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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.

Brabus takes Mercedes-Maybach even further

Hard as it may be to imagine for most, even the flagship Mercedes-Maybach S600 won't be enough for some. And those individuals can now turn to Brabus to customize their limousines even further. The latest tuning package includes an array of enhancements, starting with the engine. That's where Brabus has installed all the upgrades from the Brabus Rocket 900, boring the 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 out to 6.3 liters, and producing a massive 887 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque. That'll propel the limo up to an Autobahn-crunching top speed quoted at 217 miles per hour, reaching 62 in just 3.7 seconds. Buyers going for the less potent Maybach S500 offered in certain markets can also opt for the Brabus B50-540 performance kit, which offers 83 extra hp and a further 88 lb-ft of torque. Brabus has also fitted a choice of 21-inch wheels, retuned suspension dropped by an inch, a full aero kit, and new radiator grille. And as sumptuous as it is already, the tuner is also offering upgrades to the interior with special leather and Alcantara upholstery, wood and carbon-fiber trim, and its full iBusiness suite. All of which promises to make the flagship Mercedes even more expensive, of course, but if there was ever an example of "if you have to ask, you can't afford it," surely the Maybach is it. BRABUS refines the new Mercedes-Maybach 662 kW / 900 HP, 1,500 Nm, top speed 350 km/h plus, high-tech forged wheels, sporty-elegant design and even more luxurious BRABUS fine leather interiors The new Mercedes-Maybach represents the absolute pinnacle of state-of-the-art automotive engineering. Nonetheless, even this luxury sedan offers room for individual refinement, which BRABUS (Brabus-Allee, D-46240 Bottrop, phone + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777-0, fax + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777 111, internet www.brabus.com) realizes with a select team of the best engineers, designers, technicians and master craftsmen. The BRABUS ROCKET 900 6.3 V12 twin-turbo increased-displacement engine provides the Mercedes-Maybach S 600 with an enormous rated power output of 662 kW / 900 HP (887 bhp) and a peak torque of 1,500 Nm (1,106 lb-ft). Top speed is in excess of 350 km/h (217 mph). To match the extreme performance of the luxury liner, the appearance of the four-seat car receives some sporty-elegant emphasis with BRABUS aerodynamic-enhancement components and BRABUS Monoblock "PLATINUM EDITION" 21-inch forged wheels. Another BRABUS domain is exclusive interior design.

Mercedes-Benz working on S-Class EV in accelerated green car lineup?

With Mercedes-Benz bringing out coupe and plug-in hybrid versions of its S-Class sedan, the German automaker just may follow through with a battery-electric variant as well. That's what the company's Uwe Ernstberger told the folks at Top Gear during the Geneva Motor Show. And while he noted the company still needs to work in a larger-than-usual battery pack and was less than specific with details, he did envision an all-electric S-Class "in the future." Of course, rumors started bubbling about an EV S-Class as far back as 2011, so we'll see. Christian Bokich, department manager for product and technology communications for Mercedes-Benz USA, would not confirm anything about an electric S-Class, but he did give AutoblogGreen an official rundown of MB's upcoming green cars in the US, starting with the launch of the all-electric B-Class ED in July of this year in the ZEV states (launch details for other states are TBA, he said). An S-Class plug-in hybrid is coming in the first half of 2015, followed by a C-Class PHEV closer towards the end of that year in the USA. There is also a C-Class four-cylinder BlueTEC coming at some point in 2016. Until we get more concrete information about the possible S-Class EV, let's review what we know about the PHEV. Last September, Mercedes-Benz started showing off the plug-in hybrid S-Class, saying that it could go as far as 19 miles on electric power alone and had a preliminary fuel efficiency rating of more than 78 miles per gallon, using the more lenient European driving cycle. Earlier this week, Mercedes showed off its S-Class Coupe. That model's US version will have a twin-turbocharged V8 that kicks in 449 horsepower, a few more than the presumptive S-Class EV will have. Ernstberger also said Mercedes would join the ranks of automakers offering autonomous driving systems and mentioned the S-Class as being at the "top of the movement." He held his tongue when asked about the possibility of an S-Class cabriolet.