What is your dream car? Does an Acura NSX, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $171,000, crack your wish list?

Before you fork over the down payment, know that that Acura NSX has cracked another short list: It is the car most commonly linked to drunken-driving arrests.

Insurify studied DUI data and identified 10 makes and models that appear most frequently in the police blotter. The Acura NSX had the highest rate of DUIs in 2022, with an average 46.6 of 1,000 drivers reporting at least one DUI on record, or 253% more than the average American. Not far behind were the Chevrolet Astro, the Audi A4 Allroad, the Nissan NV and the GMC Suburban.

So, what did local police chiefs and defense lawyers think about the notion that it’s the car and not the level of impairment that gets flagged? Those interviewed for this story alternately chuckled or rolled their eyes.

“My opinion is that it’s not the car’s fault for getting a DUI,” La Salle Chief of Police Mike Smudzinski said. “It’s the responsibility of the driver to know when enough is enough.”

“Very interesting to say the least,” deadpanned Brent Roalson, Ottawa’s chief of police, after studying Insurify’s list. “Another myth for myth busters.”

Roalson does not personally own any of the supposedly at-risk vehicles, “but if I did, the cost of the increase of insurance based on this report, I am sure, would make me consider trading it in,” he said.

Those interviewed agreed insurers might well have a financial stake in linking vehicles to DUI rates – that data could be used to increase premiums – but they also pointed out the central premise is flawed: Patrol officers look for signs of impairment rather than target particular makes and models.

Roalson reasoned that data can be manipulated to fit a certain need.

“This data appears to look at just vehicles as opposed to other data that may provide a clearer insight as to other reasons why these vehicles had a higher rate of DUIs,” Roalson said. “The one thing about single-scope data, which is what I consider this, is that it creates more questions at times than answers.”

Utica Police Chief Rodney Damron also looked at Insurify’s list and said there’s a weak argument to be made for linking vehicle performance to traffic infractions, which in turn can lead to arrests for impairment.

“I would think with fast, smooth-riding vehicles, one would tend to speed more and maybe get pulled over more,” Damron said.

He hastened to add, “The best way to avoid a DUI is not to drink and drive, keep track of your [blood-alcohol concentration] level, count your drinks along with the time consumed or have someone drive you that is not drinking.”

Peru attorney John Fisher said he looked at the tables and was relieved to see Jeeps didn’t crack the list of vehicles linked to DUIs – Fisher drives a Jeep, in case you were wondering – and he didn’t see any trends that would suggest the NSX or any other performance cars would invite particular attention from patrol officers.

“I see very few DUIs in sporty cars,” Fisher said. “It pretty much runs the gamut.”

La Salle defense attorney Louis Bertrand also looked at Insurify’s tables and spotted two commonalities – not that he places much stock in either one.

First, some of the “high-risk” models have been discontinued – the Chevrolet Caprice (No. 7 on Insurify’s list) went out of production in 1996 – and perhaps are driven by those who can’t afford a newer car.

“Maybe the reason they can’t is that they are heavy drinkers and commit more DUIs and waste more than their fair share of income on alcohol,” Bertrand said, tongue firmly in cheek. “Maybe if they were not so irresponsible, they would have better jobs, better cars and get arrested less.”

But at the other end of the spectrum is the Acura NSX, which Bertrand again cheekily observed is perhaps too eye-catching for a cop to pass up while patrolling for impairment. Bertrand, for his part, thinks he could well take a pass on the next NSX driver who comes in seeking help with a DUI.

“The NSX owner may have a greater ability to pay,” he said, “but will most likely be the more difficult and time-consuming client, so the money just might not be worth the time.”