Cadillac Escalade: A Magnet For Thieves, Report Insurers
The Cadillac Escalade is perhaps a little too successful in its mission of flaunting wealth.
Cadillac's big SUV is a magnet for thieves; it has ten times the overall theft losses of the typical 2008 to 2010 model-year vehicle, and it's more than six times as likely to be targeted by thieves.
These new figures come from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), a companion organization to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The ratings are comprehensive, and the totals include both claims from the theft of parts or items on or inside the vehicle as well as claims from theft of the vehicle itself. Data is gathered from a range of insurers that represent about 80 percent of the industry for private-vehicle insurance.
Within the Escalade lineup, the Cadillac Escalade EXT, a variant of the Escalade with a pickup bed, ranked worst this year. For every 1,000 EXTs insured over a full year, insurers are likely to manage 14 theft claims.
The Escalade doesn't only rate high for overall losses and number of thefts; on its own it has one of the highest average losses per claim—a surprisingly high $10,555 per theft. So figured out in terms of overall (average) theft loss per vehicle, it's about $114 per Escalade—a whopper for insurance companies, and a figure bound to increase your rates, no matter where you park or drive.
This sure isn't the first time that the Escalade has topped the charts; although next to last year's average figure of $146 for the 2007-2009 Escalade, there's some evidence that thieves are perhaps moving on to other glamorous targets.
By class of vehicle, pickups are most often targeted by thieves; they cost insurers $24 per vehicle year in theft, on average, versus $9 for cars and $12 for SUVs.
The commercial-duty Ford F-250, F-350, and F-450 Crew Cab truck models, as well as the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Chevrolet Avalanche, and GMC Sierra 1500 light-duty trucks, also stand out for their high average loss payment—probably because work tools or equipment are likely to be kept in these rigs. Likewise, the GMC Yukon—which has an Escalade-like Yukon Denali model—is also way more likely than average to be targeted by thieves.
Among cars, the Chrysler 300 is has one of the highest claim frequencies—if you have the Hemi engine. The Dodge Charger Hemi and Nissan Maxima follow.
Both the Mercury Mariner and Audi A6 ranked lowest for claim frequencies. But while thefts might be low for the A6, when they happen they're pricey—an average $16,882 according to the HLDI. Likewise, the BMW 5-Series (xDrive) cost an average of $12,200 in claims per theft. Both of these German sedans averaged a low $8 in overall theft losses, though—not enough along to cause a spike in their premiums.
Click the image below to see the HLDI's full list of 2008-2010 passenger vehicles with the highest insurance theft claims.
[HLDI]
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Frugal Shopper: For Cost-Conscious Commuters, Sedans Make Sense
We've recently reported that there are a lot of deals to be had on new vehicles this season—especially on SUVs and trucks.
But the flip side is that the costs of vehicle ownership are up significantly this year, and those very same aspects that are making some SUVs looking like such a steal at the dealership could come back to haunt you.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), driving costs—including insurance, depreciation, registration, and fuel—went up a significant five percent in 2009. The average driving costs for sedan owners now add up to $8,487, on average, or about 56.6 cents per mile.
Yes, gas prices are still somewhat higher than they were a few years ago, but the key factor for the increase, according to the AAA, is depreciation. Less fuel-efficient vehicles—traditional SUVs and trucks especially—simply don't hold their value as well.
Sport-utility vehicles were up for an estimated annual depreciation 10.7 percent higher than last year. Although that might be the type of vehicle you want and need, it makes them less cost-effective as commuting or family-oriented vehicles than in the past (more modern crossovers, not included in these calculations, do better).
Meanwhile small sedans are seeing less depreciation and holding their value better; they saw the smallest increase in overall costs, up just 2.9 percent from last year—but their lower depreciation still wasn't enough to offset the rising costs of tires and insurance, as well as fuel. For a sedan, the cost of tires rose by nearly nine percent, while full-coverage insurance was up nearly six percent.
Overall, small sedans and midsize sedans were ranked lowest in overall driving costs, which should make them the vehicles of choice for cost-conscious commuters.
The report doesn't include repair or maintenance costs, which are often higher as well for large luxury sedans and sport-utility vehicles compared to large sedans.
The AAA based its calculations on a national-average cost of gasoline of $2.603 per gallon, which was 12.7 percent higher than the 2008 figure used—despite the summer 2008 surge to past the four-dollar mark.
The 56.6-cent average cost is for driving 15,000 miles per year—still the basis for many calculations, including some leases.
