autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,341  ARTICLES

Staff Writer
editor photo
Once upon a time there was a little boy that didn't know his age but dreamed of reaching high in the sky alongside the absolute best aviators. He was passionate about reading books (action and Sci-Fi), grew up with many great authors and soon discovered the mirage of cinema.

There he understood anything is possible if you work hard and passionately strive to follow your imagination. This is how at the age of 16 he managed to fulfill the first dream – flying alone in a glider plane. He was no Tom Cruise, of course, so young adulthood brought him back to reality.

With every kick in the familiar *utt comes a chance to step forward, so a seemingly unimportant ad in one of his favorite automotive magazines brought a dilemma - follow through with the current job or dare to achieve greatness by deploying (previously) unknown literary skills.

Since 2006, he’s been perfecting them at Automondial, Supercar, Cox, Autoshow, Autopro, Auto Motor & Sport, and more magazines plus their online versions. After driving some of the best and worst cars in Europe and around the world, he’s part of the autoevolution team, where he aims to develop his best-ever form.
Toyota Land Cruiser Becomes the Ultimate Off-Road or Fashion SUV With a Bundle of Mods 
Toyota Land Cruiser Becomes the Ultimate Off-Road or Fashion SUV With a Bundle of Mods 

19 Apr 2024, 08:49 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Japanese automaker recently presented the pricing and specifications of the all-new Land Cruiser (dubbed 250) at home in Japan, and there were some surprises, including two special editions instead of one like the one in America and a raft of c...

 
All-New Mazda CX-80 Forbidden Fruit Gains CGI Shadow Line and New Wheels For Fun
All-New Mazda CX-80 Forbidden Fruit Gains CGI Shadow Line and New Wheels For Fun

19 Apr 2024, 08:10 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The crossover SUV situation is getting overly crowded in Mazda's camp. Some wonder if this is the right thing to do for such a small automaker, while others envision the latest product as even ritzier – even though solely in CGI at the m...

 
Twin-Turbo 2025 Ram 1500 RHO Gets an Unofficial Reveal Based on the First Teaser
Twin-Turbo 2025 Ram 1500 RHO Gets an Unofficial Reveal Based on the First Teaser

19 Apr 2024, 07:32 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Last year, out of the top 25 best-selling cars, CUVs, SUVs, and trucks, the first three places on the podium were occupied in the most traditional order by the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram pickups, followed by the Toyota RAV4 and Tes...

 
Rendering: All-New 2025 GMC Terrain Partially Shows Its New Design After First Teaser
Rendering: All-New 2025 GMC Terrain Partially Shows Its New Design After First Teaser

19 Apr 2024, 06:50 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / General Motors is probably feeling how Toyota is breathing down its neck after the sales tally regarding the first three months of the year - 594,233 versus 565,098 units barely allowed the biggest of the Detroit Three to stay ahead of the Japanese...

 
Dodge Hellcat Drags Charger, Mustang, Civic, Will Any Challenger Rise to the Occasion?
Dodge Hellcat Drags Charger, Mustang, Civic, Will Any Challenger Rise to the Occasion?

19 Apr 2024, 06:13 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Curiously, although the L-bodied Dodge Challenger and Charger are now officially defunct as production ended in December 2023, they just rolled out a package that teaches owners how to drive like pros. Erm, it's a bit late, don't you thin...

 
Defunct Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Drags Surviving R35 Nissan GT-R, Obliteration Follows
Defunct Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Drags Surviving R35 Nissan GT-R, Obliteration Follows

18 Apr 2024, 10:18 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Oddly enough, the L-bodied third-generation Dodge Challenger pony/muscle car and the R35 Nissan GT-R grand tourer sports car have a few things in common aside from the obvious need for speed. For starters, they're both relics in terms o...

 
2025 Acura MDX Gets Four Types of CGI Aftermarket Wheels to Look Virtually Sporty
2025 Acura MDX Gets Four Types of CGI Aftermarket Wheels to Look Virtually Sporty

18 Apr 2024, 09:44 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / One Asian carmaker barely reached a little over 28k sales in America during the first quarter of the year, while most others thrived – with a couple of exceptions. Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is dead last among mass-ma...

 
Rendering: All-New 2025 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Arrives Stylish Across Imagination Land
Rendering: All-New 2025 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Arrives Stylish Across Imagination Land

18 Apr 2024, 09:02 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / While an all-new, first-ever Alfa Romeo model was already a big deal, the company's first all-electric nameplate got an unexpected boost in 'popularity' after a moniker controversy caused by the Italian government. Not long ag...

 
Mercedes EQA and EQB Drop Fresh in the Land Down Under, Complete With 250+ Versions
Mercedes EQA and EQB Drop Fresh in the Land Down Under, Complete With 250+ Versions

18 Apr 2024, 08:22 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The all-electric compact SUVs from Mercedes-Benz, the EQA and EQB, are said to boast "a raft of impressive updates" as they prepare for their arrival in Australia and seek to "further broaden their appeal." The premium Ge...

 
Toyota Land Cruiser '250' Is Much Cheaper at Home Than in US, Even the Special Editions
Toyota Land Cruiser '250' Is Much Cheaper at Home Than in US, Even the Special Editions

18 Apr 2024, 07:45 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Japanese automaker's American division was quicker to release the returning 2024 Land Cruiser into the wild, but other markets are now following its lead, with Japan at the forefront. Toyota has a spectacular quartet of mid-size off...

 
Ford Celebrates 60 Years of Mustang in Europe With Fresh Ideas and GTD Surprise
Ford Celebrates 60 Years of Mustang in Europe With Fresh Ideas and GTD Surprise

18 Apr 2024, 07:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Blue Oval company is very happy that its legendary Mustang pony car is now more mature and wiser than ever at 60 - though it's also still very young in spirit and performance. Just as a reminder, the original Ford Mustang – th...

 
Virtual Ram Power Wagon SUV Is Stellantis' CGI Response to the Chevrolet Suburban
Virtual Ram Power Wagon SUV Is Stellantis' CGI Response to the Chevrolet Suburban

18 Apr 2024, 06:24 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Power Wagon nameplate is a veritable chameleon across the Mopar side of the automotive industry. So, why not another morphing, especially if it's a virtual one and doesn't hurt anyone? Initially, the Power Wagon began its life b...

 
2025 Ford Mustang 60th Anniversary Package is Official, But There Are Caveats
2025 Ford Mustang 60th Anniversary Package is Official, But There Are Caveats

17 Apr 2024, 12:17 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / With some design elements inspired by the 1965 Ford Mustang GT, this is a limited-edition deal available solely on 1,965 examples of 2025 Mustangs – and they all have to be GT Premium models, either fastback coupe or cabriolets. Officia...

 
Plymouth Road Runner Drags Chevy Corvette and Buick Regal, One Is a Nine-Second Monster
Plymouth Road Runner Drags Chevy Corvette and Buick Regal, One Is a Nine-Second Monster

17 Apr 2024, 11:43 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / After all that massive coverage of big events like the Street Car Takeover at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida or the mind-stopping action at 2024's edition of TX2K at Texas Motorplex, the good folks over at the racing-focused ImportRace ...

 
Rendering: Cadillac and Lincoln Sedans Meet Up To Relive Their Land Yacht Memories
Rendering: Cadillac and Lincoln Sedans Meet Up To Relive Their Land Yacht Memories

17 Apr 2024, 09:26 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / America used to be the battlefield of traditional luxury cars from Cadillac and Lincoln some time ago – but nowadays, they're relegated to the background as the ICE versus EV war takes hold. On the zero emissions side, we find pas...

 
Two-Door Dually Tesla Cybertruck Feels Like Batman's Next Ride in Fantasy Land
Two-Door Dually Tesla Cybertruck Feels Like Batman's Next Ride in Fantasy Land

17 Apr 2024, 08:49 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Although at the end of last year, things couldn't look rosier for Tesla – with the Model Y breaking sales records all over the world and the Cybertruck finally launched on the market – now it's suddenly in a world of hurt. No,...

 
2024 Nissan Qashqai Refresh Brings Quirky Design, Fresh Tech, N-Design Trim, e-Power
2024 Nissan Qashqai Refresh Brings Quirky Design, Fresh Tech, N-Design Trim, e-Power

17 Apr 2024, 08:20 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Japanese automaker introduces Europe to the mid-cycle refresh of the third generation of the original compact crossover SUV - and it's a looker, for sure, even though not everything it shows is entirely original. America may not see...

 
Eleventh-Generation Honda Accord Is Finally (Almost) Ready for the Land Down Under
Eleventh-Generation Honda Accord Is Finally (Almost) Ready for the Land Down Under

17 Apr 2024, 07:23 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Born in 1976, the Honda Accord nameplate has become a staple of the mid-size family sedan business – the eternal runner-up to the best-selling Toyota Camry, at least in America. In other parts of the world, although the eleventh genera...

 
Virtually Revived Mitsubishi Eclipse Ralliart Switches to RWD Courtesy of Nissan
Virtually Revived Mitsubishi Eclipse Ralliart Switches to RWD Courtesy of Nissan

17 Apr 2024, 06:38 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / During the first quarter of the year, Nissan finally overcame Toyota in one sales department on the US market – their legacy two-door RWD sports cars, with the Z selling better than the GR Supra. Well, it's not all roses and daffo...

 
Digitally Redesigned 2025 Kia Sportage Reveals Bold Exterior Choices, High-Tech Interior
Digitally Redesigned 2025 Kia Sportage Reveals Bold Exterior Choices, High-Tech Interior

16 Apr 2024, 20:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Just recently, when we discussed the first quarter sales performance of the Asian carmakers in America, Hyundai and Kia got an honorable mention because, despite their daringness, things aren't exactly rosy over there. For example, Toyo...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu