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2016 Mercedes-Benz GLC live from Germany

The introduction of the Mercedes-Benz GLC at Hugo Boss headquarters outside of Stuttgart was another step in the evolution of brand cohesion at the Three-Pointed Star. The twin philosophies reshaping the company's products are "Sensual Purity," the brand's design language, and "Modern Luxury," the umbrella term for its wood-and-technology approach to interior splendor and driver assistance systems. That meant the GLK, already a contrarian in the segment thanks to its "interesting" look and cozy cabin, was an outcast in Mercedes' own SUV lineup. The GLC fixes that, for those of you who thought it needed fixing. Gone are the sharp creases and angles inspired by the G-Class, replaced by a the curves dictated by brand purity. To this writer, it looks like a smaller version of the new GLE. Which makes this corporate exercise another in a line of good-looking-yet-less-distinctive successes. Less confrontational outside, the GLC is downright inviting inside. The cabin that impressed us in the C-Class is equally impressive here, particularly when optioned with the Designo leather and open-pore wood. The rear quarters feel roomier than the additional 1.3 inches in legroom would make you think, and it's the same with the three extra feet of cargo space – there's a lot of room behind the rear seats. One thing to note: the hybrid (which we won't get initially) loses a fraction of that extra room with a slightly higher load floor over the batteries. Although it makes less visual impression outside, the G-Class hasn't been forgotten here. The godfather of the lineup is the reason for stressing the GLC's off-road capability. We don't really believe the GLC will need to pass any off-road exams – at least, not on purpose – but that's not the point. By including such capability, Mercedes establishes a concrete connection with its war-tested and thoroughly badass SUV halo, a connection that none of its competitors can make save for Land Rover. On that subject, due to different regulations, the US-market GLC will have slightly different bumpers; instead of the 31-degree approach angle and 25-degree departure angle other markets get, our model will allow a maximum of 28 degrees front and back. Those numbers put in the same off-road playground as the Range Rover Evoque.

Lewis Hamilton blasts to pole position for British Grand Prix

SILVERSTONE, England - Lewis Hamilton took pole position for his home British Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Saturday with a sensational lap that left him one step away from Michael Schumacher's Formula One record. Hamilton's championship-leading Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel, who has a 20-point advantage after nine of 20 races, qualified third. The Mercedes driver was half a second quicker than Ferrari's second placed Kimi Raikkonen and his time of one minute 26.600 seconds was so outrageously quick there were gasps before the crowd erupted. "I always try to leave the best to last," the Briton told retired champion Jenson Button in post-qualifying interviews on the grid. "I had to make sure I got that lap in. I couldn't do it last weekend (in Austria) so I made sure I could here." Hamilton still faced a nervous wait after race stewards announced they were investigating an incident involving French driver Romain Grosjean, who complained he had been blocked earlier in the session. They swiftly decided to take no further action. The Briton's mastery of a damp but drying track lit up an overcast afternoon and the pole was the 67th of his career, sixth of the season, and gave him every chance of equalling Schumacher's record 68 before the August break. The triple world champion has won the last three British Grands Prix and can equal the late Jim Clark's feat of four home wins in a row, and five in total, on Sunday. Saturday ensured he has already matched Clark's 50-year-old record of five British Grand Prix pole positions. "I feel amazing in front of a great crowd like this. I hope you liked the lap," Hamilton told the grandstands full of cheering fans. "I generally like it to be dry, but I like it when the conditions are tricky." Hamilton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas, winner in Austria, was fourth fastest but has a five-place penalty following a gearbox change. That promoted Red Bull's Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, who has suffered five retirements in the last seven races, to the second row. Renault's Nico Hulkenberg and his former Force India team mate Sergio Perez filled the third row. There was good news for beleaguered McLaren, who raised a cheer when Fernando Alonso made the most of improving conditions to set the fastest time in the first phase of qualifying, with Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne qualifying ninth.

YouTube's Super Bowl commercial buzz list dominated by automakers [w/videos]

After Sunday's big game, YouTube will be the place to watch every commercial that you missed when you left your seat for an emergency guac refill or, as we say in Cleveland, took the Browns to the Super Bowl. That makes YouTube the nation's water cooler on Monday, and it's got some preliminary stats to share in the lead up to kickoff.
As you know, Super Bowl advertisers, particularly automakers, like to endlessly tease their big budget commercials in the weeks before the game, many times revealing them outright days in advance. Because of this, YouTube can tell us which commercials have been viewed the most so far, and their top five list is all automakers.
Kaley Cuoco appears to have been a good investment for Toyota, as her ad for the RAV4 has garnered the most YouTube views - six million and counting - among Super Bowl commercials so far. Second place goes to Mercedes-Benz, though not its actual Super Bowl commercial, but rather the teaser for it. You know, the one with Kate Upton and the car washing, which is up to 5.6 million views. Third place is Audi's Prom commercial (3.3M views), fourth goes to Volkswagen's slightly controversial Get In, Get Happy ad (3.3M views), and the fifth and final spot is bookended by the teaser video for Kaley Cuoco's commercial (3.2M views). You can watch all five in order below.