autoevolution
 

Aurel Niculescu

9,205  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.
Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Drags Pontiac G8 GT, This Awkward Meeting Ends Unexpectedly
Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Drags Pontiac G8 GT, This Awkward Meeting Ends Unexpectedly

10 Apr 2024, 10:50 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / After extensively covering various racing events like Street Car Takeover (Bradenton) and the spectacular 2024 edition of TX2K at Texas Motorplex, the good folks over at the racing-focused ImportRace channel on YouTube are back to their usual motor...

 
Redesigned 2025 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Already Spills the CGI Beans Inside and Out
Redesigned 2025 Toyota Sequoia TRD Pro Already Spills the CGI Beans Inside and Out

10 Apr 2024, 10:08 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Toyota did great during the first quarter of 2024 across the US automotive market - it's hot on the heels of GM, which slipped by 1.5% on the account of very low fleet sales, with a big increase in deliveries to over 565k units. Compare ...

 
Dodge Durango EV Is Joined by Revived Journey CUV and Grand Caravan MPV in a Fantasy Realm
Dodge Durango EV Is Joined by Revived Journey CUV and Grand Caravan MPV in a Fantasy Realm

10 Apr 2024, 09:03 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The American automaker Dodge is at the cusp of a veritable revolution – its L-bodied Challenger coupe and Charger sedan have ceased production, and the Hemi V8 is going away from the Durango SUV, too. Sure, the S650 seventh-generation ...

 
Uncamouflaged 2025 Cadillac Escalade-V Leaks While Testing, Gets Rendered Pronto
Uncamouflaged 2025 Cadillac Escalade-V Leaks While Testing, Gets Rendered Pronto

10 Apr 2024, 08:22 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The luxury US automaker is preparing for an all-out assault on the fashionable EV lifestyle with the 2025 Optiq, 2024 Lyriq, 2026 Vistiq, 2025 Escalade IQ, and Celestiq, but that doesn't mean it has forgotten about its ICE-powered goodies &nda...

 
2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Undercuts Model Y, Adds Flagship $59,995 Rally Version
2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Undercuts Model Y, Adds Flagship $59,995 Rally Version

10 Apr 2024, 07:43 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The Blue Oval company knows who they're fighting. So, it naturally takes quite a few jabs at the best-selling Tesla Model Y crossover but also at a Porsche – the Macan Electric. Donna Dickson, the Chief Engineer of the Mustang Mac...

 
2025 Toyota 4Runner: These Might Be the SUV's Coolest Facts, Figures, and Features
2025 Toyota 4Runner: These Might Be the SUV's Coolest Facts, Figures, and Features

10 Apr 2024, 06:55 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The all-new, TNGA-F-based sixth generation 4Runner sure feels already like a match made in off-road SUV heaven between the N400 Tacoma's freshness and the N280's tough 4Runner persona, right? If we also count the 1981 to 1983 Toyot...

 
2025 Toyota 4Runner: This Is It, Complete With 326-HP i-Force Max and Trailhunter
2025 Toyota 4Runner: This Is It, Complete With 326-HP i-Force Max and Trailhunter

10 Apr 2024, 06:07 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Here's a veritable match made in traditional off-road SUV heaven - the old-school N280 Toyota 4Runner SUV married the new-age N400 Tacoma mid-size pickup truck and quickly spawned this TNGA-F offspring. There's just one problem – th...

 
Mercedes-Benz Will Grace Auto China 2024 With Its G-Class EV and AMG GT 63 S E Performance
Mercedes-Benz Will Grace Auto China 2024 With Its G-Class EV and AMG GT 63 S E Performance

9 Apr 2024, 09:47 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Auto China 2024 - also known as the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, will be held between April 25 and May 4, 2024, at New China International Exhibition Centre. A lot of big automakers are trying to reassert their focus on China...

 
All-New 2024 Opel Frontera Is Smaller Yet Spacious, Fun But Also Available as an EV
All-New 2024 Opel Frontera Is Smaller Yet Spacious, Fun But Also Available as an EV

9 Apr 2024, 09:05 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Japanese automaker Isuzu produced the funny-named MU mid-size SUV between 1989 and 2004. Luckily, few got to make any cow-related jokes about it because it was also called Isuzu Ascender, Chevrolet Captiva, or Opel and Vauxhall Frontera. The...

 
Virtually Refreshed Infiniti QX55 Coupe-SUV Gets Inspired by the Monolithic QX80
Virtually Refreshed Infiniti QX55 Coupe-SUV Gets Inspired by the Monolithic QX80

9 Apr 2024, 07:56 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / When the Nissan Group reported its first-quarter US sales, it turned out that it fared a lot better than its Alliance partner Mitsubishi – which only saw 28k deliveries during the first three months of 2024! Toyota, with 565,098 vehicle...

