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2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class First Drive

The name has changed, but the song remains, well, mostly the same. The updated 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class (nee M-Class) is all about refinement and a new attitude. Further up the range things have gone all Daft Punk – harder, better, faster, stronger. Merc's bread-and-butter SUV was last revamped in 2012, and this redesign essentially grafts the company's new corporate face and tail onto the vehicle formerly known as ML. A two-bar grille runs the expanse between stretched headlights. Above them sits a more sculpted hood with dual power lines. Below all that is a bumper with three large intakes, similar to Mercedes' sedans. The sides are untouched, but in back you'll find a new LED taillight design and trapezoidal tailpipe finishers. On the AMG Line trim pictured here, the elements rendered in chrome on the base model – like the central guard in front and diffuser panel in back – are done in black. The interior changes start with the driver staring at a new three-spoke steering wheel front-and-center, and a larger, eight-inch infotainment display on the right. That screen stands proud of the instrument panel, with two vents flanking it to remind you this isn't a clean redesign. Compare that to the freestanding tablet look, like on the C-Class, and you'll get what we're talking about. Below the big screen are the infotainment and HVAC controls that we've been looking at since 2012. The center stack newness ends there. Below the big screen are the infotainment and HVAC controls that we've been looking at since 2012. They feel really old now – perhaps because these same dials and buttons were in the E-Class sedan in mid-2009. The controls on the console, however, are overhauled, with the glossy, swoosh-shaped COMAND controller taking up residence next to the driver's arm. Beside that are a few buttons controlling functions like ride height and hill descent control, as well as the new Dynamic Select knob. This dial controls up to six driving modes. There's Comfort, Sport, Slippery, Off-Road Light, and Individual. Buyers who opt for the Off-Road Package will get a sixth mode, Off-Road+. Mercedes expects only 10 percent of GLE customers will want that capability. Every GLE comes with the basic five-setting Dynamic Select knob, no matter which of the five engines are under the hood. Here's where things get tricky, so we'll list the details for the sake of clarity.

Formula 1 seeking independent engine supplier

Formula 1 could get a new engine supplier in the near future, if Bernie Ecclestone and the independent teams gets their way. According to Autosport, the FIA is soon to open the contract up for bids, and there are already several manufacturers that have expressed interest. Currently Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Honda supply engines – both to their own premier teams (Red Bull and McLaren for the latter two) but also to other teams like Williams, Sauber, and Toro Rosso. Because the new turbocharged V6 hybrid power units cost those four suppliers so much to develop, they're charging their customer teams big bucks – around $20-30 million per season – to provide the engines. These costs are much higher than the $10 million or so it used to cost to purchase a V8 engine under the previous regulations. Ecclestone figures it's time to bring in another supplier who will not run their own team and not play favorites, but will supply engines to private teams at a lower cost. There are already a number of potential suppliers under consideration. One of them is said to be Cosworth, which has a long history in the series stretching back to 1963. The British firm stepped back between 2007 and 2009, returned in 2010, and dropped out again after 2013. The development could be of particular benefit to Red Bull, which has been unable to find an engine supplier and could be forced out of the series as a result. The team has long been powered by Renault, but that relationship has grown sour. And the other three engine manufacturers have not been forthcoming in offering an alternative arrangement for the team. Related Video: News Source: AutosportImage Credit: Cosworth Motorsports Ferrari Honda Infiniti McLaren Mercedes-Benz Renault F1 engine contract

Audi and Mercedes both outsell BMW in January

There won't be any celebrations in Munich this month, as BMW was outsold by arch-nemeses Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The Bavarian company finished behind Audi in January, which took the top spot for the first time since June of last year, Bloomberg reports. Ingolstadt rode high on a 10-percent bump in sales, while Mercedes saw a larger 14 percent increase. BMW, meanwhile, only saw a modest 6.3-percent sales increase last month, thanks in large part to its struggles in China. The company's sales there increased at about half the rate of its chief competitors, with a 7.9-percent jump to Mercedes and Audi's roughly 15-percent increases. Perhaps more worrying for BMW, though, is that this could become something of a trend for the company. According to Bloomberg, issues with Chinese dealers who cancelled orders over sales targets and bonuses combined with what the publication calls aging models, could spell bad news for the German marque. "This looks like a pretty significant decline in growth compared to Mercedes and Audi," Bankhaus Metzler analyst Juergen Pieper told Bloomberg. "I think this will continue during the next few months." News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Matthias Schrader / AP Earnings/Financials Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz