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One year since accident, most of Schumacher's sponsors still on board

It's been almost exactly a year now since Michael Schumacher suffered massive head trauma in a catastrophic skiing accident in Switzerland, and while details on his recovery have remained few and far between, we're sure his progress has been anything but easy. Meanwhile his sponsors have faced a difficult decision of their own: to continue supporting him financially despite getting nothing tangible in return, or cancel their contracts and suffer the blow to their public image as a result. According to Schumacher's longtime manager Sabine Kehm in speaking to news outlets like Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, most of the imperiled former F1 driver's personal sponsors have remained by his side. The encouraging news updates on what we reported back in August, that Mercedes-Benz and German investment firm Deutsche Vermogensberatung AG were sticking with the champ through the hard times. Other sponsors, including helmet manufacturer Schuberth and watchmaker Audemars Piguet, are also believed to still be on board. Not all of Schumi's sponsors have stuck around, though. German bottled water brand Rosbacher reportedly broke off its contract with Schumacher back in July. And more recent reports confirm that Gaydoul Group fashion labels Navyboot and Jet Set canceled their sponsorship deal earlier this month. These and other contracts made Schumacher one of the world's highest paid sports figures and the first billionaire athlete in the world. Even in retirement, he was still making more than most active F1 drivers. While we don't know just how much he's pulling in during his recovery, here's hoping that his continued sponsors can find a way to make their support worthwhile – and that the champ makes a full recovery in the near future.

2017 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class First Drive

I recently waxed poetic about the interior of the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class. In short, it's a class above the rest, simply because of the craftsmanship lessons Mercedes learned from its flagship S-Class. The new GLS-Class SUV doesn't have an interior like this. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal – adding "S" to the "GL" name is a marketing move to better tie Merc's largest SUV to its S-Class sedan. But it's more than just a letter; "S" adds a whole lot of responsibility in the world of Mercedes-Benz. Let me be clear: The GLS is a damn good product. It's supremely luxurious and immensely capable. An while it's not quite a luxury behemoth worthy of an S-Class name – that's probably in the works, by the way – it's still the best thing you can get this side of a Bentley Bentayga. And that's just fine with me. What you're looking at here is essentially a midcycle refresh of the existing GL, with some heavy massaging done to the exterior styling, interior design, and some mechanicals. Outside, the front fascia has a more upright appearance, with a wider grille that pushes the redesigned headlights farther out to the sides. Around back, there's a new bumper and LED taillamps. Otherwise, it's business as usual, though I do like the Sport exterior pictured here, only available on the GLS550. It comes with larger front air intakes and a tweaked rear apron, not to mention 21-inch AMG wheels. Certain elements like the mirrors and lower lip are blacked out with the addition of the Night pack, also seen here. "S" adds a whole lot of responsibility in the world of Mercedes-Benz. Because this isn't a clean-slate refresh, many of the SUV's interior bits carry over unchanged. No, it doesn't have the ultra-premium feel of an S-Class, but every surface is still wrapped in fine leather, the hard plastics genuinely feel premium, and on the go, road and wind noise are pretty much unnoticeable. Older bits like the HVAC controls at the bottom of the center stack and the old-style phone keypad above give away the GLS' age, but there's still plenty to boast about inside. The eight-inch infotainment screen houses all the latest COMAND features, controlled by the touchpad on the center console or redundant rotary knob. Compared to what you find in the Cadillac Escalade or Land Rover Range Rover, COMAND easily wins in terms of ease of use and the overall level of functionality.

VW, Fiat, Mercedes could be CNG winners in Europe

Fiat ads in the US try to play up the exotic, sexy side of Italian culture. On the home front in Italy, however, passenger-vehicle sales are marked by something less edgy and quite a bit more practical: the growth of compressed-natural-gas (CNG) powered car sales. In fact, Italy is leading a group of European countries where CNG sales are on the upswing and may be benefiting automakers like VW, Fiat and Mercedes-Benz, according to Automotive News. VW started sales of its Golf TGI natural-gas vehicle this year – the company's fourth in Europe – while Mercedes-Benz added a natural-gas B-class model. Fiat accounts for about 50 percent of CNG vehicles sold on the continent. In all, Europe's CNG sales through September totaled about 67,000, up seven percent from a year earlier, Automotive News Europe says, citing research firm JATO Dynamics. And the number of CNG vehicles on Europe's roads could jump tenfold within the next decade. The draw is a combination of lower refueling prices and a CNG drivetrain that typically emits less CO2 than diesel vehicles. As for Italy, about five percent of new-vehicle sales are CNG. To put that into perspective, hybrids, battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and diesels combined to account for about 4.2 percent of US vehicle sales last year. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Volkswagen Green Fiat Mercedes-Benz Volkswagen Natural Gas Vehicles CNG