Daniel Patrascu
18,729 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
"I truly believe men and fish can coexist peacefully" – George W. Bush
Following several years off the grid, Daniel is back at autoevolution, and seeing how the great crisis of the past decade made the auto industry boring, he grew bored with it too, so he slowly shifted his focus to custom cars, custom motorcycles, and other weird stuff. He also loves ranting about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
During his time at autoevolution, Daniel put his name on more news articles, coverstories, auto guides, reviews, and editorials than we care count. To slow him down a bit, he was given more responsibilities not long ago, so he is now also in charge with coordinating the editorial team on autoevolution.com.
Long time ago, Daniel also translated Arthur C. Clarke’s novel “The Fountains of Paradise” to Romanian for Paladin Publishing.
Daimler Cleared for 2010 Exec Remuneration
17 Dec 2009, 09:20 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Following a not-so exciting year in terms of sales, German carmaker Daimler thought it's for the best to hire accounting firm Ernst & Young to carry out an independent appraisal of the system of Board of Management remuneration, in light o...
Volvo to Build Electric Test Fleet
17 Dec 2009, 09:07 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Following the introduction of the battery electric Volvo C30 at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show, the Swedish carmaker announced it plans to roll out a fleet of at least 50 such vehicles to be tested beginning with 2010. The C30 EV will take to the roa...
BMW Goodies for 2010 NAIAS
17 Dec 2009, 08:25 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The first European carmaker to detail the models which will be seen at the 2010 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit next month is BMW. The German carmaker announced today the vehicles which will be taken overseas, with the lis...
Updated: BMW ActivE Concept, Preview of the Megacity Vehicle
17 Dec 2009, 07:47 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / It was only a matter of time before premium car manufacturers began considering adding a wider range of electric vehicles to their line-ups. Apparently, the first step into expanding the EV offering was made by German carmaker BMW, who rolled out t...
Mercedes AIRCAP – Keeping Your Hair in One Place
16 Dec 2009, 19:21 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Convertible car owners, regardless of the make, model or whatever, have always experienced some (major) difficulties handling one of such a vehicle's most dreaded enemy (no, not rain): turbulence. On the other hand, future convertible car ...
Rinspeed UC? Concept to Debut in Geneva
16 Dec 2009, 16:13 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / 2009 is not even over and carmakers have already begun giving us a hint at what the March Geneva Auto Show may bring. One of those manufacturers is Rinspeed, who will debut a new Intelligent Mobility Concept Centered dubbed UC? (we know, we can...
US to Lose $3.7Bn On Chrysler TARP Loans
16 Dec 2009, 13:26 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / After earlier this month Gene Sperling, senior counsel to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talked about the prospects of the US government to lose $30 billion out of the $82 billion pumped into the automotive industry the past year, Chrysler bac...
Ford Restores Merit Pay For Salaried Workers
16 Dec 2009, 11:37 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Being employed by the single American manufacturer to have dodged the bullet in 2009 and escape bankruptcy certainly has its perks. Ford, because this is who we are talking about, will reinstate merit pay and other perks for its salaried workers, f...
2010 Work Truck Show, Green Edition
16 Dec 2009, 11:04 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The organizers of the 2010 Work Truck Show, the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) together with CALSTART have announced that the main focus of the event in Saint Louis will be the presentation of practical solutions for the "green&qu...
First NY Solar-Powered EV Charging Station, Ready
16 Dec 2009, 10:48 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / New York's first solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station is ready to receive the EV, as Beautiful Earth Group (BE), the owner of the station, announced the completion of the build. According to BE, the station is at the same time ...
Mercedes Benz E-Klasse Cabrio Details and Photos
16 Dec 2009, 10:00 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Following several sets of spyshots and pieces of information picked up from here and there, we can finally give you the whole story of the new E-Klasse Cabrio, the fourth model in the line, complete with an extensive gallery. Mercedes' newest ...
Bugatti Extravaganza at the 2009 Dubai Motor Show
16 Dec 2009, 09:19 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As one of the most luxurious auto shows of the year and at the same time the most important such event in the Middle East, the Dubai Motor Show hosts a unique display of Bugatti vehicles, with the Veyron Sang d'Argent, the Grand Sport Soleil d...
Nissan Dongfeng Motor to Sell 1 Million Cars in China
16 Dec 2009, 08:44 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / With this piece here we begin what we (and many others) believe will be a long line of news regarding car sales and sales targets in China. With the country already surpassing the United States in terms of volume, the country is poised to become on...
Wiedeking Almost Cleared by Prosecutors, Not by Porsche
16 Dec 2009, 08:13 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German carmaker Porsche published yesterday a release in which it states the conclusions reached by the German public prosecutors against its former CEO, Wendelin Wiedeking and Holger P. Harter. The punch-line is that "the examination and ...
Donato Coco, Lotus' New Director of Design
16 Dec 2009, 07:53 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The Lotus Group announced yesterday the appointment of Donato Coco, former Director of Design and Development for Ferrari, as the company's new Director of Design. He will take full charge of Lotus Cars' and Engineering's design issu...
Gordon Brown Welcomes the MINI E...
16 Dec 2009, 07:31 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The UK Government received yesterday the keys to a MINI E electric vehicle, to be used as part of BMW's testing program by British ministers. The MINI E, one of the fleet of 40 such vehicles to have been delivered in the UK this week, was welc...
2010 FIFA World Cup, Driven by Daimler
15 Dec 2009, 15:24 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German carmaker Daimler announced today it managed to get a spot on the center stage of next year's soccer World Cup, to be held in South Africa. The manufacturer will deliver no less than 460 Mercedes-Benz coaches, as part of an order placed ...
Audi HQ Gets Solar Roof
15 Dec 2009, 15:02 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The great effort made to protect the environment (read cost cutting measures) from the automotive world were once again brought into the spotlight by German carmaker's Audi announcement that its Ingolstadt headquarters will be fitted with pho...
Last Chrysler-Fiat Opponents, Take Two
15 Dec 2009, 14:28 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Even if the deal between the former bankrupt American manufacturer Chrysler and Italian group Fiat has been sealed for quite some time, those opposing the asset sale still have a chance at overturning the outcome. The US Supreme Court decline...
Plaintiff's Heaven: Your Car Falls Short on Mileage? Sue!
15 Dec 2009, 11:50 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / We all know the American judicial system is some type of a unique deal. Good or bad, it is not our place to say; but it is our place to say the American judicial system is the favorite playground for plaintiffs who like to sue, anything, everything...