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.
New GM's First 90 Days
8 Oct 2009, 09:22 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Believe it or not, American manufacturer GM, the reborn version, is now three months old. As is the custom, GM decided to let the public know how they've been, what's working and what's not and, most importantly, how does the future ...
Nissan ROOX Super Space Unveiled
8 Oct 2009, 08:50 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese manufacturer Nissan pulled the wraps today off their newest contraption, a “super space” minicar, a Cube-inspired vehicle mini. The vehicle will be on display at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, for all to admire "in the flesh&q...
2010 Green Car of the Year Finalists Announced
8 Oct 2009, 08:06 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As we announced back in the beginning of September, the selection process for the 2010 Green car of the Year (GCOY) awards as under way. The awards, organized by Green Car are to be held at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show, now have five nominees: Au...
Lotus Wins Special Engineering Award
8 Oct 2009, 07:41 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / British manufacturer Lotus and its Engineering division have become this year's winners of the British Engineering Excellence Awards, as they received the Judges’ Special Award and Highly Commended in the Consultancy of the Year category...
Suzuki SX4 Crossover Facelift Takes to Europe
8 Oct 2009, 07:23 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese manufacturer Suzuki announced today it will bring into Europe the revised version of the SX4 crossover or, in their words, "the compact hatchback with big-car attitude." The facelift brings changes to both the way the car looks a...
Europe Names EfficientDynamics Best CO2 Reduction Program
8 Oct 2009, 06:59 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The European Federation for Transport and Environment has named, for the third year in a row, BMW's EfficientDynamics as the most effective program aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in road traffic. According to the federation's study,...
Mark LaNeve Leaves GM, Susan Docherty to Replace Him
8 Oct 2009, 06:31 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / General Motors' CEO, Fritz Henderson, announced yesterday the departure of the manufacturer's vice president for US sales, Mark LaNeve. The vice president will leave the manufacturer starting October 15 and will move to an unnamed company...
Oliver Lajara, Hyundai Europe New Fleet Manager
7 Oct 2009, 14:50 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The European division of South Korean manufacturer Hyundai announced today it has appointed Oliver Lajara as the branch's fleet and remarketing deputy general manager. Lajara will at first be in charge with appointing new people in his departm...
Renault Grand Scenic Proves Itself at MPG Marathon
7 Oct 2009, 14:10 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / French manufacturer Renault announced today it managed to beat the average fuel consumption rating for its Grand Scenic at the 2009 MPG Marathon by no less than 32 percent. This means that after driving 353 miles (586 km), the Grand was found to ha...
Mercedes Benz Offers 2 Year Service for Used Cars
7 Oct 2009, 13:31 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The UK division of German manufacturer Mercedes Benz announced it will hold an Approved Used event, for vehicles across the range, between 10 and 18 October. Loosely translated, the manufacturer will offer a 2-year service plan for those who will p...
Porsche Builds New Paint Shop
7 Oct 2009, 12:48 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German manufacturer Porsche announced today that it will add to the existing Zuffenhausen plant a new paint shop. The building in question will be, according to Porsche, one of the most modern and environmentally friendly ones in the world. &qu...
Renault Denies Looking New Logan JV
7 Oct 2009, 10:58 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / French manufacturer Renault stepped up and denied reports surfacing in the Indian media which claimed the carmaker will give up making the Logan model with partner Mahindra and Mahindra in favor of Bajaj Auto. The denial came after the Economic Tim...
Toyota Faces New Recall Nightmare. This Time, Tundra
7 Oct 2009, 10:31 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese manufacturer Toyota is slowly beginning to sink deeper and deeper into a nightmare, with the financial problems it faces being somewhat dwarfed in the public eye by problems with its final products. After in late September the manufact...
BMW September Sales, Level
7 Oct 2009, 09:47 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German manufacturer BMW announced today it managed to surpass the sales registered in September 2008 with only 0.7 percent. The ninth month of the year brought the group 122,354 units sold and, even if the increase is almost insignificant, it does ...
GM Asked by Banks to Invest More in Daewoo
7 Oct 2009, 09:35 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Threatening to mature both loans and foreign exchange forward contracts, the Korea Development Bank asked American manufacturer GM to raise more money for its local unit, Daewoo. According to Min Euoo-sung, the bank's CEO, GM Daewoo needs to p...
Mazda3 MPS Tops MPG Marathon 2009
7 Oct 2009, 09:13 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The first Mazda3 to be registered in the UK managed to reach its first major milestone in the country, as it finished top of the list in the ALD/Total Excellium/Fleet World MPG Marathon 2009. To put words into numbers, the vehicle managed 41,75...
Nexteer Automotive, Born of Delphi
7 Oct 2009, 08:42 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As a result of Delphi's emergence from bankruptcy, a new entity will be formed to comprise the supplier's steering business. Owned by GM's new Global Steering Holdings, the new Nexteer Automotive business will be, according to Delphi...
Ford Tests In-Car Sounds in VR
7 Oct 2009, 08:10 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American manufacturer Ford is making full use of the technical advancements in the field of cirtual reality, as it announced it is the first US-based carmaker to use the Virtual Vehicle Sound Simulator for fine-tuning sounds generated inside a vehi...
Zero-Emission Alliance Goes to Vancouver
7 Oct 2009, 07:22 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Another step was made this week towards the introduction of the Leaf EV by the Renault-Nissan Zero Emission alliance, as another agreement was signed with the Province of British Columbia, the City of Vancouver and BC Hydro. The region will thus b...
Delphi Exits 4-Year Long Bankruptcy
7 Oct 2009, 06:50 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The long talked about deal between American manufacturer GM and supplier Delphi concluded yesterday with the official emerge of the supplier from the four-year long bankruptcy. As a result of the deal, GM and a group of Delphi lenders formed a new ...