Lock Up: America's Most Stolen Cars

Aug. 3, 2010— -- If you drive a Cadillac Escalade, Ford F-250 pickup, Infiniti G37 or Dodge Charger you might want to park in a well-lit area and double check that your doors are locked.

Those four vehicles top an annual list of new cars most likely to be stolen.

Theft rates for these vehicles are three to five times as high as the average for all vehicles, according to the Highway Loss Data Institute, part of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

"Sedate family cars and fuel sippers aren't on the hot list," Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of the insurance institute said in a statement. "Thieves are after chrome, horsepower, and HEMIs."

The list doesn't just factor in likelihood of being stolen but the size of insurance claims. The payments of those claims are, understandably, higher for expensive SUVs and large pickup trucks. The Escalade has ranked worst in overall theft losses in six of the past seven institute reports. Losses for the Escalade are seven times the average for all passenger vehicles.

It should come as no surprise that expensive, luxury SUVs have such high claims. One model of the Escalade has a suggested sticker price of $66,050. That's before any add-ons.

Almost one out of every four Escalade theft claims is for $40,000 or more.

The vehicles are equipped with standard antitheft ignition immobilizers that are supposed to prevent them from being started without a proper key. But that doesn't stop smart thieves.

"Even though Escalades have the latest immobilizer technology, thieves still can put them on flatbeds and haul them away," Hazelbaker said.