Fiat’s first-ever body-on-frame pickup truck will be offered in several body configurations including a single cab with a long bed and a double cab with a short bed. The yet-unnamed model will wear a brand-specific front fascia but the bulk of its body panels will be sourced straight from the Mitsubishi parts bin.

Sources close to Fiat hint power will likely come from a 2.5-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel engine rated at 134 horsepower and 231 lb-ft. of torque. Linked to a five-speed manual transmission that spins all four wheels, the oil-burner will send the truck to a top speed of 103 mph while enabling it to tow up to 6,000 pounds.

Whether Fiat’s upcoming truck will be built alongside the L200 in Thailand is not known. It will be sold across Europe and in a host of global markets such as Russia, Africa and Latin America but Fiat is not planning on adding the pickup to its lineup in the United States.

Fiat Professional currently sells a small unibody truck dubbed Strada, and company CEO Sergio Marchionne hopes the addition of a more rugged pickup will help the division sell 600,000 cars a year by 2018, up from 431,000 last year.

Additional details about Fiat’s pickup will emerge over the coming months The truck is scheduled to greet the public for the first time in 2016, shortly after the next L200 makes its debut.

Note: Current Mitsubishi L200 pictured.

Drunk-driving deaths rose in 2012, to 10,322 from 9,865 the year before. Did you hear anything about that? No? What about so-called distracted driving? Did you hear anything about that? Of course you did — and the announcement of a new enforcement technology makes it plain why distracted driving has been the cause celebre of the past few years.

Distracted driving isn’t nearly the killer that drunk driving is. In 2012, 3,328 motorists were supposedly killed by texting and other distractions behind the wheel. I say “supposedly” because while blood alcohol content is a matter of scientific fact, distracted driving is often simply a guess or conjecture on the part of the law enforcement officials on the scene. Was the driver young? Was there a cellphone somewhere in the car? Very few cases are as cut and dried as the case of the driver who recently crashed and died just seconds after posting a status update on Facebook — and even in that case, it’s impossible to say that she was still “distracted” when the crash happened.

Over the past two decades, many states have systematically turned drunk driving enforcement into a cash-generating machine that allows multiple offenders to return to the wheel again and again, so long as they pay the right rehab programs and the appropriate five-figure fines. The problem with this is that there’s a bit of a limit to it. As much as we’d like to associate impaired driving with wealthy socialites sloshing their Cadillac deVilles back from the country club, the truth is that it’s mostly the poor and unlicensed who are driving drunk.

It’s extremely difficult to extract fines and insurance-company-pleasing points from people who don’t even have a license in the first place. “Distracted drivers”, on the other hand, are people who can afford phones and data plans in addition to cars. Many of them are texting or communicating for work purposes, which means they’re employed in white-collar jobs. In other words, the potential to make money on them is almost limitless.

Enter the ComSonics technology that promises to give law enforcement a window into mobile-device use behind the wheel. Supposedly the technology can distinguish between calls, texting, and data usage. Can it tell a cop which one of a car full of teenagers on a Saturday night is actually on Facebook? Of course not.

What it can do is allow cops to scan a stopped freeway full of single-occupant vehicles on a busy commuter morning and simply pluck cash out of their pockets. These are drivers who have the ability to pay fines and will gladly do so in order to keep their licenses. Never mind that they represent a minimal threat to safety — your humble author’s single “distracted driving” ticket came from a cop who saw him sitting at a red light using Google Maps. They’re easy prey for a highway law enforcement community that has seen its primary mission change from safety enforcement to revenue collection with shocking speed in the past two decades.

Not every state legislature will reach for this low-hanging fruit, but many will. Surely Virginia, Maryland, and the other East Coast peoples’ republics where disdain for the motorist is all but written into the state constitution will make sure their cops continue to drive right by stranded families and morons driving at full speed on compact spares in order to focus on distracted-driving enforcement. Speedtrap municipalities will no doubt welcome the chance to spend a few thousand dollars of taxpayer money on a device that could earn them many times that amount in fines.

It’s even possible that insurance companies will support ComSonics detectors the same way that GEICO funded the development of the laser speed gun for highway patrolmen. Nobody wants to do business with drunk drivers, but “distracted drivers” made good customers who can be relied upon to pay their bills no matter how inflated those bills might be. Nothing’s quite as satisfying or profitable as raising prices on your existing customers, secure in the knowledge that it’s difficult for them to leave.

Just follow the money, as the man said, and you can easily see why “distracted driving” has been raised to approximate equivalence with child molestation in the media. Still, such a media and enforcement campaign would be worthwhile if it actually resulted in fewer deaths. Don’t look for that to happen. Instead, you’ll see more eyes farther off the road as drivers attempt to use their mobile devices in more furtive and more distracting fashion.

