Five for Friday: Five Thoughts About the Auto Industry for August 26, 2011

Still convinced that American drivers would not appreciate the ability to haul the entire family around in hybrid style, Toyota released the European edition of its new Toyota Prius+ three-row hatchback. Capable of swallowing up to seven passengers, and featuring a new lithium ion battery design, the Toyota Prius+ can also store just under 20 cubic feet of cargo with its last row of seating stowed. The Automotive News reports that the roomier Prius+ has been made possible by both the new battery’s compact design and by a platform that has been pushed out to be taller, wider and longer when compared against the standard Prius.

It seems a no-brainer for Toyota to sell the larger, more capable Prius+ in the United States, especially given that the hybrid line has been spun off as its own sub-brand in order to capitalize on the cachet of the world’s most popular battery-powered vehicle. Whether Toyota will feel comfortable sacrificing some of the Prius’ famous fuel economy for increased practicality in the minds of American drivers remains to be seen.

It’s official – the next-generation 2012 Porsche 911has been introduced to the world with full specs and photos, along with confirmation that the long-rumored seven-speed manual transmission that I reported on in previous columns will in fact be standard equipment for the sports car. The new Porsche 911 is lighter, lower and stiffer than the outgoing 2011 model, and it also offers 350 horsepower from its entry-level 3.4-liter six-cylinder engine.

The 2012 Porsche 911 will additionally be available with a 400 horsepower, 3.8-liter six-cylinder engine when ordered in Carrera S trim, and a PDK seven-speed automated manual transmission can also be swapped in for the seven-speed traditional manual unit. Porsche will begin delivering the new 911 in December, and the base coupe will set buyers back $82,100.

The long-awaited rear-wheel drive compact sport coupe from Subaru now has a name, and that name is “BRZ.” The Subaru BRZ, which is the platform-mate of the upcoming Scion FR-S might now own a catchy moniker – one that Subaru says stands for “Boxer engine, Rear-wheel drive, Zenith” - but the car is still awaiting final styling. A “technology concept” edition of the BRZ will be shown off at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September, but the Japanese automaker continues to drag its feet in terms of locking down exactly how the first rear-wheel drive Subaru in ages will actually look.

The Scion FR-S offers a glimpse of how exotic Subaru might choose to go with the small two-door automobile, but as the company has a history of marching to the beat of its own drummer in terms of visual design, there’s still plenty of room for a left-field styling effort for the BRZ.

If you own a Cadillac Escalade, your risk of waking up to an empty driveway in the morning is six times greater than that of the average driver according to the Highway Loss Data Institute. The HLDI has been keeping track of vehicle theft statistics for many years, and the Cadillac Escalade has unfortunately been a perennial front-runner when it comes to the number of vehicles stolen per 1,000 insured automobiles.

The next four vehicles on the list are also trucks – specifically, full-size pickups ranging from the Ford F-250 to the GMC Sierra 1500, all in crew cab trim. The Chrysler 300 is the highest-placing passenger car on the list, and is in fact that only sedan in the top 10 most stolen vehicles according to HDLI data.

Dodge will be taking two longtime nameplates out of its product lineup this year. The Dodge Dakota mid-size truck, a vehicle which offered the first V-8 engine in a non-full-size pickup in North America, has been put to rest as of Tuesday, August 23. Its 24 year production run saw the truck grow in size until it nearly rivaled its somewhat larger Dodge Ram cousin in terms of utility and capability, but slow sales (just 13,000 in total in 2010, down from 177,000 just 10 years beforehand) spelled the end for the pickup.

The Dodge Caliber is heading to a much earlier grave after only five years on the market as Chrysler’s replacement for the very popular Neon entry-level sedan. The compact crossover was meant to snag first-time vehicle buyers looking for a practical and affordable daily driver, but the Caliber was never able to live up to its macho image, especially in terms of build quality or driving experience. According to Allpar, the Caliber will be a memory by the end of November.

What will replace the Dodge Dakota and the Dodge Caliber? The idea of a unibody, crossover-style Dodge pickup has been kicked around over the last few months, but given the failure of the Honda Ridgeline to find an audience that idea might never actually make it out of the boardroom. The Caliber will most likely take the form of a rebadged Fiat platform that can offer the fuel economy that entry-level shoppers are looking for.