Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Keith McCord ReportingPolice see a new trend with car thieves along the Wasatch Front. They're not only stealing cars, but car parts.
If you own a Honda Civic or an Acura Integra, you may want to seriously think about an alarm system; or at least make sure the car is in a locked garage at night.
Thieves have been targeting these models for several years, and many of those who want these cars--or their parts-- are young people who are regularly involved in illegal street racing!
Det. Joe Cyr/ Public Information Officer, SLPD: "Because of the way these kids race these cars it's not a very safe thing to do. It burns up the engines. They crash, and they ruin the body parts, and they need replacements."
And so, they go searching for a model like the one Josh Loftin has-- a '95 Honda Civic. Josh was heading to work a couple of mornings ago, when the car wouldn't start.
Josh Loftin: "The hood looked just like that, so I knew that wasn't right. So I popped the hood and sure enough, there was a hole where the distributor used to be, wires sticking out."
They only took the distributor, and the four spark plugs. The thieves did not go inside the car.
It's a trend that's been going on for several years. If there's one make of car that's being targeted for stripping engine parts, it's a Honda. The police and towing companies see it all the time.
Rick Gunn/ Owner, Car Tow: "It is the, in my opinion, the most popular stolen car there is. We recover more of them than anything else, by far."
Det. Joe Cyr/ Public Information Officer, SLPD: "Often when we recover a stolen Honda or Integra, we'll find the entire engine missing."
The engines in those cars are high performance, and that's why the drag racers want them. Many of the other parts under the hood are also interchangeable. Detectives say Hondas and Acuras, from about 1994 to 2000, are the main one's being targeted.
Josh Loftin knows first hand. His car has been hit several times.
Josh Loftin: "But they knew what they were doing, 'cause it's actually good workmanship.. nothing broken." "No stripped things or broken wires. They knew what they were after. They were good."
Josh is a reporter for The Deseret Morning News, and you can read more about his story and the issue of stolen Hondas and Integras in tomorrow's editions.
