Penbrook, Pa. - There have been several incidents in our area where thieves have stolen the wheels off the popular Honda Fit compact car. Police are puzzled as to why the Fit seems to be a favorite.

Donald Muddiman of Penbrook loves his Fit, but the car wasn't fit for transportation earlier this week when he found red plastic soda crates where the wheels should have been.

"All four wheels were gone," Muddiman said. "I'd been asleep about 20 feet away and somehow during the middle of the night, probably 3 or 4 o'clock, we think one person or a group of people silently came in and silently took my wheels."

Muddiman's insurance covered the $1,000 loss.

"We've had three instances where wheels were stolen from a Honda model Fit," said Penbrook police Chief David Hiester. "It's my understanding that there have been other thefts of the wheels in other other parts of the county, east and south of here."

Police don't know if it's because the Fit wheels can be bolted onto other small Honda models or if it's just the style of the wheels that thieves favor.

Muddiman added wheel locks to his Fit's wheels and he's keeping a closer eye on his car.

Police in the Philadelphia region and in Brooklyn, New York also have reports of an unusual number of Honda Fit wheels being stolen.

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