A car is stolen every 40 seconds in the United States.

There were an estimated 794,616 motor vehicle thefts nationwide in 2009, accounting for a total loss of $5.2 billion.

If a consumer with a new auto loan has their car stolen, or gets into an accident, insurance companies will pay for the current market value of the car, but not what a borrower owes a lender. If a driver prepared ahead of time and purchased GAP insurance, that would cover the difference in between the two numbers.

Not all consumers have this coverage though and it can make a big impact, especially for those who drive one of the top five stolen vehicles, as revealed below.

But fortunately, not every auto heist is well-planned either.

Loans.org compiled a top five list of our most entertaining auto heists, ranging from small-town crimes to large multi-million dollar operations.

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