You’ll probably also see yet another rise in drunk-driving fatalities as the heat is taken off those unprofitable offenders to focus on the profitable ones. It’s a shame, but what’s a couple hundred or thousand extra innocent victims a year, compared with an opportunity to sell some neat gear to cops across the nation? Perhaps drivers can attempt to redress the balance by aggressively reporting drunk driving anywhere they see it. Just don’t use your phone to do it, okay?

Based on the range-topping Dynamic trim level, the SW1 stands out from a stock Evoque thanks to Union Jack graphics on the rear spoiler and on the mirror caps as well as decorative stickers on the hood and on both sides. SW1 buyers can choose from Firenze Red, Fuji White, Loire Blue, Santorini Black and Corris Grey. A white roof and white 20-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels come standard regardless of which color is chosen.

Inside, the Evoque SW1 packs Taurus Ebony leather upholstery with Cirrus contrast stitching and Union Jack graphics on the headrests. Models equipped with a nine-speed automatic transmission gain anodized red shift paddles, while those equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox feature a SW1-specific shift knob.

The SW1 inaugurates a brand new heads-up display that will be available as an option on all variants of the Evoque in the near future. The system uses laser holographic technology to provide vivid colors and increased brightness, allowing the driver to read the information displayed even in bright sunlight.

The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque SW1 will go on sale across Europe shortly after it debuts in Paris. Land Rover promises it will launch more Britain-inspired SUVs and crossovers in the coming years.

In addition to the Evoque SW1, Land Rover will introduce the brand new Discovery Sport in Paris.

Previous reports have suggested the company’s new owner, China’s Wanxiang, is aiming to bring the luxury hybrid back onto the market by the second half of 2015. Avoiding recertification and safety testing is expected to help the project meet its goals.

“It will have to be nearly identical to the 2012 model,” unnamed sources told Reuters.

The claim is rejected by a separate source who claims the relaunched model will not be “100 percent identical,” though specific details regarding the alleged upgrades remain unclear.

Fisker may face difficulty bringing suppliers back on board, after some of the companies took a financial hit after the startup went bust, but Wanxiang’s billionaire founder promises to spend its last penny, if necessary, to properly revive the brand.

Members of the band helped design a Scion tC that promises to keep to a thrash-metal theme. The interior is said to feature amplifiers and towers of speakers, along with a custom mixer and a 32-inch monitor for multimedia playback.

“Slayer’s fans are going to be excited when we reveal what a metal-inspired Scion tC looks like,” says guitarist Kerry King.

The metal tC will be competing for attention with Riley Hawk’s xB, which appears to pay homage to the van culture of the ’70s. A sketch shows a high top and a porthole window, while the interior has been outfitted with a custom sound system, wood grain paneling and plenty of space for skateboards.

“Every element of this Scion xB represents some part of my life,” said Riley.

The build process is being led by Mike Vu of Scion tuner MV Designz, readying both models for public debut on November 4.

Visually, the R-Design package adds a trim-specific radiator grille with horizontal slats, a discreet lip spoiler on the front bumper, flat silver mirror caps, a roof-mounted spoiler and trapezoidal exhaust pipes integrated into a deep rear bumper. 20-inch five-spoke alloy wheels wrapped by Pirelli Scorpion tires round out the exterior updates.

Interior pictures are being kept under wraps until the beginning of the Paris show, but Volvo promises the sporty look continues inside thanks to Contour sport seats upholstered in a two-tone combination of Nubuck and perforated leather. Other upgrades include R-specific details on the floor mats, the pedals and the shift knob, while the XC90′s 12.3-inch tablet-like touch screen features a unique R-Design theme.

Volvo says the R-Design package can be ordered on all XC90s regardless of what engine is found under the hood. The package is strictly aesthetic and it doesn’t include any mechanical modifications.

Riding on the same modular EPM2 platform as the 308 hatchback, the Quartz takes the form of a tall crossover that stretches 177 inches long and 81 inches wide. The widespread use of stiff composite materials such as carbon fiber in the crossover’s construction allowed engineers to remove the B-pillar and give it four scissor doors.

The Quartz’s cockpit is similar to that of the Exalt concept that was presented in Beijing last April. It features a small rectangular steering wheel, a heads-up display and a driver-oriented center console with toggle switches inspired by the equipment found in a recording studio. The Quartz offers room for up to four passengers on leather-upholstered bucket seats.

The center console is made out of basalt, an igneous rock that forms when magma cools. Peugeot explains basalt has the same properties regardless of where it forms so it can be easily sourced all over the world.

Power for the Quartz comes from a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain consisting of a 270-horsepower 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and two electric motors each rated at 114 horsepower. The motors can power the crossover by themselves for up to 31 miles, or they can work with the turbo four and a limited-slip differential to send a total of 500 horsepower to all four wheels.

Peugeot has not announced what the future holds for the Quartz. Although it looks wildly futuristic, a heavily toned-down version of it could reach production in the coming years as Peugeot tries to move up a notch on the market.