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Who would try to steal Tony Soprano's car? You might be surprised.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Cadillac Escalade, preferred ride of the fictional TV mob boss, is also the hottest ticket out there for car thieves.
"The Escalade may be targeted because of its pop-culture appeal," says Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. In addition to the number of sports and music stars driving them, many "may also be equipped with add-ons that are attractive to thieves," he says.
But Tony's not alone on the car thieves' hit list. Here are the top five models most likely to be broken into or stolen, according to institute data from 2003 to 2005:
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Not every vehicle is popular with thieves for the same reason, Rader says. Some cars are likely targets because their parts can be used to supplement or "soup up" similar models. Others are just easy for thieves to get into.
Least popular with car thieves? The Ford Taurus station wagon. In fact, the top five cars least likely to be a stolen are mostly station wagons, minivans and full-size sedans.
Top five least likely to be broken into or stolen, according to the institute, are:
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into or stolen: |
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While it's tough to tell why a vehicle might land on the least-stolen list, Rader has noticed that those models "tend to be more vanilla-type vehicles that have less desirability for thieves," he says.
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