Mircea Panait
20,070 ARTICLES
Personal motto:
"If in doubt, flat out." - Colin McRae
Interning for Top Gear was his first foray in automotive journalism, and not long after that, a full-time position was opened for Mircea to seal the deal. Just about three years later, autoevolution became his new home.
Especially interested in American ponies and muscle cars, Mircea also finds the Japanese domestic market appealing thanks to the quirkiness of kei cars. Full-size pickups like the Ram 1500 and off-roaders such as the Ford Ranger Raptor and Jeep Gladiator Rubicon are much to his liking as well.
A self-described master of pasta and an avid CCG player, Mircea’s past-time activities include playing his Epiphone Les Paul Special Vintage Edition electric guitar, discovering the wonders of the Carpathian mountains by foot, and driving to the Black Sea to get a well-deserved tan.
Ford Police Interceptor Vehicles Now Offered with Level IV Ballistic Panels
12 Mar 2016, 20:42 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Being the good guy doesn’t always work out for the best because criminals are resourceful. Furthermore, there is always a possibility the bad guy is armed and dangerous. What can the brave men and women in blue do to better protect themselves...
Elio Motors to Sell 100 Pre-Production Vehicles Late in 2016
12 Mar 2016, 19:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Paul Elio is an ambitious man. Seven years after he founded Elio Motors, Paul announces that he’s planning to sell 100 pre-production examples of his 3-wheel car. It was about time considering that Elio Motors has 50,900 reservations for the ...
Top 10 Cars with the Longest-Enduring Nameplates
11 Mar 2016, 16:42 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Dante Alighieri was an intriguing fellow, a man before his time. His most acclaimed work is the Divine Comedy, an epic poem that I hold dear to my heart. In Paradiso Canto XXVI, Dante tells us that the “customs and fashions of men change like...
1971 Lamborghini Miura SV Chassis #4846 Restored for Amelia Concours d'Elegance
11 Mar 2016, 10:32 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / At the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, the star of the Lamborghini stand was the Countach LP500 prototype. The production-ready Countach LP400 started production in 1973, the year that saw the Miura stop production. I prefer the Miura, but I won’t bl...
2017 Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe to Debut at the New York Auto Show
11 Mar 2016, 09:11 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Car people of the world with a passion for small, affordable, fun sports cars, the time is right to rejoice. Mazda has prepared a bit of a surprise for the 2016 New York Auto Show, which might come in the form of the Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe. T...
2017 Buick Encore Facelift Leaks Ahead of New York Auto Show
11 Mar 2016, 08:34 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / For the 2016 model year, Buick freshened up the Encore with a winged rear spoiler and a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 153 ponies and 177 lb-ft (240 Nm) of torque. However, the 2017 model year will see the Encore undergo a proper ...
2017 Renault Maxthon (Koleos Successor) Spied, Has Talisman Written All Over It
11 Mar 2016, 08:10 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When it arrived in 2007, the Koleos was praised by both the media and the public. As a compact SUV, it ticked all the right boxes. With great regret, the Koleos didn’t age well and Renault decided to get rid of the thing. Although the Kadjar ...
Cars with the Most Cargo Capacity You Can Buy in the United States (As of 2024)
10 Mar 2016, 19:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When it comes to cars, there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all. Automobiles reign supreme in the United States of America, the country where anyone with a driver's license can drive across the continent if they so desire. Cargo capacity is...
2016 Honda Civic Coupe Priced at $19,885, $410 More than the Sedan
10 Mar 2016, 12:06 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The tenth generation of the Honda Civic in Coupe guise now has a starting price. After applying the $835 destination charge, you’ll be looking at a two-door model that costs $19,885. That’s $410 more expensive compared to the Honda Civi...
2018 Mercedes-Maybach E-Class Spied
10 Mar 2016, 10:01 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / After Mercedes-Benz invested close to €1 billion in the development of the mid-cycle facelift of the W212, the German manufacturer upped the ante even further with the unveiling of the W213 model. The fifth generation of the E-Class is a great...
VW America CEO Out, Will Pursue Other Opportunities
10 Mar 2016, 09:04 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Michael Horn, the chief executive officer and president of Volkswagen Group of America, has departed the company through mutual agreement. The departure is effective immediately. The man that will now walk in his shoes is Hinrich J. Woebcken, chair...
2017 Nissan Micra Successor Spied, Has Sway Concept Styling Cues
10 Mar 2016, 08:20 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / When Nissan presented the Sway Concept at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the Japanese manufacturer highlighted that the experimental vehicle would serve as an inspiration for the design of its future products. One of those is the Nissan Micra. Now at ...
Armored Cars with Luxury as Their Second Nature
9 Mar 2016, 18:16 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The United States presidential state car is known by two names. The first and most popular is The Beast. The second is Cadillac One. The thing is, the current presidential limousine went into service in 2009 and it is an old heap of General Motors ...
FAST Act Could Translate into the Return of Morgan to the United States
9 Mar 2016, 12:42 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The U.S. Congress passed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act back in December. It’s a $305 billion highway funding bill that happens to include a set of provisions. If the regulations take effect, the kit car and replica car...
Woman Driving Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine Leads Police on Pursuit in California
9 Mar 2016, 10:38 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Who doesn’t love Scooby-Doo? The talking Great Dane with an appetite is one of the biggest hits of Hanna-Barbera, together with productions like Tom & Jerry and The Flintstones. However, not every Scooby-Doo fan out there is on the side o...
Prince Philip Used to Own This Lagonda 3-Liter, Now It Can Be Yours
9 Mar 2016, 09:47 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The consort of Queen Elizabeth II isn’t just a badass who enrolled in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. The Duke of Edinburgh is also a blue-blooded petrolhead, with a car history that would make some collectors go weak at the knees...
Rolls-Royce SUV Spied in Sweden, It’s Shorter than a Phantom Series II
9 Mar 2016, 08:40 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / There is only one player in the ultra-luxury segment and that is Rolls-Royce. Ever since 1925, the Phantom moniker became synonymous with motorized self-indulgence. The current generation has been around since 2003, which is why it will end product...
BMW Concepts That Previewed Production Models
8 Mar 2016, 18:19 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / Concepts are rightfully considered by many car enthusiasts as four-wheeled artworks. Grand in their aesthetic and much wilder compared to their series-production counterparts, these design studies can trace their roots back to the bite-the-back-of-...
2017 Citroen C3 Picasso Spied, Borrows Styling Cues from C4 Picasso
8 Mar 2016, 13:49 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The C3 Picasso mini MPV started production in 2008. In 2012, Citroen freshened things up with a facelift, but then truth of the matter is this thing is getting a little too long in the tooth. Thankfully, though, the French brand will debut an all-n...
North Korea’s Automotive Industry Affected by U.S. Congress Sanctions
8 Mar 2016, 10:41 UTC · By: Mircea Panait / The bicameral legislature of the federal government just passed a round of sanctions that will affect not only the automotive industry of North Korea but businesses that operate in the communist haven as well. These penalties come as a repercussion...