A specific tactic used by car thieves that targets a particular make is suspected in an outbreak of stolen vehicles in a section of north Minneapolis, authorities said.

In a seven-day stretch ending Feb. 24, 12 vehicles were stolen from one area of the North Side, police said Monday. Ten of those vehicles were Hondas from the 1990s.

Investigators suspect the thieves are using what is known as the "shaved key method" to pull off the thefts.

A shaved key is one that's been modified — shaved or ground down on either the sides or the face — by thieves to work in various ignitions. Authorities have discovered that older-model Hondas are particularly vulnerable. There's also a strong demand for Honda parts.

The latest thefts occurred in an area bordered by Lowry Avenue on the south, 53rd Avenue on the north, Bryant Avenue on the east and Queen Avenue on the west, police said.

St. Paul dealt with a similar rash of vehicles thefts nearly two years ago.

Paul Walsh