Daniel Patrascu
18,662 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.
Gumpert Apollo Speed Teaser Prior to Geneva
13 Feb 2009, 14:16 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / German automaker Gumpert has joined the ranks of those who already teased us with their 2009 Geneva Motor Show stars and released full details of the Gumpert Apollo, together with a new image. The new racer, set to debut at the aforementioned s...
Germany Saves Dacia-Renault Sales, Sarkozy Should Take Notes
13 Feb 2009, 13:28 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Germany's used cars incentive, a measure through which the German Government offers a $2,500 euro deduction to anyone who buys a new car and scraps the old one, is proving to be a very successful initiative. What nobody expected was that it wo...
BMW 5 Series GT Official Unveiling
13 Feb 2009, 11:13 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / For all those of you who thought than BMW's life as a company will end with Chris Bangles' sudden departure, the German car maker prepared a treat, as the new BMW 5 series GT was officially unveiled. The 5 Series GT was showcased at a...
Volkwagen and Toshiba Join Forces for an Electric Vehicle
13 Feb 2009, 10:24 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The Germans and the Japanese will join forces once again in an attempt to take over the world... Well, not the real world, but the electric drive units one. Volkswagen and Toshiba have signed a letter of intent that will point the two companies in ...
Nissan Wants You to Look Closer
13 Feb 2009, 08:59 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Crisis may be winning the fight, but no car manufacturer will go down without its fair share of kicking and screaming. And as the only battle they can still win remains the one with us, the customers, car manufacturers now turn their attention tow...
Kia Supplier Sewon "Now Hiring" Sign Draws Thousands
13 Feb 2009, 08:29 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Sewon America, the LaGrange, Georgia based major parts supplier for Kia Motors, is doing something not very often seen these days in the American automotive industry. The company is accepting applications for about 600 vacant jobs it has to offer i...
Kangoo Be Bop-To Bop or Not to Bop
12 Feb 2009, 20:10 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / As we reported approximately two weeks ago, French manufacturer Renault is issuing a new version, or should we say, a more fun-loving one, of the plain and simple Kangoo. Technical details included, we are now back on the subject to further reveal ...
Renault 2008 Finacial Results Down, 2009 Prospects Worse
12 Feb 2009, 16:42 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Renault's financial performance in 2008 was, as expected due to the economic mayhem that ravages the automotive industry, very poor. The French company posted a total revenue figure for 2008 of 3,791 million euros, down 7 percent over the year...
Ssangyong's Chinese Executives Quit and Go Home
12 Feb 2009, 15:42 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Ssangyong, the fourth largest South Korean manufacturer lost all its Chinese management, as all 30 Chinese staff, including about 10 executives led by Lan Qingsong have returned to China. Ssangyong is currently going through a court receivershi...
Renault Scraps Laguna and Espace
12 Feb 2009, 14:35 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / French automaker Renault is to terminate production of the Laguna and Espace models it produces at the Sandouvile plant. The decision is part of the larger plan Renault has developed in order to get over the economic distress it finds itself in. ...
2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Priced for US
12 Feb 2009, 13:47 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Hyundai announced pricing for its latest coupe model at the Chicago Auto Show. Expected to enter showrooms later this month, the Genesis Coupe will wear a price tag of $22,000 for the 2.0l version and $25,000 for the 3.8l engine model. The firs...
Suzuki Shows Chicago Three New Equators
12 Feb 2009, 13:32 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Last year, at the Chicago Auto Show, Suzuki unveiled three Nissan Frontier based trucks, called Equator. The three concepts were named RMZ-4, Quad and Quai and were designed to be reminiscent of a superbike, a quad and a boat, autoblog reports. ...
Acura TSX Gets V6 Implant in Chicago
12 Feb 2009, 10:18 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The Chicago Auto Show debuted an all new V6 engine that will equip the Acura TSX sports sedan line. The boosted up models will be available for customers this summer. The new engine puts out 280 horsepower from its 3.5l block and is equipped wit...
Tesla Model S to Surface March 26
12 Feb 2009, 09:25 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Tesla Motors promises it will raise the curtain on the long awaited, long promised drivable prototype of the Model S four door sedan on March 26. The car will go into production if the company manages to escape financial difficulties and raises the...
2010 Toyota Tundra 4.6l V8 Engine Unveiled in Chicago
12 Feb 2009, 09:10 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The Chicago Auto Show is under way, bringing with it new car models, new engines or facelifts on a daily basis. Without having a press conference scheduled for the Show, Toyota quietly reveals its plans for the years to follow. The company...
Ford Has the Highest European Market Share Since 2004
11 Feb 2009, 17:09 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / January 2009 brought a small victory in Ford's war against the economic crisis. Last month's figures indicate a 0.5 percent increase across Europe's 19 markets, bringing the total to 9.3 percent. The most significant increases were m...
PSA Peugeot Citroen Hopes for 11,000 Voluntary Departures
11 Feb 2009, 16:28 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The French group PSA Peugeot Citroen, the second largest in Europe, has developed a layoff plan through which it hopes to relieve on a voluntary basis 11,000 employees worldwide in 2009, france24 reported. 2008, the year that marked the beginni...
Mini E Test Delayed by Flood of Applicants
11 Feb 2009, 16:14 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / No, there is no technical problem with Project i's Mini Electric and no, BMW has not ran out of money for the US test. It's just that so many applicants have registered as Mini wannabe testers that the company does not know who to choose....
Mini Plans a Diesel for the US Market
11 Feb 2009, 14:48 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / Already present in other parts of the world with diesel engines, BMW's Mini now turns its attention to the American market. Tighter car emission regulations that are in effect in the US have kept these engines away from this market, but Mini i...
Ferrari Reports Record 2008 Sales Figures
11 Feb 2009, 14:11 UTC · By: Daniel Patrascu / The Italian car manufacturer Ferrari has announced it had an excellent 2008, despite the crisis that shook the automotive world. In 2008, Return On Sale (ROS) growth that began in the previous years continued and recorded another increase. Right, y...