AMERICA'S car thieves show clear preferences in the vehicles they steal. Size, speed and luxury are all important factors when it comes to selecting a target. But the country's car thieves are, at least, patriotic. If America's carmaking giants have struggled in recent years to build vehicles that match the public taste, they are keeping car thieves happy. Only two of the top ten stolen cars in America (measured in terms of cash paid out by insurers) come from a foreign manufacturer. America's car criminals are more suspicious of Japanese or European models and are reluctant to be seen in smaller cars. A reluctance to nick Toyota Priuses shows they have little regard for the environment either.