I suspect the commonality (barring DC) is that these areas have cheap real estate where you can drive the car quickly to the garage and break it down before any

I suspect the commonality (barring DC) is that these areas have cheap real estate where you can drive the car quickly to the garage and break it down before anyone even knows it's missing. I really don't understand why DC, though. Is there a coordination problem with surrounding states if a car is reported stolen that makes stealing cars easy (DC is not a state, per se, as it is more of a federal protectorate-thingy)?