Daniel Patrascu
18,628 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.
2010 Suzuki Kizashi Pricing Announced
5 Nov 2009, 11:56 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese carmaker Suzuki released today pricing information of their newest star of the lineup, the 2010 Suzuki Kizashi. Set to enter showrooms in December, the Kizashi will retail for in between $18,999 and $26,749, plus $735 for destination and h...
Williams Tweaks F2 Car for 2010 Season
5 Nov 2009, 11:40 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / 2010 will be the year of make-it-or-break-it for the one year old Formula 2 championship. Whereas 2009 was a type of trial run for the series, 2010 will bring several novelties, including an expanded calendar (18 races) and upgraded Williams Formul...
Spyshots: 2012 BMW 3 Series
5 Nov 2009, 10:53 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / If you found the recent spyshots of the facelifted 3 Series coupe a bit disappointing, then perhaps a first look at the next generation 3er, rumored to be launched sometime in 2011, may be a bit more exciting. Unfortunately, the next 3 Series p...
Richard Petty Motorsports Goes the Ford Way
5 Nov 2009, 10:51 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Having scored a ninth place in last weekend's Talladega 500 race with Elliot Sadler's Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports decided to put AJ Allmendinger behind the wheel of one too, at least for the remainder of the season. "Elliott...
NHTSA Goes at War with Toyota
5 Nov 2009, 10:23 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) publicly expressed their position on Japanese carmaker's Toyota floor mat problem, accusing it of providing inaccurate and misleading information about the 3.8 million vehicles affecte...
Cyclone Signs Deal with Great Wall Alternative Power Systems
5 Nov 2009, 09:17 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / One major deal for the future of Cyclone's heat-regenerative external combustion engine was signed yesterday by the American manufacturer with Chinese Great Wall Alternative Power Systems for the production of the engine in China. "De...
Keyed Up Motorsports to Debut at Daytona
5 Nov 2009, 08:19 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The 2010 Sprint Cup Series will get yet another team entry for the season, as Raymond Key announced he is setting up, together with Key Motorsports (run by Raymond's brother, Curtis) a new team. Dubbed Keyed Up Motorsports, the team is schedul...
Saturn Scrambles to Clear Inventory
4 Nov 2009, 10:38 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As its final say has been sealed this month, GM's last-standing "bad brand" is scrambling to launch new marketing campaigns and offers to speed up the inventory exit rate of its vehicles. The speed at which this is done made analysts...
Chrysler to Relaunch with New Logo
4 Nov 2009, 10:06 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As the hour when Chrysler's new five-years plan will be revealed to the world draws even closer (November 4th, 11 am EST), the first pieces of information have began to leak. Whereas the projected vehicle line-up changes are expected to be as ...
McMurray Hopes for Good Sprint Cup Drive in 2010
4 Nov 2009, 09:58 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / After securing his first win in two years at the Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, following what is considered one of the ugliest races of the season, current Roush Fenway Racing driver Jamie McMurray hopes to secure a spot in the 2010 Sprint ...
Fisker Picks European Distributor
4 Nov 2009, 09:09 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Having secured the location where the future Karma plug-in hybrid vehicle will be built, American carmaker Fisker is currently on the market to set up its dealership network across the world. The first step has already been made in Europe, with Fis...
Germany Angry with GM's Decision, Wants 1.5 Bn Euros Back
4 Nov 2009, 08:53 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The not-so-shocking decision made by American carmaker GM to keep the German Opel unit in its portfolio upset the German government, who now says it expects GM to repay 1.5 billion euros in bridge financing provided by German state banks, Autonews ...
2010 Honda Accord Crosstour Details and Pricing Released
4 Nov 2009, 08:04 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese carmaker Honda released last night the details and pricing information for their not so impressive Accord Crosstour. Set to debut on November 20, the Crosstour will wear a price tag of $29,670, plus a destination and handling charge of $71...
NASCAR's New Race Cars to Usher a New Era
4 Nov 2009, 07:35 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / After the Talladega race concluded on Sunday, the following day brought to the track the exciting new additions to the Nationwide Series, scheduled to join the pack in the 2010 seasons. The four additions - Chevrolet Impala, Ford Mustang, Dodge...
Opel Unions Agree to Massive Cost Cuts
3 Nov 2009, 16:15 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Another important step was taken today by Opel, at about the same time GM's board will meet and (finally, we hope) decide the German carmaker's fate: Opel unions decided to give the manufacturer a green light on its plan to cut 265 millio...
GM, IPO in the Making
3 Nov 2009, 14:31 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As the US is trying to exit the automotive industry it entered earlier this year, rumors surrounding a possible initial public offering (IPO) for the state's shares in GM and Chrysler become more and more intense. According to the Governme...
Confirmed: UAW Rejects Ford Contract
3 Nov 2009, 14:04 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The American manufacturer Ford's hopes of getting to the hearts and minds of its UAW workers and convince them of the revisions proposed in their contracts were aimed at making the company more competitive have been put down by the unions, whi...
Skoda Joins the No VAT Offer Assault
3 Nov 2009, 13:50 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As was to be expected, manufacturers selling in the UK are scrambling to announce a new type of offer in the Kingdom, in light of next year's VAT reversal to 17.5 percent. After yesterday we told you about Nissan and its plan, its time to take...
KidsAndCars Release New Power Windows Victims Survey Data
3 Nov 2009, 13:19 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As promised at the end of October, safety organization KidsAndCars released yesterday data obtained during their latest survey regarding injuries to occupants in vehicles equipped with power windows. According to their findings (after a research c...
Proton to Form Indian JV in 2010
3 Nov 2009, 11:48 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Malaysian group Proton Holding announced today it plans to create a joint venture operation in India as soon as 2011 and is now in search of both a local partner and sites for the construction of future Proton facilities in the country. Accordi...