GM to drop plans for range-topping Cadillac sedan

General Motors has decided to deep-freeze a range-topping ultraluxury sedan it was developing for Cadillac, according to three people with knowledge of the company’s plans. GM executives recently concluded that the rear-wheel-drive car, which would have been a low-volume showstopper priced well north of $100,000, didn’t offer enough brand-building pizzazz to justify the investment, the sources said. Designers recently were taken off the program and reassigned.

First Fiat 500s will have stick shifts

The 2012 Fiat 500 , heading to U.S. dealerships later than first expected, is enduring another hiccup: The first units arriving in dealerships in late February will have manual transmissions, the company said. Moreover, only about 20 percent of the 130 Fiat dealerships will be open when those first cars arrive, said Laura Soave, head of the Fiat brand in North America, at the Detroit auto show last week.

2014 Range Rover Evoque tackles urban off-roading

The 2014 Range Rover Evoque went undercover in Frankfurt, picking up VIPs and taking them on a surprise urban off-roading adventure. Hidden cameras were there to catch the whole thing. It may have been a marketing ploy for Land Rover, but we think it worked.