(iStock)
Texas is tops in pickup truck sales, and five-finger discounts.
According to the latest report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB,) nearly one out of four stolen pickup claims come from the Lone Star State. The study looked at 2011-2013 model year trucks lifted between January 1, 2010 and December 31st, 2013.
California ranked second, but Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim was the top metropolitan region for thefts, ahead of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Houston areas. According to a recent report from R.L. Polk & Co, combined truck sales of the two Texas metroplexes outnumber every other state.
The good news is that 86 percent of trucks stolen nationwide were recovered, but it’s much worse than that it some spots.
Thirty-nine percent of stolen pickups are unrecovered in Mississippi, many likely falling victim to chop shops and VIN swaps, while 74 percent of the trucks lifted from El Paso, Tex., are never found -- the border city’s proximity to Mexico playing a major role there.
Of course, it’s not just pickups that get ripped off, their parts do, too. The NICB’s tailgate theft report says the number of stolen tailgates has been going up for several years, with an increase of 31 percent in 2013. Care to guess which state tops that list?