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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.

Mercedes surprised Hamilton with this steering wheel message

Lewis Hamilton had much to celebrate at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this past weekend. Not only did he win the race in commanding form (the 33rd in his career to make him the fifth most successful in Formula One history), but he also scored enough points (double on the season finale this year) to outpace his teammate and chief rival to win the world championship. Having already been crowned champion in 2008, that makes him one of only sixteen drivers to have won multiple world titles. It's a point his team at Mercedes didn't want him to miss, so on the cool-down lap at the end of the race, his pit crew radioed him the message "default 44" – an instruction that triggered this image to appear on the display in the middle of his steering wheel. Apparently Lewis, with plenty else on his mind (like getting his car back to the parc ferme in one piece and with enough fuel), didn't notice what was flashing in front of him. Superimposed, as you can see, over an image of Hamilton as a young lad still in karts is Lewis' name alongside those of the other two-time world champs: Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Alberto Ascari, Fernando Alonso and Mika Hakkinen. (Never mind those who've scored more than two titles.) Intriguingly, Hakkinen is the only other one among them to have won either of his titles under Mercedes power like Lewis did, though Fangio won two of his five titles motivated by Benz engines.

Brabus tunes new Mercedes GLE Coupe up to 700 horsepower

With 576 horsepower on tap, the new Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupe would be more than enough machine for most. For the rest, there's Brabus. Now the Benz tuner extraordinaire has revealed its own tuning program for the performance fastback crossover, turning the dial way past 11 to a massive 690 hp. Since the engine is already turbocharged, the 114-horse boost comes courtesy of modifications to the intake, charge-air pipes, engine control unit, and exhaust. Brabus also upgraded the turbo spools themselves, boosting torque up to 708 pound-feet. The result, according to the tuner, is a 0-62 time of 4.0 seconds flat and a top speed of 186 miles per hour. Those would have been considered supercar figures not that long ago. But this is a luxury crossover, for crying out loud. Still not enough? Brabus will further tune your GLE to 838 horsepower and a mind-blowing 1,069 lb-ft for a 3.8-second 0-62 sprint and a 200-mph top speed. In either state of tune, the aftermarket modifier will also gladly fit its aero kit, rolling stock, air-suspension control unit, and fully refit the interior to the buyer's specifications. The example you see here is making its world premier this week at the Dubai Motor Show. Brabus is also unveiling the Rocket 900 Desert Gold edition based on the Mercedes-AMG S65 sedan at the same show. They're being showcased alongside a number of regional debuts as well as a couple from its non-Benz brand, Startech. World premiere at the DUBAI INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW 2015 BRABUS 700 Coupe 515 kW / 700 HP, 960 Nm, 300 km/h top speed, carbon and 23-inch forged wheels for the brand-new Mercedes GLE 63 S Coupe Brand-new on the market and already exclusively and professionally refined: BRABUS (Brabus-Allee, D-46240 Bottrop, phone + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777-0, fax + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777 111, Internet www.brabus.com) presents the BRABUS 700 Coupe based on the new Mercedes GLE 63 S in a world premiere at the DUBAI INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW 2015. This high-performance SUV capable of reaching a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) includes a 5.5-liter twin-turbo engine uprated to 515 kW / 700 HP (690 bhp) and 960 Nm (708 lb-ft), sporty carbon aerodynamic-enhancement components and 23-inch high-tech forged king-sized wheels. The BRABUS fine leather interior with quilted azure-blue seats and door panel elements creates an especially luxurious atmosphere.