"487th (a) Every person who feloniously steals or takes any motor vehicle, as defined in Section 432 of the Vehicle Code, and trailer, as defined in Section 619 of the Vehicle Code, any special construction equipment, as defined in Section 527 of the Vehicles Code, or any vessel, as defined in Section 28 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, is guilty of Grand Theft Auto, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the states prison for 16 months or two or three years or a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both, or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both."

 

 

Source: Definition of Grand Theft Auto, as quoted from the back cover of the first GTAs booklet.