autoevolution
 

Daniel Patrascu

18,559  ARTICLES

Personal motto:

"I truly believe men and fish can coexist peacefully" – George W. Bush

Project Manager
editor photo
Daniel loves writing, or so he claims. and he once loved to use his 10-words-per-minute typing skills to bring you a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry, rather than keeping you up to speed with new vehicles and their performances.

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.
Audi S5 Sportback at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show
Audi S5 Sportback at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show

28 Aug 2009, 10:08 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German manufacturer Audi today announced their lineup for the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show and, even if their presence at the event may be considered less impressive than what rival BMW has prepared, three new models in the Audi range will make their f...

 
German Scrappage Out of Funds by September 10
German Scrappage Out of Funds by September 10

28 Aug 2009, 09:28 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Sad news for the German automotive industry, as the Centre for Automotive Research in Duisburg-Essen reported the 5 billion euro fund keeping the country's scrappage incentive  is running out. According to their estimates, the money is en...

 
Volvo, Polestar Aim for Valer Win
Volvo, Polestar Aim for Valer Win

28 Aug 2009, 08:52 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Swedish manufacturer Volvo, together with racing partner Polestar Racing will take another shot at wining the STCC race at Valer in the Volvo C30 bio-ethanol. The car will be raced, as it was in 2008, by Norwegian Tommy Rustad, now ranked third in ...

 
Side Head Airbags Standard on Most 2010 Vehicles
Side Head Airbags Standard on Most 2010 Vehicles

28 Aug 2009, 08:34 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / A 2003 voluntary agreement signed by most car manufacturers (GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Mazda, Daimler, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, BMW and Volkswagen) is beginning to take shape, as most of the vehicles produce...

 
Honda Accord Crosstour Teaser Number 3
Honda Accord Crosstour Teaser Number 3

28 Aug 2009, 08:03 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / A new teaser of the upcoming Accord Crosstour was released today by Japanese manufacturer Honda, bringing the total number of little glimpses of the newcomer to three. Even so, on the more practical side, no official confirmation about the technica...

 
UAW Reacts to NUMMI Closure
UAW Reacts to NUMMI Closure

28 Aug 2009, 07:43 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As announced earlier today, Toyota Motor Corporation confirmed the closure of the New United Motor Manufacturing plant on March 31, 2010. The decision, although understandable for Toyota from the financial standpoint, has stirred a lot of indignati...

 
Chrysler Accepts Liability Claims on Pre-June 2009 Vehicles
Chrysler Accepts Liability Claims on Pre-June 2009 Vehicles

28 Aug 2009, 06:52 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Chrysler Group, the new entity which was born following the bankruptcy process of Chrysler LLC, now known as Oldcarco, announced today it has decided to accept "product liability claims on vehicles manufactured by Chrysler LLC before June 10, ...

 
NUMMI to Close on March 31, 2010
NUMMI to Close on March 31, 2010

28 Aug 2009, 06:30 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / After several months of uncertainty and conflicting rumors, the fate of the New United Motor Manufacturing plant has been sealed. Toyota Motor Corporation confirmed the plant will close on March 31, 2010, with production to be shifted to Toyota who...

 
Chrysler on Jim Press' Departure Rumor: No Comment
Chrysler on Jim Press' Departure Rumor: No Comment

27 Aug 2009, 17:35 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American manufacturer Chrysler declined to comment on recent reports saying the company's current CEO, Jim Press, will take his leave by the end of this year. Shawn Morgan, Chrysler's corporate communications chief, told just-auto.com tod...

 
Think Exits Bankruptcy, Moves to Finland
Think Exits Bankruptcy, Moves to Finland

27 Aug 2009, 16:16 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Norwegian electric vehicle manufacturer Think announced today it received approval from a Norwegian court to exit the country's equivalent to bankruptcy protection, as its debt settlement plan has been approved. This means Think is now able to...

 
Suzuki SX4 Sedan Now Available
Suzuki SX4 Sedan Now Available

27 Aug 2009, 13:55 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The British division of Japanese manufacturer Suzuki announced today the addition of a new version to the SX4 range: the sedan. It is already available for order and has a starting price of £11,895. The car is eligible for the still running ...

 
Ferrari 458 Italia New Pics, Interior Revealed
Ferrari 458 Italia New Pics, Interior Revealed

27 Aug 2009, 12:51 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Italian manufacturer Ferrari is unveiling, bit by bit, their new 458 Italia, the replacement of the F430. Whereas all the technical details, the exterior look and the way the car behaves on the road have already been detailed, the interior was left...

 
Ford Found Buyers for Wixom Plant
Ford Found Buyers for Wixom Plant

27 Aug 2009, 12:20 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The only American manufacturer to have survived without government aid may get closer into securing additional funding from the selling of one of its former plants. The facility in question, which was used until 2007 for the production of Ford Thun...

 
BorgWarner Parts for ZF 8-Speed BMW 760i Transmission
BorgWarner Parts for ZF 8-Speed BMW 760i Transmission

27 Aug 2009, 10:30 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American parts supplier BorgWarner announced today it will be providing friction materials and plates for the new ZF 8-Speed automatic transmission (8HP), to be deployed on the 2010 BMW 760i. Additionally, BorgWarner already supplies friction mater...

 
Wiesmann to Build a Car, Live in Frankfurt
Wiesmann to Build a Car, Live in Frankfurt

27 Aug 2009, 10:26 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German manufacturer Wiesmann added a bit of a twist to their announced presence at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. After last week they confirmed the unveiling of the Roadster MF5 at the event, Wiesmann today said visitors to their stand will get to ...

 
2010 Honda Fit Details and Photos Released
2010 Honda Fit Details and Photos Released

27 Aug 2009, 09:32 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Japanese manufacturer Honda released specifications and photos for the 2010 model year five-door Fit. The new small car will start in the US at $14,900 for the 5-speed manual version and can go to as much as $19,110 for the Fit Sport with navigatio...

 
Chrysler, Nissan End OEM Projects
Chrysler, Nissan End OEM Projects

27 Aug 2009, 08:47 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / American manufacturer Chrysler and Japanese carmaker Nissan announced today, through a joint release, they have dropped plans for three OEM vehicle-supply projects announced ever since last year. The aforemetioned programs, which included provision...

 
USPS to Test Balance Hybrid Vehicles
USPS to Test Balance Hybrid Vehicles

27 Aug 2009, 08:18 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The operator of the largest civilian fleet in the world, the United States Postal Service (USPS), announced today it has signed an agreement with Azure Dynamics Corporation for the setup of a pilot testing program for Azure's Balance Hybrid ve...

 
Tengzhong-Hummer Deal Terms Leaked
Tengzhong-Hummer Deal Terms Leaked

27 Aug 2009, 07:58 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / With the signing of a final deal between American manufacturer GM and potential Hummer buyer Tengzhong rumored to be days away, the alleged terms of the future deal between the two sides have hit Chinese media. According to Chinese news portal ...

 
Project Zed, the Nissan-Engined Dragster
Project Zed, the Nissan-Engined Dragster

27 Aug 2009, 07:37 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / V8-engined dragsters participating in the Super Pro ET, Competitor Eliminator and HKS Series – Pro Class will have their hands full with the latest dragster to join the challenges. Dubbed Project Zed, the hand built dragster will make its deb...

 

Stories by Daniel Patrascu