Daniel Patrascu
18,653 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.
Three-Wheeled Vehicles, Green Light for Funding
17 Oct 2009, 20:59 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The US Congress has passed a new piece of legislation allowing for manufacturers of three-wheeled vehicles to get funding for their projects. The bill is now waiting President’s Obama approval who, according to the Senate Appropriations Commi...
VW to Increase Capital to Buy Porsche
17 Oct 2009, 20:56 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German manufacturer Volkswagen announced yesterday its plans for the increase of the group’s share capital by the end of December 2, 2014. The increase, which will be submitted to vote at the manufacturer’s shareholder meeting on Decem...
Germany Denies EU Allegations on Opel Deal
17 Oct 2009, 20:54 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The recent concerns raised by European officials that the deal between German carmaker Opel and Canadian supplier Magna may be contrary to the European Union’s competition rules will not endanger the still ongoing deal, German officials say....
Ford Taurus Game Day House Party on October 18
16 Oct 2009, 15:39 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American manufacturer Ford announced the next move for its advertising campaign created for the 2009 pro football season. The 2010 Taurus will be at the center of a nation-wide party, with locations in 45 states to host around 18,000 guests. The pa...
Audi Opens New Training Center
16 Oct 2009, 15:23 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / A new Service Training Center has been inaugurated today by German carmaker Audi in Neckarsulm, bringing the total number of such facilities in Germany to six. The new center will provide those attending 80 different training courses and 14 qualifi...
Volkswagen, Steady Through the Crisis
16 Oct 2009, 14:40 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German group Volkswagen seems to have gotten the hang of the crisis and, as its sales and marketing vice president, Detlef Wittig says, steers "a steady course through the crisis". The group posted an 11.9 percent increase in sales in Sep...
Mercedes' Kecskemét Plant Breaks Ground
16 Oct 2009, 13:41 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German manufacturer Daimler announced today it has begun construction on the future in Kecskemét, Hungary, in the presence of Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai. The facility will accommodate production of future generation A- and B-Klas...
MINI Calendar 2010, Available from October
16 Oct 2009, 13:01 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Following the announcement of Porsche's 2010 calendar earlier this month, another German manufacturer steps in and announces its own release. BMW will release the MINI Calendar 2010 in October, with the price set at 21 euros. Unlike in Por...
Renault Megane RS 250 UK Pricing Announced
16 Oct 2009, 12:28 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / French manufacturer Renault announced today pricing for their latest sports version of the Megane, the RS 250. UK residents will be able to purchase one starting November, in two versions: Sport and Cup. The Cup is priced from £21,995, while ...
Ford Kent Engine, Back in Production
16 Oct 2009, 11:15 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Formula Ford fanatics will have an additional reason to celebrate next year, as the American manufacturer decided to revive the infamous Kent engine block. Engineering work on the new Kent has already begun and Ford expects to engine to hit the mar...
Ford SYNC Partners with Best Buy
16 Oct 2009, 10:59 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American manufacturer Ford announced yesterday the start of a partnership with Best Buy, to help promote the SYNC system. As part of the partnership, Best Buy will offer trained professionals to help customers with operating the system and phone c...
Two New Freightliner Coronado for US Roads
16 Oct 2009, 10:00 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German manufacturer Daimler announced today the introduction of two new Freightliner Coronado trucks for the US. The two are the Coronado for highway use and the Coronado Severe Duty (SD) for the construction industry. The two will be offered w...
Caterham CSR 175 World Debut at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show
16 Oct 2009, 09:51 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / British specialist sports car manufacturer Caterham announced today it will be attending the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, bringing to Japan three models: Superlight R300 EU4, which will make its Japanese debut at the event, the CSR 175 EU4, making it fir...
Former Ford Employee, Arrested on Secrets Theft Charges
16 Oct 2009, 09:11 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / 47 year old Xiang Dong Yu, former product engineer for Ford, was arrested on Wednesday as soon as he set foot on US soil at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The Chinese national is charged with theft of trade secrets, attempted theft o...
BMW’s Landshut to Be World's 1st Zero Emission Foundry
16 Oct 2009, 08:41 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Technical advancements achieved over the last few years in vehicle production technologies will allow German manufacturer BMW to become the first in the world to operate a zero emission foundry. The company's Landshut plant in Germany will be ...
Think City Ambulance, Buzzing to the Rescue
16 Oct 2009, 08:38 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Norwegian electric vehicle manufacturer Think announced that it has found yet another use for its city-intended electric vehicle: an ambulance. Residents on the island of Terchelling in the Netherlands will from now on be given first aid from a Thi...
Kulwicki Family Donate $1.9 Million to UNC-Charlotte
16 Oct 2009, 07:20 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Thelma Kulwicki, the stepmother of late NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki announced yesterday she has established a $1.9 million trust fund to benefit the UNC-Charlotte engineering program. According to NASCAR, this is the biggest donation ever made to...
2010 Acura ZDX Debuted at Orange County Auto Show
16 Oct 2009, 07:04 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The 100 percent American designed Acura ZDX debuted yesterday at the 2009 Orange County Auto Show, in preparation for its winter sales debut. The ZDX will get a price tag closer to the date of its official launch. "Designed, developed and...
Four Exclusive Mopars for SEMA
16 Oct 2009, 06:06 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American manufacturer Chrysler seems not to have forgotten the automotive enthusiasts which will attend the 2009 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) in Las Vegas next month, despite the recent struggles it was forced to go through. Mo...
Gyrobike, Training Wheels' Armageddon
15 Oct 2009, 14:05 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / When learning to ride a bicycle, we all know it takes a fair enough amount of time, skills, and training to learn how to maintain your balance. What you are about to see on the video below however changes all that, as from now on it will take a fai...