Re: Thefts of Alfas

[JHertzman@domain.elided]

In AD7-643 Graham Arlen wrote "About seven or eight years ago and for two 
consecutive years, either the Insurance Institute or Consumers Union put out 
a list of the most commonly stolen automobiles in the US. As always, Hondas 
were at the top of the list but in the first ten were the 87 and 88 A-R 
Milano Verde and Milano Gold.! Don't know where or why but probably chop 
shops were shipping the parts to Europe or perhaps the Far East".

Good memory! My notes have it a late '93 report in which 1988 Milanos and 
1989 Milanos were 21st and 24th in a list of the twenty-five most frequently 
stolen cars in the United States. It was reported in Alfa's USA house journal 
"Quadrifoglio" and in "Alfa Owner", both reports probably written by Mike 
Hemsley from a clipping supplied by Craig Morningstar, ARI's PR guru..

The thing which didn't get a big play was that the rankings were based on 
thefts per thousand cars registered. 1987- which didn't make the list- was 
the big year for Milano sales, 1988 appreciably down and 1989 fading fast. 
One car theft out of 400 1989 Milanos would make it "more frequently stolen" 
than 999 cars stolen from a make which sold 400,000 cars in that year. Which 
explains why 1987 Milanos were not on the list. A chop shop which needed 
front end sheet metal for a wrecked Milano would probably not have been able 
to tell the difference between a 1987 and a 1988, but a single theft of a 
1987 would have had perhaps a sixth of the weight, percentage-wise, of a 
single theft of a 1988.

The rest of the list of twenty-five is strangely loaded with a few favored 
cars. Mitsubishi Starions were first, third, and fifth for '89, '88, and '87 
models respectively, with poor old Mitsubishi Tredia way down at fourteenth. 
Pontiac Firebirds were second, fourth and thirteenth. Chevrolet Camaros were 
sixth, seventh, and twelfth. Alfa Spiders didn't rank, and Mercedes, BMW, 
Audi, Volvo, Saab, Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, and Nissan also miss the cut, 
along with all Ford products. GM accounts for nine of the twenty-five, 
Chrysler products three '(89 Plymouth Horizon, '89 Chrysler Conquest, '88 Le 
Baron), Toyota three ('86 and '87 MR2, '85 Supra). Alfa takes half of the 
European share, with the '89 VW Cabriolet and '87 Porsche 928 the other two, 
sandwiched between the two Milanos. My "single theft out of how many?" 
hypothesis probably accounts for the Porsche 928 being the only Porsche to 
make the cut.

The Mitsubishi Starion occupying three of the first five places I think 
undermines the putative role of chop-shops shipping the parts to Europe or 
perhaps the Far East. The Firebirds and Camaros taking six of the twenty-five 
places suggests that casual joy-riding may have been a big factor.

There is an old saw that there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Caveat 
emptor.

John H.
Raleigh, N.C.

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