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.
Hyundai Overhauls Its Brand Image
6 Dec 2010, 14:00 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Hyundai's aim at the higher-end segment is underlined by its new global branding strategy that will be announced at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The carmaker is trying to push its image upmarket and demand higher prices that will be more ...
Mazda Didn't Completely Break Up with Ford
6 Dec 2010, 13:28 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Ford cut its stake in Mazda from 11 percent to 3.5 percent last month, leaving people wondering if the US automaker lost its interest in the Hiroshima-based manufacturer. Mazda says it remains devoted to its strategic and technical partner. The ...
Fisker Automotive Has 6 Models Planned For 2011-2016
6 Dec 2010, 11:35 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / While the American industry is trying to kill the weaker brands, similar to a lion choosing the weaker pray in a pack, Danish sports-car designer Henrik Fisker believes there's still room in the market for a new luxury car company. Not only th...
Toyota Dismisses Lithium Ion Batteries for 10 More Years
6 Dec 2010, 10:23 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / The leader in hybrid technology, production and sales, Toyota Motor Corporation, says it will stay with nickel-metal batteries for at least 10 more years. This comes as a surprise, as most of Toyota's rivals are racing to introduce lithium ion...
BMW Takes 5 Awards in Australia's Best Cars
6 Dec 2010, 09:22 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / BMW rounded up the accolades in five categories at this year's Australia’s Best Cars Awards. On Tuesday, November 30th judges from State and Territory based motoring clubs chose BMW and MINI vehicles as the best cars in 5 out of 15 categ...
Opel Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFLEX is Presented at Bologna Motor Show
6 Dec 2010, 08:23 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Opel's trendy compact received a makeover for the 2011 model year and, apart from the fresh new exterior, it also got a new powerplant. The new Corsa joins the new Opel design family with a facelift and new color palette to augment its likabil...
Nissan Leaf Critics Envious
3 Dec 2010, 22:10 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Critics have been skeptical about Nissan's grand plans for electric cars, expressing their disapproval of the company's all-electric Leaf compact which will be introduced in Japan on December 20. Nothing has escaped the critics' d...
Volvo Bus to Deliver 409 Coaches in Mexico in 2011
3 Dec 2010, 16:49 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Volvo Buses has received an order for 409 Volvo 9700 coaches in Mexico. Delivery of the order will begin in January and will be carried out during 2011. The buses will be assembled at Volvo Buses’ plant in Tultitlán, outside Mexico Cit...
Luigi Colani's Miura LeMans Concept for Sale on eBay
3 Dec 2010, 15:59 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / A one-off concept prototype car built by legendary designer Luigi Colani in 1970 is being auctioned on eBay. The car was built from a Miura rear-end, sawed off behind the seats and a front section that's probably made of fiberglass. The con...
Nissan Leaf Japanese Launch Date Revealed
3 Dec 2010, 15:10 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Nissan announced today that its Leaf electric vehicle will be released on the Japanese market on December 20, followed by the US and European market releases in 2011. The Leaf will go on sale in other global markets in 2012. Pricing for the Leaf...
Tesla Motors Settles Trademark Argument
3 Dec 2010, 14:04 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Tesla Motors' applications for the Tesla trademark in the European Union have been halted because of resistance from Tesla Holding, a 90-year-old supplier of communications and broadcasting equipment. Tesla Motors has now settled the matter...
Geely Aims at 2 Million Sales by 2015
3 Dec 2010, 13:19 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Geely Automobile Holdings, the Chinese automaker that has acquired Volvo in August this year, is aiming to increase its yearly sales to an ambitious 2 million units by 2015, as well as to double its market share in China, to 5.8%, according to loca...
Top Gear Puts iRacing Guru in a Real Race Car
3 Dec 2010, 11:24 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / A racing simulator enthusiast from Finland was given the chance to do a few laps in a real race car around one of America's toughest tracks, the Road Atlanta circuit. Greger Huttu is not just any racing simulator enthusiast, he's the best...
Cadillac CTS-V, Jeep Grand Cherokee Are 2011 Internet Car and Truck of the Year
3 Dec 2010, 10:16 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Jurors at Internet Car and Truck of the Year have deliberated and came up with two winners. At the same time, Average Joes as the website calls its voting users, chose their favorite car of the bunch. American brands took the accolades in all four ...
Lexus GS F Reportedly Under Development
3 Dec 2010, 09:03 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / With the recent introduction of the Lexus IS F to the US market, consumers might expect the GS mid-size luxury sports sedan/executive car to receive a high-performance trim level, completing the company's "F" line. In an effort to...
Lotus Hires New Executives
3 Dec 2010, 08:23 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Lotus Cars CEO Dany T. Bahar went headhunting for executives with global auto industry experience and came back accompanied by former BMW boss Karl-Heinz Kalbfell and ex-Ferrari executive Guillaume Chabin. Their addition to the Lotus team should he...
General Electric Presents Zero Emission Electric Bus
2 Dec 2010, 17:42 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / The Global Research team at General Electric announced an EV advancement today, that could proliferate EVs and maybe even lead to a widespread adoption of the electric bus. The company demonstrated a dual battery system that has the potential to cu...
Chevrolet Wants to Play with the Big Boys in Europe
2 Dec 2010, 17:11 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Chevrolet is preparing for the European launch of a superior six-model range next year, marking its entrance in the mainstream volume segment. Company officials acknowledged that the manufacturer had been involved in the low-end segment, but is now...
Japan Auto Sales on a Downward Spiral
2 Dec 2010, 16:34 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Japanese automobile sales experienced a dramatic fall in November, according to a report by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. This is due to the ending in early September of a popular government subsidy that encouraged motorists to buy eco-...
Acura Posts Double-Digit Sales Increase
2 Dec 2010, 15:30 UTC · By: Andrei Costea / Acura has posted its financial results in the US market for November 2010, with a strong increase of 17.1 per cent year-on-year to 10,718 units. Its sales for the first 11 months of the year also increased significantly, reaching 118,117 units sold...