Andrei Costea
343 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
Drive quick through turns, they're dangerous! - his driving instructor
His favorites include the 60s-70s American muscle cars, 80s-90s Italian super cars and contemporary mean machines like the Murcielago or the 599 GTO. He dreams that one day he'll have the opportunity to drive alongside renowned racers on a track, or at least do a time attack in a reasonably priced car on BBC's famous show Top Gear.
Mercedes-Benz Recalls 2,297 Over Diesel Leaks
8 Nov 2010, 13:09 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Mercedes-Benz informs that it will recall nearly 2,300 cars to fix a potential problem that could lead to fuel leaks. The recall comes after a number of cases of leaking diesel fuel were reported by customers in Europe. According to the German m...
Australia's Cleaner Car Rebate Subsidy Risks Flowing Offshore
8 Nov 2010, 10:55 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Australia's Cleaner Car Rebate Scheme is more likely to benefit from imports over locally manufactured cars. Unfortunately, the Federal Government is unable to prevent most of its $430 million AUD subsidy from flowing offshore. “I hav...
Seventh-Generation Passat Announced in Australia
8 Nov 2010, 10:03 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Volkswagen will launch the seventh generation of its Passat in Australia, in the second quarter of next year, with a great deal of enhancements, including idle-stop fuel saving technology on the 125TDI. Unfortunately the BlueMotion model that ra...
New Nissan Serena Will Arrive Nov 29th
8 Nov 2010, 08:29 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Nissan announced the launch of the new Nissan Serena minivan, which will go on sale on November 29th, at Nissan dealers. The Nissan Serena is highly appreciated by customers for its spacious, comfortable cabin, drivability and versatility. It was t...
Chrysler Might Resuscitate the Barracuda
6 Nov 2010, 14:06 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / After dropping a further revision of its two-door notchback coupe back in 1975, Chrysler might have a new muscle car project in progress. According to reports from the 2010 SEMA show, Ralph Gilles, the man running Chrysler's Dodge brand may ha...
Lights Turn Green for Cruze RS Production
6 Nov 2010, 11:59 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / After a short, but unexpected delay General Motors began production of the Chevrolet Cruze with the RS package. After announcing that output will be held up due to undisclosed quality issues, the company carried on with its agenda after a three wee...
Audi R8 LMS Starring at the 2010 Race of Champions
5 Nov 2010, 16:07 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / With the Race of Champions returning to Europe to be hosted by Germany on November 27 and 28, Audi will be part of the action too. Audi R8 LMS is one of the cars in which motorsport legends like Tom Kristensen, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Seba...
Toyota Reports Fourfold Profit
5 Nov 2010, 14:50 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Toyota posted a second quarter of the fiscal year profit figure of 98.7 billion yen ($1.2 billion) last Friday, a spectacular increase over last year's 21.8 billion yen profit, but lower than expected by financial analysts. Total sales for thi...
Dacia Predicts 8 New Releases by 2015
5 Nov 2010, 13:34 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Romanian car manufacturer Dacia plans the release of no less than 8 new models and facelifts by 2015. Among the newcomers, at least one will be a completely new design, probably a low-cost city car called Citadine, which will have a price tag of ab...
2WD X-Trail to be Released in Australia in 2011
5 Nov 2010, 11:05 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Nissan Australia announced this week that a two-wheel drive version of the X-Trail will be added to the popular compact SUV's range. Nissan brand manager for SUV and Light Commercial Vehicles Andrew Holbrook believes that two wheel drive versi...
2012 Mazda5 Debuts at 2010 LA Auto Show
5 Nov 2010, 09:56 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / The 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show will be host to the first public appearance of the all-new 2012 Mazda 5 multi-purpose vehicle. Since its debut in 2005, the Mazda 5 widened the boundaries of the small family transport vehicles segment, with styling a...
Buick Revives the Regal GS
5 Nov 2010, 08:05 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / A new sportier edition of the 2012 Buick Regal midsize-sedan was revealed by GM. The model is called the Regal GS and is powered by a GS-exclusive version of the Ecotec 2.0-liter turbo engine, coupled to a six-speed manual transmission. Technolo...
Audi Releases Black Edition Trim for A4 and A5
4 Nov 2010, 15:28 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Audi has released info concerning its new Black Edition spec for the A4 and A5 to be introduced on the UK market. Based on the S-Line trim level, the package adds a gloss black grille surround, matt black window tint, number plate and fog lights su...
Toyota Recalls 136,000 Cars Over Power Steering Issue
4 Nov 2010, 13:29 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Toyota today announced a voluntary recall of almost 136,000 compact cars in Japan and Europe. The cars are recalled on account of a steering problem, the latest in a series of problems that have diminished the company's popularity among consum...
GM Reaches 2 Million Units Sales Milestone in China
4 Nov 2010, 13:15 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / General Motors has accomplished an amazing feat today, becoming the first global automaker to sell more than 2 million vehicles in China in one single year. GM holds another record of this type, being the first automaker to reach the 1 million annu...
Audi A4 Gets an Efficiency Boost
4 Nov 2010, 11:17 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Audi is increasing the efficiency of its best-selling model, the A4, with two new versions to be introduced in Germany. Both of them benefit from new, potent technologies offered by the modular efficiency platform, lowering fuel consumption and CO2...
Ford Developing Focus Touring Car for 2011
4 Nov 2010, 09:55 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Ford plans to introduce the all-new Focus to the motorsports world as a next-generation touring car for global competition. The announcement was made at the 2010 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The move streng...
ZiL Concept: Russia's New Premium Limousine
4 Nov 2010, 09:10 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Zavod imeni Likhachova (literally "Factory named after Likhachov", although better know as ZiL) is a Russian manufacturer of heavy equipment and armored vehicles like tanks or amphibious transporters, but is also responsible with the prod...
EICMA 2010: KTM 1190 RC8 R & 1190 RC8 R "Track" · Live Photos
3 Nov 2010, 19:17 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM is showcasing its 1190 RC8 R sport bike at the 2010 EICMA motorcycle show. The 1190 RC8 was KTM's first ever superbike design and its concept was first released in 2005. The bike boasts a slim and angula...
EICMA 2010: Aprilia RS4 125 · Live Photos
3 Nov 2010, 17:56 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Unveiled at the 2010 EICMA Show in Milan this week, the Aprilia RS4 125 is introduced as the RS125's successor. It is a GP derived replica sport production motorcycle with some design features inherited from the Aprilia RSV4. This entry level ...