Earlier this week, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released an analysis of Mustang thefts spanning the past three decades. Today the NICB broadens its scope with the release of a compilation of every passenger vehicle identification manual produced in the past 80 years.
Intended to assist in the fight against vehicle theft, the CD product enables insurers and law enforcement officials to authenticate passenger vehicles and track histories. It is presented in searchable PDF format and contains vehicle identification information dating back to 1931, when manufacturers typically stamped an ID number on the engine.
Vehicle identification numbers (VINs) were first introduced in 1954. In 1981, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) standardized the VIN format and required that they be listed on all road vehicles manufactured for sale in the United States.
The most recent manuals provide information about the structure and decoding for most U.S. and Canadian passenger vehicles, including light duty trucks, motorcycles/ATVs and some snowmobiles.
A printed version of the 2011 passenger vehicle identification manual is also available. Details about the 2012 manual release will be provided soon. For a cd demonstration, click here.
