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 Releases Exclusive Package for the Eos
Volkswagen Releases Exclusive Package for the Eos

6 May 2010, 07:34 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / The summer is closing in and drop-top manufacturers are trying to appeal to customers with special offers. Volkswagen makes no exception and will be offering a new special edition for its Eos coupe-cabriolet, called “Exclusive” in Europ...

 
GM Recalls Over 164,000 Hummers H3 and 40,000 Corvettes
GM Recalls Over 164,000 Hummers H3 and 40,000 Corvettes

6 May 2010, 06:47 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / General Motors is recalling 164,190 Hummer H3 and H3T SUVs because of a fault that could cause a piece of the hood to detach while the SUV is being driven. The American automaker is also recalling 40,000 Corvettes because of a steering-column defec...

 
Renault Clio Gordini RS Priced at EUR26,400 in France
Renault Clio Gordini RS Priced at EUR26,400 in France

5 May 2010, 15:41 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Renault announces that order books for the Clio Gordini RS, due to go on sale in June, are now open. Priced at EUR26,400 in France, the Clio Gordini RS is essentially a Renault Sport model like its smaller sibling, the Twingo. The Clio Gordini ...

 
Audi Showcases 7 Custom A1 Models at Worthersee
Audi Showcases 7 Custom A1 Models at Worthersee

5 May 2010, 14:01 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Audi will participate at this year’s Worthersee Tour (May 12 - 15) with a fleet of seven customized A1 models, dubbed “motto vehicles” by the automaker. Innovative adhesive film designs, vibrant paint finishes as well as exter...

 
Austrian Phone Booths Turned into EV Charging Stations
Austrian Phone Booths Turned into EV Charging Stations

5 May 2010, 13:01 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Telekom Austria has come up with an idea for old telephone boxes, planning to turn them into recharging stations for electric cars. The company said that the telephone boxes in Austria are becoming obsolete, since almost nobody uses them anymore, p...

 
Chinese Automaker Jianghuai Plans to Build a Plant in Slovakia
Chinese Automaker Jianghuai Plans to Build a Plant in Slovakia

5 May 2010, 10:53 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Chinese automaker Jianghuai Automobile Company is negotiating with the Slovak government on a possible plant investment, the country’s economy ministry announced on Tuesday. According to the Automotive News Europe, JAC is considering buil...

 
Nissan to Offer Special Training for Leaf Dealers in Europe
Nissan to Offer Special Training for Leaf Dealers in Europe

5 May 2010, 10:01 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Nissan’s European dealers will have to follow a massive training program before they start selling the Leaf full-electric car this year, a company’s top executive said, quoted by the Automotive News Europe. "The way customers ch...

 
EU to Impose Speed Limiters on Vans and Light Trucks
EU to Impose Speed Limiters on Vans and Light Trucks

5 May 2010, 09:04 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / The European Union is planning to impose mandatory speed limiters on vans and light trucks to prevent them from exceeding 75 mph (120 km/h) and to improve their fuel efficiency, according to an EU report, quoted by the Automotive News Europe. Th...

 
BMW Alpina Releases 215 HP D3 Biturbo
BMW Alpina Releases 215 HP D3 Biturbo

5 May 2010, 08:30 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / German aftermarket specialist Alpina released a new version of its diesel-powered 3-Series based D3 model, the D3 Biturbo. The car is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder bi-turbo engine developing 215 horsepower and 332 lb-ft. of torque (450 Nm) a...

 
Official Photos and Details on the New Fiat Uno
Official Photos and Details on the New Fiat Uno

5 May 2010, 07:13 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Fiat has officially introduced the new Uno supermini in South America. The Italian automaker released photos and initial information on the new Uno, which is the spiritual successor of the original Uno from the eighties. The first country in whi...

 
Infiniti Recalls Over 134,000 G35 Sedans and Coupes
Infiniti Recalls Over 134,000 G35 Sedans and Coupes

5 May 2010, 06:23 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Nissan Motor Company announced a recall for almost 134,215 Infiniti G35 luxury sedans and coupes. The recall is related to faulty airbags that may not deploy during a crash, U.S. regulators said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administratio...

 
Chevrolet to Adopt "Excellence for All" Slogan
Chevrolet to Adopt "Excellence for All" Slogan

4 May 2010, 14:44 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Chevrolet is preparing new taglines to be used in the advertisements of its passenger cars and trucks, according to the Wall Street Journal, cited by leftlanenews.com. Just weeks after separating with long-time advertising partner Campbell-Ewal...

 
New iPhone App for Auto Insurance Customers
New iPhone App for Auto Insurance Customers

4 May 2010, 13:33 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / The Hartford Financial Services Group today announced the launch of an iPhone application which provides quick access to checklists, emergency phone numbers and claims reporting features for auto insurance customers. “The Hartford Mobile r...

 
Germany, Italy New-Car Sales Decline
Germany, Italy New-Car Sales Decline

4 May 2010, 11:50 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Germany's new-car market decreased for a fifth consecutive month, recording a 32 percent year-on-year decline in April as the government incentives for new-car buyers were stopped. Registrations fell 10.2 percent compared to April 2008, before...

 
U.S. Porsche Sales Down 6 Percent In April
U.S. Porsche Sales Down 6 Percent In April

4 May 2010, 10:01 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), importer and distributor of Porsche sports cars, Cayenne SUVs and the Panamera Gran Turismo in the United States, today announced April sales results in the U.S. The German automaker sold 1,747 units in ...

 
Subaru Reports 48 Percent Sales Increase in April
Subaru Reports 48 Percent Sales Increase in April

4 May 2010, 08:44 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Subaru of America announced today the sales results for April 2010, the company's best ever sales for the aforementioned month. The Japanese automaker had an exceptional month in the U.S., reporting sales 48 percent higher over April 2009, wit...

 
Ferrari Rules Out Four-Door Saloon
Ferrari Rules Out Four-Door Saloon

4 May 2010, 07:52 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Although rivals like Aston Martin or Porsche have revealed four-door coupes lately, it seems that for Ferrari this would represent a sacrilege. Ferrari boss, Amedeo Felisa, said the Italian brand will never follow rivals Aston Martin an Porsche int...

 
Volkswagen Polo to Receive an R Version
Volkswagen Polo to Receive an R Version

4 May 2010, 06:58 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / Volkswagen’s performance division, R GmbH, plans to get its hands on the Polo, according to Autocar. After the Scirocco R and the Golf R, which are already on sale, the engineers at “R GmbH” will build a performance version based ...

 
161,000 Dodge Calibers Under Investigation for Sticky Accelerator Pedals
161,000 Dodge Calibers Under Investigation for Sticky Accelerator Pedals

3 May 2010, 14:52 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / The sticky accelerator pedal problem seems to affect other automakers as well, not only Toyota. Chrysler Group accelerator pedals made by the same company that supplied Toyota Motor Corporation are under investigation by U.S. automotive-safety regu...

 
French Car Market Slows Down in April Due to Incentives Cut
French Car Market Slows Down in April Due to Incentives Cut

3 May 2010, 14:14 UTC · By: Dan Mihalascu / A cut in the government incentives in France slowed down growth in April, while Spanish car sales rose, with scrapping schemes continuing to fuel demand. However, the French increase in van sales, which are not affected by the scrapping bonus, show...

 

Stories by Dan Mihalascu