0452
143	LAND ROVER	FREELANDER	5	4,795	1.0428
144	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC VIBE	65	62,365	1.0423
145	BMW	3	106	103,092	1.0282
146	FORD MOTOR CO	MERCURY MOUNTAINEER	52	50,580	1.0281
147	VOLKSWAGEN	GOLF/GTI	20	20,043	0.9979
148	FORD MOTOR CO	FORD FREESTAR	104	105,280	0.9878
149	TOYOTA	MR2 SPYDER	1	1,023	0.9775
150	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK LESABRE	117	119,742	0.9771
151	MERCEDES-BENZ	215 (CL-CLASS)	2	2,125	0.9412
152	KIA	SEDONA VAN	50	53,140	0.9409
153	BMW	5	45	48,009	0.9373
154	PORSCHE	BOXSTER	4	4,417	0.9056
155	HONDA	ACURA 3.2 TL	67	75,026	0.8930
156	TOYOTA	LEXUS LS	28	31,881	0.8783
157	DAIMLERCHRYSLER	CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY (MPV)	49	56,361	0.8694
158	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET VENTURE VAN	66	76,777	0.8596
159	NISSAN	MURANO	55	64,280	0.8556
160	MERCEDES-BENZ	210 (E-CLASS)	39	45,602	0.8552
161	HONDA	ACURA 3.5 RL	7	8,341	0.8392
162	BMW	Z4	11	13,171	0.8352
163	MAZDA	TRIBUTE	25	30,524	0.8190
164	NISSAN	PATHFINDER	23	28,387	0.8102
165	TOYOTA	RAV4	62	77,643	0.7985
166	FORD MOTOR CO	FORD RANGER PICKUP	136	172,566	0.7881
167	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC SRX	24	30,811	0.7789
168	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC XLR	3	3,857	0.7778
169	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC CTS	43	55,984	0.7681
170	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET S10/T10 PICKUP	9	12,111	0.7431
171	GENERAL MOTORS	OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE VAN	7	9,420	0.7431
172	HONDA	ACURA MDX	45	62,397	0.7212
173	GENERAL MOTORS	SATURN LS	13	18,185	0.7149
174	AUDI	ALLROAD QUATTRO	4	5,675	0.7048
175	TOYOTA	ECHO	4	5,697	0.7021
176	TOYOTA	LEXUS RX	101	146,431	0.6897
177	VOLKSWAGEN	PASSAT	48	70,878	0.6772
178	VOLKSWAGEN	NEW BEETLE	30	44,896	0.6682
179	TOYOTA	HIGHLANDER	82	123,726	0.6628
180	HYUNDAI	SANTA FE	86	130,385	0.6596
181	VOLVO	C70	5	7,731	0.6467
182	TOYOTA	LEXUS ES	45	70,774	0.6358
183	AUDI	A6/A6 QUATTRO/S6/S6 AVANT	10	15,885	0.6295
184	GENERAL MOTORS	GMC SONOMA PICKUP	2	3,190	0.6270
185	NISSAN	QUEST VAN	40	63,930	0.6257
186	MAZDA	B SERIES PICKUP	6	9,766	0.6144
187	HONDA	ELEMENT	34	56,002	0.6071
188	BMW	X3	20	33,586	0.5955
189	VOLVO	XC90	31	53,323	0.5814
190	TOYOTA	LEXUS GX	25	43,789	0.5709
191	JAGUAR	VANDEN PLAS/SUPER V8	2	3,712	0.5388
192	NISSAN	INFINITI FX45	2	3,762	0.5316
193	HONDA	ODYSSEY VAN	66	132,919	0.4965
194	TOYOTA	AVALON	25	50,663	0.4935
195	TOYOTA	SIENNA VAN	106	220,314	0.4811
196	NISSAN	INFINITI I35	6	12,840	0.4673
197	SUBARU	LEGACY/OUTBACK	28	61,160	0.4578
198	VOLVO	V70	7	15,335	0.4565
199	GENERAL MOTORS	SATURN VUE	42	92,536	0.4539
200	SUBARU	BAJA	1	2,208	0.4529
201	GENERAL MOTORS	SATURN LW	1	2,226	0.4492
202	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET MALIBU MAXX	16	35,760	0.4474
203	HONDA	CR-V	65	153,562	0.4233
204	TOYOTA	PRIUS	20	47,970	0.4169
205	HONDA	PILOT	50	135,591	0.3688
206	VOLVO	XC70	9	24,528	0.3669
207	BMW	MINI COOPER	11	31,126	0.3534
208	SUBARU	FORESTER	22	62,733	0.3507
209	AUDI	TT	2	5,889	0.3396
210	SAAB	9-3	10	29,534	0.3386
211	GENERAL MOTORS	OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA	1	3,475	0.2878
212	SAAB	9-5	2	10,101	0.1980
213	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK RAINIER	4	28,987	0.1380
214	FORD MOTOR CO	MERCURY MONTEREY	2	20,632	0.0969
215	ASTON MARTIN	VANQUISH	0	79	0.0000
216	FERRARI	575M	0	127	0.0000
217	FERRARI	CHALLENGE	0	328	0.0000
218	FORD MOTOR CO	MERCURY MARAUDER	0	3,177	0.0000
219	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC FUNERAL COACH/HEARSE	0	973	0.0000
220	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC LIMOUSINE	0	778	0.0000
221	HONDA	INSIGHT	0	543	0.0000
222	JAGUAR	XK8	0	981	0.0000
223	LAMBORGHINI	L-140/141	0	697	0.0000
224	LAMBORGHINI	L-147/148	0	121	0.0000
225	LOTUS	ESPRIT	0	39	0.0000
226	MASERATI	COUPE/SPYDER	0	793	0.0000
227	QUANTUM TECH	CHEVROLET CAVALIER	0	391	0.0000
228	ROLLS ROYCE	BENTLEY ARNAGE	0	165	0.0000
229	ROLLS ROYCE	BENTLEY CONTINENTAL	0	737	0.0000
230	ROLLS ROYCE	PHANTOM	0	489	0.0000
231	SAAB	9-7X	0	1,998	0.0000

Issued on: April 27, 2006.

Stephen R. Kratzke,

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.