In People v. Buss (1980) 102 Cal.App.3d 781, the court held that denial of a motion to exclude evidence of a prior conviction for auto theft in a prosecution for unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle was an abuse of discretion. The court reasoned that although the prior bore on honesty or veracity and was not remote, its probative value was outweighed by the factor of prejudicial similarity, compounded by defendant's failure to testify. ( Buss, supra, pp. 783-784.)