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.
McMurray Goes Back to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
19 Nov 2009, 18:22 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As rumored ever since yesterday, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's (EGR) No. 1 Chevrolet will have behind the wheel Jamie McMurray, who has officially become one of EGR's drivers for the 2010 Sprint Cup. “I am really excited about thi...
Fiat eco:Drive, Apple Awards Green Champion
19 Nov 2009, 18:04 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / With all the fuss created around green technologies employed in the automotive industry, each and any recognition given to a manufacturer for its efforts can do nothing less than help it promote its own technologies. The Italians from Fiat took...
Volvo Recalls 9,600 2010 XC60
19 Nov 2009, 15:27 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / In what is perhaps one of the most rarely seen recalls, Swedish carmaker Volvo announced it is forced to send bank for servicing 9,667 XC60 vehicles, manufactured in 2010, due to a driver's seat cover fault. According to the official recal...
Think to Announce Indiana Production Site
19 Nov 2009, 15:17 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Norwegian electric vehicle manufacturer Think is expected to announce in the near future its decision regarding its future US-based production site. According to rumors, Think has already picked a site in Indiana as the central hub for its North Am...
GMAC to Focus on Auto Business
19 Nov 2009, 15:12 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As soon as Michael A. Carpenter was appointed new chief financial officer for GMAC Financial, the new CEO steeped into the spotlight and said that the company he now leads will keep the automotive business at the center of its future endeavors. The...
5 Subarus, 5 Top Safety Picks
19 Nov 2009, 15:06 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese carmaker Subaru managed a not-so-easy task, as it has a car in every category of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick. The carmaker's Legacy (Liberty), Outback, Forester, Impreza and Tribeca have passed wi...
Mahindra Pik-Up Expands in Australia
19 Nov 2009, 14:54 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As part of a plan dating back all the way since 2007, Indian carmaker Mahindra announced plans to expand its business in Australia by opening four new Mahindra dealers in West Australia. The four are Rockingham Mahindra, Melville Mahindra, Bunbury ...
Summit on Road Safety to Adopt Decade of Action
19 Nov 2009, 13:49 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The first ever Global Ministerial Summit on Road Safety will meet this week in Moscow, after it received the UN approval back in April 2008. The summit's main goal is to create the framework required for participating countries to reduce the n...
Electric smart fortwo Enters Production in Hambach
19 Nov 2009, 12:02 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / After German carmaker Daimler announced back in the beginning of October that the Hambach, France facility will be the site where the new electric smart fortwo will be built, the company said today production of the initial 1,000 units has begun. ...
Chrysler Pleased with 4 IIHS Tops Safety Picks
19 Nov 2009, 11:46 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As we told you yesterday, among the 27 winners of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Picks, 4 belonged to American carmaker Chrysler. The four are the 2010 Jeep Patriot, 2010 Chrysler Sebring, 2010 Dodge Avenger and 2010 Dodge Jo...
Australian BMW Z4 Gets More Efficient
19 Nov 2009, 11:30 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German carmaker BMW announced it will enhance the EfficientDynamics technologies fitted into the Australian version of the Z4 roadster with the addition of several new technologies across the range. The biggest chance is the introduction of the...
Aptera Runs Out of Money, Founders Jump Ship
19 Nov 2009, 11:19 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The over enthusiastic plans American manufacturer Aptera had for its 2e three-wheeled vehicle proved to be just that, as it seems the company has ran out of money and is now forced to scale back operations. According to Paul Wilbur, Aptera CEO,...
Skoda to Produce 1.2l Turbocharged Engine
19 Nov 2009, 10:42 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Czech carmaker Skoda announced today it has begun production of a new turbocharged, small displacement engine, to be fitted in vehicles throughout the Volkswagen Group vehicles (Skoda, Audi, Volkswagen and Seat). To wear the TSI designation, th...
Porsche to Enter 911 GT3 R in 2010 International GT Sport Season
19 Nov 2009, 10:28 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German carmaker Porsche announced today it will be introducing a new racing version of the 911 GT3 R in the 2010 International GT Sport season. The car, built to meet FIA GT3 regulations, will replace the 911 GT3 Cup S, as it was built to provide &...
Ricardo TaxiBot Concept To Cut Airplane Fuel Consumption
19 Nov 2009, 09:50 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Airplane travelers in Israel will have the opportunity to see from now on a new appearance on airports' runways. In an attempt to help airline companies reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, automotive supplier and manufacturer Ricardo an...
Pre-Owned Mercedes-Benz Cars, Thru Manheim San Francisco Bay
19 Nov 2009, 09:08 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Pre-owned, late-model Mercedes Benz vehicles will be offered, starting today, by Mercedes Benz Financial exclusively thru Manheim San Francisco Bay, following a pilot program which ran earlier this year. "Mercedes-Benz Financial only offe...
2009 Ferrari World Championship, Won by Boardwalk Ferrari
19 Nov 2009, 08:39 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Not known to many, being a Ferrari dealer means more than selling sports cars to Prancing Horse aficionados or driving around in great looking cars. From March to September each year, ever since 1994, Ferrari dealers come together in the what is ca...
Ferrari Uses ANSYS for Thermal Comfort
19 Nov 2009, 08:37 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Simulation software ANSYS announced today it is further expanding its collaboration with Italian carmaker Ferrari. After the two worked together for optimizing design and performance of Prancing Horse vehicles, ANSYS will now help Ferrari predict t...
Cyclone Mark V Engine Prototype Almost Ready
19 Nov 2009, 08:00 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American manufacturer Cyclone announced today its financial report for the first three quarters of 2009 and, at the same time, took the opportunity to announce that the 100 HP Mark V engine is almost ready and will soon be built as a test prototype...
2010 Nissan Fuga, Priced from $44,676
19 Nov 2009, 07:29 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese carmaker Nissan announced today the release of the new luxury sedan in its line-up, the Fuga. The car will be available at Japanese dealers starting November 21, at prices ranging from 3,990,000 to 5,502,000 yen ($44,676 to $61,605). T...