 
Dodge Challenger Demon 170 Drags Mustang and Classic Muscle Cars, Gets a Nasty Surprise
Dodge Challenger Demon 170 Drags Mustang and Classic Muscle Cars, Gets a Nasty Surprise

9 Apr 2024, 06:49 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The good folks over at the racing-focused ImportRace channel on YouTube are back to their usual motoring venue - Island Dragway in Great Medows, New Jersey - for another Test & Tune Day of quarter-mile dragstrip action. It has been...

 
Reimagined Ford Taurus Graces Imagination Land In Search of Malibu, Camry, Accord Trouble
Reimagined Ford Taurus Graces Imagination Land In Search of Malibu, Camry, Accord Trouble

9 Apr 2024, 06:11 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / During the first quarter of the year, automotive sales in America didn't change all that much from last year or the same quarter of 2023 – Ford's F-Series was still on top, followed by another pickup truck series and three compact c...

 
Imagined G90 BMW M5 Feels a Lot Less Cringy Than Anything Presented Until Now
Imagined G90 BMW M5 Feels a Lot Less Cringy Than Anything Presented Until Now

9 Apr 2024, 01:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Enthusiasts can rejoice – BMW has revealed they decided to bring a 700+ horsepower station wagon to the United States. Naturally, everyone is over the moon, and the heated discussion surrounding the G90 series was reignited. The Bavari...

 
Digital 2025 Mazda 6e Sedan Unofficially Returns to America Based on a Chinese Affair
Digital 2025 Mazda 6e Sedan Unofficially Returns to America Based on a Chinese Affair

8 Apr 2024, 22:00 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / While most regions are overrun by the hype surrounding crossovers, SUVs, and trucks, America still has a rather soft spot for family cars. And some of the best of them are loved because they're excellent mid-size family sedans. These mo...

 
2025 Ram Dakota Hybrid Attacks Tacoma i-Force Max, Albeit Only in Fantasy Land
2025 Ram Dakota Hybrid Attacks Tacoma i-Force Max, Albeit Only in Fantasy Land

8 Apr 2024, 20:04 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / During the first quarter of 2024, the pickup truck segments didn't budge – full-size, medium-size, and compact ones. Two belong to Ford, and the third saw the crown retained by Toyota's Tacoma. Obviously, it's pretty har...

 
1957 Chevrolet Has Everything, From Patina to 1,300-HP Boosted LS7 Hot Rod Attitude
1957 Chevrolet Has Everything, From Patina to 1,300-HP Boosted LS7 Hot Rod Attitude

8 Apr 2024, 13:30 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / The good folks over at Roadster Shop strike again with a Chevy from the legendary Tri-Five era. It's an unassuming 1957 two-door with lots of patina, a yellow paintjob that makes you think it's a sad, discolored lemon, and hidden (in plai...

 
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid NHL Edition Starts From the Equivalent of $41,295
2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid NHL Edition Starts From the Equivalent of $41,295

8 Apr 2024, 12:50 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Hyundai dealers across Canada are now finally allowed to accept orders for the posh Santa Fe NHL Edition - better hurry, though, as just 500 units are available from CAD 56,998 - which is the equivalent of $41,295. Hyundai is on a roll in N...

 
Dodge Demon Drags Two Types of Challengers; the Difference is Hilariously Preposterous
Dodge Demon Drags Two Types of Challengers; the Difference is Hilariously Preposterous

8 Apr 2024, 11:21 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Discontinued muscle cars are not a thing of the past just yet – Ford's S650 seventh generation 2024 Mustang outsold the defunct Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger during the first quarter of the year even though production of the latt...

 
$25k Compact Tesla EV Gets Imagined in Fantasy Land Regardless of Cancellation Rumors
$25k Compact Tesla EV Gets Imagined in Fantasy Land Regardless of Cancellation Rumors

8 Apr 2024, 08:29 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / It seems that a potential EV market slowdown has been attested by Tesla and BYD's most recent sales results, so everyone and their mother are wondering what happens next. Just recently, Tesla announced a very important milestone –...

 
2025 Toyota 4Runner Gets One Last Virtual Preview Ahead of Its Official Release
2025 Toyota 4Runner Gets One Last Virtual Preview Ahead of Its Official Release

8 Apr 2024, 07:05 UTC · By: Aurel Niculescu / Following an uncharacteristically short teaser campaign, the Japanese automaker Toyota is preparing to unleash yet another crucial off-road 4x4 SUV - the 2025 Toyota 4Runner mid-sizer, which will finally arrive all-new on April 9, 2024. It&#...

 

Stories by Aurel Niculescu