"If you commute to work by car, figure about $56 in total vehicle expenses per 100 miles," says the organization in the report. "If that seems like a lot, driving a more fuel-efficient model or using public or alternative transportation options could save you money."
Dangerous Drivers: Government, Desk Jobs Top Insurance List
If you're concerned about staying safe and keeping your insurance rates low, the parking lots surrounding banks and courthouses are probably not the best places to be.
So say findings from the insurance comparison-shopping site Insurance.com. If you're a lawyer, you're much more likely to have made a previous claim when shopping for insurance than a homemaker, for instance.
Sam Belden, the company's vice president, says in the accompanying release that the more accident-prone professions to demands for multitasking and for driving during rush hour. Those who regularly carry children tend to have better records as well.
Attorneys, judges, and financial professionals were among the most dangerous, according to Insurance.com's data, while athletes and homemakers were among the safest.
Findings were based on the ratio of accident claims to quotes for those who had requested a quote through Insurance.com, calculated over "tens of thousands" of claims, over the period of June to December 2009.
In general, of course, profession is one of many pieces of actuarial data used by insurers to assess their risk in covering you, and the higher the number of claims and accidents, the higher that profession's rates are likely to be.
To give you an idea of how wide the differences were, 44 percent of attorneys who received an insurance quote had previously made an insurance claim, while just 17 percent of athletes shopping for insurance had previously made a claim.
Insurance.com lists the following professions as having the most dangerous drivers:
1. Attorney/judge
2. Financial professional
3. Government worker
4. Bartender or waiter
5. Other professional
6. Dog groomer
7. Marketing/advertising
8. Barber/stylist
9. Coach
10. Nurse
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Cash For Clunkers: Mechanics, Aftermarket Already Hurting?
We've heard a lot about the positives of the Cash-for-Clunkers program in recent days. It gets gas-guzzling vehicles off the road in favor of more fuel-efficient, potentially safer ones, and has brought business back to blighted dealerships and auto malls.
In an immediate sense, it looks good, right?
But many sour sides might be starting to emerge, just as the program—officially known as the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS)—was today given a second wind in the form of a $2 billion extension. We've seen several reports in recent days, including this one from the Reno Gazette-Journal, that the program is hurting the business of both used-car dealerships and auto-repair shops, with the latter reporting a rise in the number of canceled jobs.
That's a sharp turnaround from a trend that continued until recently this year, when the auto-repair business was booming—especially for independent mechanics—and many owners opted to make repairs instead of purchasing a new car. Now many customers are questioning repairs when they have the potential to effectively get a new car at a deep discount.
Meanwhile, some estimates project that the program could inject up to $18 billion into the economy, when including finance, insurance, industry suppliers, and related vendors.
That's an impressive figure, but it starts to look quite small when you consider the potential long-term impact to mechanics and the aftermarket. According to the Wall Street Journal, there are about 164,000 independent shops across the country.
A small two-person repair shop in Reno reported losing about $1,400 in repair work just over a few days. If this is happening across the country, that's a significant economic impact that also needs to be taken into account. So it's likely the long-term economic impact to mechanics could easily be in the billions.
The WSJ also reports that the automotive aftermarket as a whole could prove one of the biggest losers; it's a $250 billion industry that employs $4.6 million people, including those independent mechanics.
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) had lobbied Congress unsuccessfully to add a repair option—like those currently provided by Texas and California—to the bill.
Calculating the economic affects of the Clunkers program is going to be very complex. For instance, salvage yards and parts resellers are slated to profit from the process initially, although it might lead to lower prices on used parts for some popular Clunker trade-ins. According to a Spokane Spokesman-Review report, citing a local parts recycler, it should lead to the "cheapest parts in decades."
There's also concern that the 750,000 jalopies that are projected to be taken off the road could reduce the nation's overall supply of used cars by nearly five percent, according to Kelley Blue Book, and pinch supply, driving up values for used cars—temporarily, in a scenario that might end up hurting used-car dealerships and low-income families even more in the end.
Even from an environmental standpoint, there's no clear answer yet. The environmental cost of building that many additional vehicles is significant, and replacing older vehicles with new ones instead of simply scrapping them might actually slightly increase vehicle miles traveled (VMT), not leading to the supposed cut in gasoline consumption.
The CARS extension allows enough funds for about half a million additional trade-ins, and it could already be used up in a matter of just a few days. By all means, if you were thinking of getting a new car in the near future, now's probably the time.
And economically, maybe a few months after that we'll know whether this was a good idea or not.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
