autoevolution
 

Dan Mihalascu

302  ARTICLES

Personal motto:

"When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting." (Steve McQueen's character from the Le Mans movie, 1971)

editor photo
Fascinated by automobiles since he could barely walk, Dan quickly started dismantling toy cars only to reassemble them (eventually), much to his mother’s despair. After learning how to read, he began collecting piles of car magazines, again driving his mom mad.

Finally, something good came out of his passion as he decided to turn it into a career. Since he was better at writing than changing spark plugs, he chose to study journalism instead of becoming a mechanic - thank God for that! And while most of his college colleagues fantasized about winning the Pulitzer prize, all he wanted was to drive cars and write about them. He started doing that right after graduation when he landed his first job as a car magazine writer.

When his mom thought he finally got settled, Dan started racing and entered his first hill climb event at 26 in a Peugeot 205 GTi. The debut went pretty good but the second race ended with a totaled car. Of course, he blamed that on the poor choice of tires in the wet. Being too fired up and inexperienced to keep a cool head on a damp course never crossed his mind as actually being the problem. While the racing bug never really went out of his system, Dan ended his racing career after two seasons amid financial difficulties and his family’s persistence that motorsport was not worth the risk of dying. Tragically, two of his colleagues lost their lives in crashes during that period.

He never really stopped writing, though. After a long hiatus that saw him work as a writer and editor for several international car news websites, Dan has returned to autoevolution, the place that kick-started his writing career for a global audience more than a decade ago. He has taken up a new role as a coordinating editor, and his obsessive attention to detail and quest for factual accuracy should serve him well in his daily tasks. Unless he spends too much time to find the perfect choice of words, that is.
Volkswagen Relying on the Chinese Market to Save Phaeton Sales
Volkswagen Relying on the Chinese Market to Save Phaeton Sales

6 Apr 2010, 09:21 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Volkswagen is hoping that the expanding Chinese market will boost sales of its flagship model, the Phaeton sedan. Launched in 2003, the luxury car from VW has not enjoyed much success in the traditional markets like Europe or the U.S. Just over ...

 
Tesla Roadster Will Remain on the Market until December 2011
Tesla Roadster Will Remain on the Market until December 2011

6 Apr 2010, 08:20 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Tesla Motors Inc., the manufacturer of the electric sportscar Roadster, announced that it has reached an agreement with British automaker Lotus to help bridge a gap in the production and sale of its drop-top electric vehicle. According to Automotiv...

 

Stories by Dan Mihalascu