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.
BMW Still Behind Lexus in the U.S. Top Luxury Brands
BMW Still Behind Lexus in the U.S. Top Luxury Brands

26 Apr 2010, 08:07 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / In the last ten years, BMW has constantly been USA's second best-selling luxury brand, always behind Lexus. And this year, even if the Japanese company is facing recall problems, the number one spot still seems too far for BMW. BMW will be ...

 
Chinese Women Boost Ferrari Sales
Chinese Women Boost Ferrari Sales

26 Apr 2010, 07:23 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Chinese women are buying Ferraris at a rate four times greater than women in the West. Last year, Ferrari sold 220 cars in China of which 44 were bought by women. That’s 20 per cent of the total sales, as compared to five per cent in the rest...

 
Mahindra Slashes Logan Prices in India
Mahindra Slashes Logan Prices in India

25 Apr 2010, 11:36 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Mahindra & Mahindra, India’s top utility vehicle and tractor maker, has operated price-cuts for its Logan car of 5 percent to 12 percent in order to boost sales of the Renault-sourced sedan. Last week, Mahindra bought Renault’s 49 p...

 
Toyota to Open New China Plant in 2011
Toyota to Open New China Plant in 2011

25 Apr 2010, 11:28 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Toyota Motor Corporation plans to begin production at a new plant in China in 2011. Toyota sales in the world’s largest market may exceed the 800,000-unit target for 2010, according to Masahiro Kato, president of Toyota’s China business...

 
All-New Hyundai Accent Revealed in Beijing
All-New Hyundai Accent Revealed in Beijing

25 Apr 2010, 09:09 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Hyundai unveiled the 2011 Verna, also known as the Accent in the U.S., at the Beijing Motor Show. Looking like a miniature Sonata, the Verna features similar headlights, a bold grille, and LED turn signals integrated in the rearview mirrors. Inside...

 
Mercedes-Benz Unveils the E-Class L in Beijing
Mercedes-Benz Unveils the E-Class L in Beijing

25 Apr 2010, 08:24 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Following the example of its arch-rival BMW, Mercedes-Benz revealed at the Auto China 2010 the long-wheelbase version of its large premium sedan, the E-Class. Longer wheelbase versions are a must on the Chinese market and the brand from Stuttgart i...

 
BMW Previews Future Audi A7 Rival: the Concept Gran Coupe
BMW Previews Future Audi A7 Rival: the Concept Gran Coupe

23 Apr 2010, 14:39 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / BMW has stolen the show at the Beijing auto expo by presenting the concept of a new four-door coupe, rumored to preview a future 8-Series model, a coupe-like large sedan to fight the likes of Porsche Panamera, Maserati Quattroporte and the future A...

 
Spyker Wants Saab to Build a Compact Car
Spyker Wants Saab to Build a Compact Car

23 Apr 2010, 13:58 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Saab’s owner, Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars, wants the Swedish brand to build a new, small model as iconic as BMW’s Mini. In order to accomplish that, Spyker needs Saab to raise the necessary money and to find a development partner...

 
PSA and Mitsubishi Inaugurate Russian Plant
PSA and Mitsubishi Inaugurate Russian Plant

23 Apr 2010, 13:08 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / French giant PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation have officially started vehicle production at their joint plant in Russia, PCMA Rus. Owned 70 percent by PSA and 30 percent by Mitsubishi, the factory is situated 180 kilometers sou...

 
Full Details on the Vorsteiner GTRS3 BMW M3
Full Details on the Vorsteiner GTRS3 BMW M3

23 Apr 2010, 12:15 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / After the Vorsteiner GTRS3 M3’s first photos and details broke out on Monday, we were intrigued by how much the American tuner charges for a widebody kit. $25,000 for aesthetic changes only seemed like too much, really. Well, Vorsteiner ac...

 
Ferrari 599XX Laps the Nurburgring In Under 7 Minutes
Ferrari 599XX Laps the Nurburgring In Under 7 Minutes

23 Apr 2010, 10:09 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Ferrari has announced the official Nurburgring Nordschleife lap time for the 599XX experimental car. The result is stunning: 6 minutes 58.16 seconds, the first ever sub-seven minute time for a “production-derived” sports car, Ferrari cl...

 
MG Zero Concept Debuts in Beijing
MG Zero Concept Debuts in Beijing

23 Apr 2010, 09:10 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / The Auto China 2010 Beijing will host the premiere of a British-designed concept, the MG Zero. The car previews what is expected to become the brand’s future supermini. The concept is the work of MG design director Anthony Williams, who ha...

 
Chrysler Vehicles to Be Sold in Europe as Lancias
Chrysler Vehicles to Be Sold in Europe as Lancias

23 Apr 2010, 07:52 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Fiat Group's plans for the Lancia brand are closely related to Chrysler. The Italian brand is virtually absent outside its homeland, so Fiat wants to justify its existence by making it a European version of Chrysler. Basically, all Chrysler ve...

 
Future Chrysler Sebring to Be Built by Fiat in Italy
Future Chrysler Sebring to Be Built by Fiat in Italy

23 Apr 2010, 07:17 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Fiat will build two Chrysler models in Italy, including the next-generation Sebring mid-size sedan, sources within the company told Automotive News. Fiat’s five year plan include more vehicles to be manufactured by Fiat and Chrysler for ea...

 
JD Power Forecasts a 55 Percent Market Growth in China by 2015
JD Power Forecasts a 55 Percent Market Growth in China by 2015

22 Apr 2010, 14:57 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Sales of passenger vehicles in China, including passenger cars, SUVs and minivans, are expected to rise from 8.7 million units in 2009 to 13.55 million units in 2015. This means an increase of more than 55 percent, according to JD Power, a leading ...

 
PSA Reports 28 Percent Sales Increase in Q1
PSA Reports 28 Percent Sales Increase in Q1

22 Apr 2010, 14:20 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / PSA Peugeot Citroen recorded a 28 percent increase in revenue in the first quarter of 2010 and expects the operating profit to rise accordingly for the first six months of the year. Revenue rose to EUR14 billion from EUR10.97 billion in the same qu...

 
U.S. Production Not a Priority for Audi
U.S. Production Not a Priority for Audi

22 Apr 2010, 13:44 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Audi has denied speculation that it intends to produce and sell a new model in the US following the increasing sales registered in the last quarter. There had been rumors the German automaker could develop a car build in the U.S. but an Audi spokes...

 
Maybach Range Facelifted for the Beijing Auto Show
Maybach Range Facelifted for the Beijing Auto Show

22 Apr 2010, 12:36 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / The entire Maybach range has received a facelift. It is probably the last news we’ll receive from the super-luxury brand since owner Daimler refuses to start development of all-new models. The facelift includes both 57 and 62 standard models,...

 
Fiat Separates its Auto Operations from Truck and Tractor Divisions
Fiat Separates its Auto Operations from Truck and Tractor Divisions

22 Apr 2010, 09:45 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Fiat S.p.A. will separate its core auto operations from its truck (Iveco) and tractor divisions (Case New Holland), which will be reunited in a new public company to be called Fiat Industrial S.p.A. CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that Fiat, Alf...

 
Maserati to Introduce Two New Entry-Level Models
Maserati to Introduce Two New Entry-Level Models

22 Apr 2010, 08:43 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Maserati will add new cheaper models to its range in the next five years, according to Fiat’s five-year business plan announced yesterday in Turin, Italy. The sport brand will build two new premium models priced between EUR55,000 and EUR70...

 

Stories by Dan Mihalascu