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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.

Carlsson SLK 340 Judd is winged up for hill climb glory

Carlsson has been expertly tuning Mercedes-Benz products for more than 20 years now, but we can't say as we remember the outfit turning out anything quite so racy as this SLK 340 Judd that it has brought along to the Geneva Motor Show this year.
This SLK is meant for competition, obviously, and Carlsson has already booked the car to race in several hill climb events in the E1 category. The purpose-built racer should have a fighting chance to do well in said races, with a shape vetted in wind tunnel testing for maximum downforce, the SLK uses a carbon-fiber bodyshell to help achieve a curb weight of just about 1,720 pounds.
The featherweight SLK's name comes from its 3.4-liter V8 engine, which churns out a wicked 610 horsepower to go with its 317 pound-feet of torque. A Hewland transmission with paddle shift operation manages all of the thrust.

Mercedes-Benz introduces new heavy security M-Class Guard model

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a new addition to the company's line of personal security vehicles. The M-Class Guard features bullet-proof side windows made with special laminated glazing and a polycarbonate inner layer to protect occupants from shards of glass. Mercedes says the M-Class Guard meets protection level VR4 according to the Bullet Resistant Vehicles 2009 standards, based on testing from the independent Ulm-based Ballistics Bureau, which means it can withstand .357 Magnum and .44 fire from multiple angles. It can also stand up to the DM51 hand grenade when equipped with optional floor armoring. Why skimp?
Buyers looking for protection from the world's literal slings and arrows can opt for the ML350 BlueTEC with its 258 horsepower 3.0-liter turbodiesel engine. With 457 pound-feet of torque, the oil-burner should have no trouble hustling the privileged class about. Of course, the ML500 offers a bit more punch courtesy of a 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8 with 408 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque. Prices start at 105,050 euros for the diesel and 118,650 euros for the V8. You can check out the full press release below for more information.