Daniel Patrascu
18,651 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.
Unimog U 20, Firefighting in Croatia
24 Nov 2009, 13:52 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German carmaker Daimler announced the introduction of the Unimog U 20 vehicle in Croatia, joining firefighting service for the Croatian city of Sibenik as a TLF 10/25 tank water tender. The Germans have delivered today the first of a series of U 20...
GM Wants $4.9 Billion from the EU
24 Nov 2009, 13:50 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Remember a few weeks back, when, GM's CEO Fritz Henderson said that, if needed, GM could make ends meet by itself and repay the European countries for the money they received this year? Apparently, GM doesn't remember, as it asked yesterd...
2010 Toyota Prius, Fitted with Goodyear Tires
24 Nov 2009, 12:54 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese carmaker Toyota announced today its 2010 model year Prius will come equipped, as standard, with Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires, to help the hybrid achieve even better mileage. The tires will be sized P195/65R15 for both the regular ...
Toyota Tops 2009 Perceived Quality Score
24 Nov 2009, 12:00 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As the year draws closer to its unavoidable demise, companies around the world scramble to punch in the latest numbers, draw lines, add, multiply and divide to see who did what, why or for how long. In case you didn't know, there are some comp...
BAM Comes Back, Brings Larry the Cable Guy for the 49 Ride
24 Nov 2009, 11:28 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As you know, the 2010 Sprint Cup season will witness the comeback of the until now sponsor-less BAM Racing, after a deal was truck by team owner Beth Ann Morgenthau with the Nashville division of Warner Music. As a result of the agreement, Warn...
Toyota, a Role Model for the Likes of Ford or VW...
24 Nov 2009, 10:55 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / ...or at least this is what the latest 2009 Strategic Vision Total Value Index seems to point at. According to this index, compiled to give customers and automotive manufacturers an idea on what drives the car selling process, for the first time ev...
Kia Cadenza Official Details and Photos
24 Nov 2009, 09:52 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / South Korean manufacturer revealed today details and photos of their new Cadenza model, a "big step into the future for the masculine and luxurious sedan." Called the K7 in Korea, the Cadenza will go on sale next year, with its first publ...
Renault-Nissan Partners with Guangzhou and Donfeng Motors
24 Nov 2009, 08:44 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The Renault-Nissan zero Emission alliance is moving deeper into China with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Japanese-French alliance and the municipality of Guangzhou and local manufacturer Dongfeng Motors. &qu...
2010 BMW 5 Series Sedan Official Details and Photos
24 Nov 2009, 08:04 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Following several months of showing you spyshots and keeping you up to date with the latest rumors, it is now time to present you the official details and photos of the new 5er, as German carmaker BMW released late last night full specs for the car...
Subaru Impreza WRX Rocks Australian Sales
23 Nov 2009, 16:31 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese carmaker Subaru announced today that the sales of its Impreza WRX model have surpassed the 30,000 unit mark, following 15 years of sales at the same starting price: AU$39,990. The figure, although not impressive for some, is of particular ...
Chrysler Presents Year-End Wrap Up
23 Nov 2009, 16:29 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American manufacturer Chrysler announced over the weekend the year-end offers for the models it produces. There are several incentives for customers to choose from, reunited under the „Year-End Wrap Up” name. “Chrysler Group i...
Global Road Safety Initiative, Phase Two
23 Nov 2009, 15:41 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Four automotive companies, Chevrolet, Michelin, Renault and Shell, have decided to partner in the second phase of the Global Road Safety Initiative (GRSI), the biggest endeavor taken by private entities towards ensuring road safety in low- and midd...
Europe to See 3% Growth in Light Vehicle Production in 2010
23 Nov 2009, 15:22 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / According to a study by JD Power, the Old Continent will experience a 3 percent increase in light vehicle production in 2010, with all the projected fall of the market taken into account. The main reason behind the somewhat positive numbers is the ...
2010 Acura ZDX Pricing Announced
23 Nov 2009, 15:05 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The luxury division of Japanese carmaker Honda, announced over the weekend pricing for the 2010 Acura ZDX, pending its market release on December 15. In the US, the ZDX wears price tags starting from $45,495, plus a destination and handling charge ...
Volkswagen Hopes to Triple Sales in South China by 2018
23 Nov 2009, 14:57 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German carmaker Volkswagen plans to triple sales of its vehicles in South China by 2018, the year when, coincidental or not, it plans on overtaking Toyota. This would mean the German group will sell some 2 million vehicle in the entire China by tha...
Chrysler May Lose Another 100 Dealers
23 Nov 2009, 14:43 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Even with the carmaker out of bankruptcy, problems are far from over for Chrysler dealerships. The most recent bad news for them is that, due to the impossibility for the dealers to reach an agreement with GMAC Financial, or other lenders for that ...
Blooming China to Boost Changan Ford Mazda Sales
23 Nov 2009, 14:05 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / It is no secret anymore than China has become the safe haven for troubled global carmakers in these troubled times. With the country being, for the better part of the year, the only one in the world posting good sales result, it is no wonder Changa...
Chevy Volt, Harvard-Westlake School Show-and-Tell
23 Nov 2009, 13:59 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American manufacturer GM is taking about the same unconventional approach when it comes to promoting its Volt PHEV, as Ford does for its Fiesta model. The difference is that GM is not using social networks as a main tool for promoting its product, ...
CGI: Next-Gen Mercedes SLK
23 Nov 2009, 13:23 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / If you remember the set of spyshots featuring the yet unknown model year Mercedes Benz SLK we presented several times this year, then you remember the disappointment of seeing the car in perhaps the most ugly and unrevealing camo we ever did see. ...
More Charges Pending for Xiang Dong Yu
23 Nov 2009, 12:06 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The former Ford engineer arrested and accused back in October of stealing trade secrets is now faced with more charges after the investigators announced they have found additional information of Xiang Dong Yu's computer. According to the F...