Saginaw, Mich. -- I've never stolen a car in my life, but Dick Riefe recently showed me how to purloin a 1989 Chevy Suburban in just two minutes, using a screwdriver for a key.
Mr. Riefe, 68 years old, comes by his car-theft expertise honestly. He has worked for half a century on vehicle theft-prevention technology here at Nexteer Automotive, one of the leading suppliers of auto steering columns and the security hardware that goes into them.
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Designing technology to deter car theft is an evolving game of cat and mouse. Car makers and contractors such as Nexteer devise new systems. Thieves adapt.
For the past several years, the good guys have had the edge.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's most recent full-year tally, covering 2010, found a 7.4% decline in car thefts nationwide from the previous year, the seventh straight year of decline. Preliminary figures for 2011 indicate thefts fell 3.3% from 2010. In New York City, police officials say auto thefts have dropped to just 9,300 vehicles last year from about 147,000 in 1990.
"It's more difficult to steal a car than it used to be," said Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, a New York-based industry group.
Still, thieves took more than 737,000 vehicles in 2010, valued at about $4.5 billion, the FBI data show.
Reports have risen in recent years of thieves making off with valuable car components such as air bags—which can cost $1,000 if purchased legitimately and less on the black market—and catalytic converters, which contain rare, valuable platinum and palladium.
There are also signs that the barriers electronic theft-prevention systems present may not be as daunting as advertised.
[Related: Car models that have lost their marquee value]
BMW owners have been alarmed in the past few days by a video that appears to show hoodie-wearing thieves in Britain making off with a BMW in just three minutes, apparently after hacking into the car's alarm system, then cloning the electronic key fob using an easily accessible diagnostic port. There are numerous other videos online showing people using key-cloning gadgets plugged into diagnostic ports.
"The battle against increasingly sophisticated thieves is a constant challenge for all car makers," BMW said in a statement in response to the video.
One challenge in Europe, according to a BMW spokesman in the U.K., is that EU rules require car makers to make onboard diagnostic ports easily accessible, and to allow independent mechanics and locksmiths to reprogram keys. In the U.S., BMW only allows dealers to sell replacement keys, said another company spokesman, Dave Buchko.
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Lists of the most-stolen car models, compiled by the nonprofit National Insurance Crime Bureau, suggest that thieves mainly have an eye on the used-parts market, where mass-market models are more valuable than luxury cars.
The most frequently stolen car in 2010 was a 1994 Honda Accord, followed by the 1995 Honda Civic and the 1991 Toyota Camry. The 1999 Chevy Silverado pickup came in fourth and the 1997 Ford F-150 pickup pulled in at No. 5. All of these vehicles were among the top-selling cars and trucks in the U.S.
Advances in electronic theft-prevention technology have taken a bite out of thefts of some models. In 2010, thieves stole 5,331 Honda Accords built in the 1997 model year, but only 533 1998-model Accords, according to NICB data. The difference: The later-model cars had a new electronic key system that immobilized the car if the proper key wasn't used.
"Thefts have gone down," said Mr. Hartwig of the Insurance Information Institute. "But, recovery rates have gone down. You have 63% recovered in 2004, and only 56% recovered in 2010." Thieves move quickly to dice cars into parts, or export them to other states or countries, law enforcement and insurance officials say.
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At Nexteer, Mr. Riefe's colleague, Larry Burr, carries a customized metal awl in his pocket for prying at parts that looks like just the thing to pick a lock. He helped develop a big advance in the late 1960s when Nexteer, then a unit of General Motors, redesigned steering-column locks so that it took 2,700 pounds of force to pry one out and hot-wire a car, instead of just 350 pounds.
"That thwarted them, for a period," the 76-year-old Mr. Burr said.
The advent of the first electronic key systems in the late 1980s and early 1990s began to push screwdriver-wielding amateurs out of the game. Electronic ignition systems, which regularly reset the required codes to start the car, plus stronger systems to immobilize shifters and steering columns made it difficult for unskilled thieves to start a car in the six to eight minutes most were willing to risk in the attempt, Mr. Burr said.
One morning in June at Nexteer's headquarters, RC Derocher demonstrated how easy it was to get partial control of a 2007 luxury sport utility vehicle. The powerfully built Mr. Derocher—at 27 one of the younger members of Nexteer's security-systems team—grabbed the wheel in a bear hug, and threw his body toward the passenger seat, breaking the hardware that prevented the wheel from turning. Then he gave the shift lever a sharp yank to break its locking system.
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I was able to start a 1989 Suburban after dismantling the steering column with the screwdriver. Mr. Derocher couldn't get his later model SUV to start, but, "you're in neutral, and you can steer," he said. With a couple of accomplices and another vehicle, a thief could push the truck away to a nearby "chop shop," where parts could be stripped off for sale.
Most feared by car owners are professionals who use sophisticated gear—including electronics that can intercept or replicate key codes, and flatbed trucks to pluck cars off a street or lot.
Such pros who target luxury cars often intend to export the vehicles, after changing the vehicle identification numbers and swapping out onboard computers, said Christopher McDonold, a former Baltimore County, Md., detective and past president of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators.
Mr. McDonold, who is now deputy director of the Maryland Vehicle Theft Prevention Council, said he believes professional thieves have caught up with theft-prevention technology, using electronic key duplication techniques and stealing vehicle identification numbers to mask a stolen car's identify.
The next generation of antitheft technology will be aimed at the pros, with stronger hardware to foil extralegal steering and shifting. Nexteer engineers say a new locking system expected on the market soon was designed specifically to thwart cordless drills, and uses electric motors that respond to signals from the keyless starter system to lock down the steering.
Mr. Riefe, 68 years old, comes by his car-theft expertise honestly. He has worked for half a century on vehicle theft-prevention technology here at Nexteer Automotive, one of the leading suppliers of auto steering columns and the security hardware that goes into them.
[More from WSJ.com: Man Admits to Plot to Bomb Pentagon]
Designing technology to deter car theft is an evolving game of cat and mouse. Car makers and contractors such as Nexteer devise new systems. Thieves adapt.
For the past several years, the good guys have had the edge.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's most recent full-year tally, covering 2010, found a 7.4% decline in car thefts nationwide from the previous year, the seventh straight year of decline. Preliminary figures for 2011 indicate thefts fell 3.3% from 2010. In New York City, police officials say auto thefts have dropped to just 9,300 vehicles last year from about 147,000 in 1990.
"It's more difficult to steal a car than it used to be," said Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, a New York-based industry group.
Still, thieves took more than 737,000 vehicles in 2010, valued at about $4.5 billion, the FBI data show.
Reports have risen in recent years of thieves making off with valuable car components such as air bags—which can cost $1,000 if purchased legitimately and less on the black market—and catalytic converters, which contain rare, valuable platinum and palladium.
There are also signs that the barriers electronic theft-prevention systems present may not be as daunting as advertised.
[Related: Car models that have lost their marquee value]
BMW owners have been alarmed in the past few days by a video that appears to show hoodie-wearing thieves in Britain making off with a BMW in just three minutes, apparently after hacking into the car's alarm system, then cloning the electronic key fob using an easily accessible diagnostic port. There are numerous other videos online showing people using key-cloning gadgets plugged into diagnostic ports.
"The battle against increasingly sophisticated thieves is a constant challenge for all car makers," BMW said in a statement in response to the video.
One challenge in Europe, according to a BMW spokesman in the U.K., is that EU rules require car makers to make onboard diagnostic ports easily accessible, and to allow independent mechanics and locksmiths to reprogram keys. In the U.S., BMW only allows dealers to sell replacement keys, said another company spokesman, Dave Buchko.
[More from WSJ.com: Pentagon Weighs Database to Catch Lies About Honors]
Lists of the most-stolen car models, compiled by the nonprofit National Insurance Crime Bureau, suggest that thieves mainly have an eye on the used-parts market, where mass-market models are more valuable than luxury cars.
The most frequently stolen car in 2010 was a 1994 Honda Accord, followed by the 1995 Honda Civic and the 1991 Toyota Camry. The 1999 Chevy Silverado pickup came in fourth and the 1997 Ford F-150 pickup pulled in at No. 5. All of these vehicles were among the top-selling cars and trucks in the U.S.
Advances in electronic theft-prevention technology have taken a bite out of thefts of some models. In 2010, thieves stole 5,331 Honda Accords built in the 1997 model year, but only 533 1998-model Accords, according to NICB data. The difference: The later-model cars had a new electronic key system that immobilized the car if the proper key wasn't used.
"Thefts have gone down," said Mr. Hartwig of the Insurance Information Institute. "But, recovery rates have gone down. You have 63% recovered in 2004, and only 56% recovered in 2010." Thieves move quickly to dice cars into parts, or export them to other states or countries, law enforcement and insurance officials say.
[Related: NY man nears 3 millionth mile in beloved '66 Volvo]
At Nexteer, Mr. Riefe's colleague, Larry Burr, carries a customized metal awl in his pocket for prying at parts that looks like just the thing to pick a lock. He helped develop a big advance in the late 1960s when Nexteer, then a unit of General Motors, redesigned steering-column locks so that it took 2,700 pounds of force to pry one out and hot-wire a car, instead of just 350 pounds.
"That thwarted them, for a period," the 76-year-old Mr. Burr said.
The advent of the first electronic key systems in the late 1980s and early 1990s began to push screwdriver-wielding amateurs out of the game. Electronic ignition systems, which regularly reset the required codes to start the car, plus stronger systems to immobilize shifters and steering columns made it difficult for unskilled thieves to start a car in the six to eight minutes most were willing to risk in the attempt, Mr. Burr said.
One morning in June at Nexteer's headquarters, RC Derocher demonstrated how easy it was to get partial control of a 2007 luxury sport utility vehicle. The powerfully built Mr. Derocher—at 27 one of the younger members of Nexteer's security-systems team—grabbed the wheel in a bear hug, and threw his body toward the passenger seat, breaking the hardware that prevented the wheel from turning. Then he gave the shift lever a sharp yank to break its locking system.
[More from WSJ.com: Hawaii Shoots Down Use of Sky Lanterns]
I was able to start a 1989 Suburban after dismantling the steering column with the screwdriver. Mr. Derocher couldn't get his later model SUV to start, but, "you're in neutral, and you can steer," he said. With a couple of accomplices and another vehicle, a thief could push the truck away to a nearby "chop shop," where parts could be stripped off for sale.
Most feared by car owners are professionals who use sophisticated gear—including electronics that can intercept or replicate key codes, and flatbed trucks to pluck cars off a street or lot.
Such pros who target luxury cars often intend to export the vehicles, after changing the vehicle identification numbers and swapping out onboard computers, said Christopher McDonold, a former Baltimore County, Md., detective and past president of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators.
Mr. McDonold, who is now deputy director of the Maryland Vehicle Theft Prevention Council, said he believes professional thieves have caught up with theft-prevention technology, using electronic key duplication techniques and stealing vehicle identification numbers to mask a stolen car's identify.
The next generation of antitheft technology will be aimed at the pros, with stronger hardware to foil extralegal steering and shifting. Nexteer engineers say a new locking system expected on the market soon was designed specifically to thwart cordless drills, and uses electric motors that respond to signals from the keyless starter system to lock down the steering.
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